Posted by John Boyd on August 01, 2002 at 09:56:28:
In Reply to: How say you? posted by Paul on August 01, 2002 at 08:17:16:
I'm not sure why one might think this bird would be a Golden Eagle.
Golden Eagles don't have that much white in the wing (outside of the wing patches), and certainly don't have white at the base of the wing. Where are the big white wing patches? There's nothing in the photo to indicate that Golden is even a possibility.
The next question is whether the bird is even an eagle. That's an awful lot of white in the wing, even for a young Bald Eagle. The bird really looks more like an Osprey. If you look closely at its left wing, you'll see it has a dark patch just where an Osprey would have a dark patch. If it is an Osprey, you can see its white neck. It also seems to be holding itself in a Osprey-like manner.
If I actually saw the bird, the flight style would help resolve these issues. Based on the photo alone, I would say is most likely an Osprey.