Eagles

[jmark]

11 minutes ago, alloutdoors said:

 

Thanks! Yes, the eagles will be going up soon. I haven't actually even finished going through all the photos from the trip yet. I'm hoping to have some time over Christmas because I'm planning on making some changes to the entire sales side of the site, I can offer true fine art prints as well as prints on canvas, metal, acrylic, etc. but those options aren't currently represented on the site.

For the time being, I do have a few more eagle photos posted to my Facebook page that you can check out. facebook.com/shadowhillsphoto

 

 

Great, I'll check back now and then, will likely order a few of the bird photos.  

BTW, if you are looking for destinations, I highly recommend the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine.  My son and I canoed the length of the Waterway two years ago.  Absolutely beautiful.  We stopped counting Bald Eagles on day 3, at 15.  Mergansers, loons, all kinds of ducks, etc., all abundant, not to mention the four legged creatures (moose are, um, big).  People - not abundant.  On the last day as we approached Allagash Village, the sight of a house seemed so incongruous, it was kind of jarring.  Great fly fishing in the river, too, my son caught his first brook trout, a nice one.  I'm dying to go back.  

[Bigfoot 327]

This eagle is known to be a female from hundreds of hours of observation of it both on and off of it's nest. If you can't see the gray above it's eye, you need to get your bifocals checked

[Karpteach]

Fantastic pictures. 

[alloutdoors]

1 hour ago, Countryboy said:

This eagle is known to be a female from hundreds of hours of observation of it both on and off of it's nest. If you can't see the gray above it's eye, you need to get your bifocals checked

I quite literally have no idea what you are talking about. I see a rather low resolution image of an eagle in a snowstorm with a shadow under its brow. Since you and your friend are so convinced of your observations I will simply encourage you to write them up and get them published in an appropriate journal. What you are claiming has never been described by anyone, not even people who have spent their entire professional lives working with these birds. Once you do that, feel free to get back to me and rub it in my face to your hearts content.

Until then you are just some random guy on the internet spouting off silly theories that fly in the face of hundreds of years of professional experience and observations which say otherwise. Thing is, I'll rely on the people who I know and spent the better part of a decade working with who are legitimate experts on the subject. Without the efforts of those people it's likely that your friend wouldn't even have eagles nesting near her house.

[Bigfoot 327]

Since you're  an expert it is not doubt silly of me to remind you that biologists have documented differences in beak depth between the sexes. This one way they determine sex- it also affects the appearance.

I can see this forum is the wrong place to post observations or opinions. Sorry, I wasted your time.

[alloutdoors]

43 minutes ago, Countryboy said:

Since you're  an expert it is not doubt silly of me to remind you that biologists have documented differences in beak depth between the sexes. This one way they determine sex- it also affects the appearance.

I can see this forum is the wrong place to post observations or opinions. Sorry, I wasted your time.

Nice try. The difference in beak depth is one of mere millimeters. It's not something you can measure without having the bird in hand. On top of that there is overlap between the sexes, males on the upper end can exceed females on the lower end, so even if your supposed change in appearance existed it wouldn't be conclusive. The beak depth measurement is also not used on it's own, it's part of a formula which also includes a measurement of hallux length.

Let's get one other thing straight too, you didn't come in here offering an opinion nor did you qualify your remarks by saying they were based on your (limited) observations. You stated unequivocally that a particular eagle was a female based on some imaginary black/grey eye patch that nobody aside from you has ever seen. Then when you were called out on it you suggested that anyone who didn't see what you see should... let's see how did you put it, oh yes... get their bifocals checked. 

I never said that it isn't ever possible to determine the sex of a bald eagle based on visual observation. With experience you can certainly learn to distinguish a large female from a small male and be right quite often, but there are also plenty of birds of both sexes in that overlap range that will confuse even the most knowledgeable expert. 

Edited December 21, 2016 by alloutdoors

[jmark]

49 minutes ago, Countryboy said:

Since you're  an expert it is not doubt silly of me to remind you that biologists have documented differences in beak depth between the sexes. This one way they determine sex- it also affects the appearance.

I can see this forum is the wrong place to post observations or opinions. Sorry, I wasted your time.

I don't really want to get involved in this, as I know nothing about the subject - but you might want to note that the person you are arguing with IS a biologist.  

[Curmudgeon]

I have personally observed hundreds of bald eagles. Size difference between close individuals is the only sexual dimorphism a distant observer can use to separate the sexes reliably. As with people, even that is not conclusive. As I noted earlier, an experienced NYSDEC biologist sexed a bird in hand as female. A necropsy found testes.

Alloutdoors is correct. Continuing the argument is helping to establish your reputation on the forum. 

 

[New York Hillbilly]

Here you go fellas....start sorting....lol...       I took this picture just before leaving Alaska for NY a few weeks ago. 

 

[jmark]

1 hour ago, New York Hillbilly said:

Here you go fellas....start sorting....lol...       I took this picture just before leaving Alaska for NY a few weeks ago. 

 

 

 

Holy cow!!  That is incredible!  What part of Alaska?  

[Zem18]

There are only 23 eagles in that picture. How is someone supposed to tell you the sex of each one when there aren't the standard 24 birds for reference? I mean really, how dare you post up such insufficient evidence for our extensive debate here. I cant even see the eyes either

[New York Hillbilly]

4 hours ago, jmark said:

 

 

Holy cow!!  That is incredible!  What part of Alaska?  

Soldotna, Alaska is on the Kenai Peninsula, about midway between Anchorage to the north, and Homer to the south. 

 

[New York Hillbilly]

Where eagles live in tremendous numbers...Winter and Summer.