Golden Eagles!

A Young Golden Eagle © Heidi Hughes

Snowy Owls aren’t the only rare birds to visit the Red River Valley in the winter.  The other “big birds” have arrived.  They’re raptors … but they’re not owls.

They’re Golden Eagles, one of the largest birds in North America.

We've had three reports of two different Golden Eagles near the Audubon Center in the past two weeks,

How do we know they were two different birds? 

Their plumage.

One was an adult.  All dark with a golden head and light colored beak.  The other was a young bird with white wing patches and a white bar at the base of its tail.

Both were spotted just south of Warren, Minnesota.  The young bird was chasing a hare in the fields along County Roads 68 and just south of Warren.  The adult was east on 190^th Street NW over by 230^th flying low to a perch on a pile of rocks in the middle of a CRP field.

Golden Eagles can be found from the arctic to the deserts in the western states.  While they’re rare in the Red River Valley – winter is the best time to spot them.

If you see one, send  an email to AgassizAudubon@gmail.com or call 218-745-5663 with the day, date, time and location.