Bald Eagle or....

Ok: 1st: sorry for no pic, I'm at the boat and forgot my cable to xfer pics. I will pick one up tonight.
2nd: haven't posted in quite some time...did I mention the boat? New to me...another hobby that is eating up my time and $ at a ridiculous rate.

My daughters told me there was an injured eagle on the other side of the marina, so, thinking it was a seagull that they had mis-identified, I went to have a look. Definitely NOT a seagull. GIANT hooked beak, webbed feet, grey back, white head, black feathers at the tips of the wings.

This poor guy had a pile of fishing line wrapped around both feet. It was cutting pretty deep into the legs, but I managed to get it all free.

Called a raptor rescue organization and they came and got him this am.

Any guesses on ID before I get the pics up tonight? Loupey? You're the king at this.....what's your best guess?

Bird was about 25% bigger than your average seagull. Didn't get a wingspan measurement, as I didn't know if he was injured there or not, and didn't want to stress him any more than he already was.

Cheers,

Randy.

Hi, Randy - nice to see you're still around.

Paulnj is the bird-king but I'll say that it sounds a lot like you're describing (except the part of the webbed feet) an Osprey or a male Northern Harrier.

Looking forward to the pixs.


Ironically, I've been doing very little boating since I got back into photography. Perhaps putting in 55 gallons of fuel at a time had something to do with it :p Word of advice - never fill up at the marina (about 20% more expensive there).

I was thinking Osprey as well. They don't have webbed feet, though.

Card reader is coming up to the boat tomorrow...will post pics then....I am sure someone is going to be able to ID it in seconds once I do.

The beak was very long, about 3 1/2", with a sharp 90 turn down at the end. No bands or stripes on the beak, just a slight reddish tinge underneath in the middle.
Frustrating without pics I know...

This is an Osprey. Does it look like this?

http://CatcherofLight.smugmug.com/ph...46_ixMJM-L.jpg

Not even close.

I looked on Cornell's site, but really didn't see anything close there either...

We'll have to wait on the images I guess. Looking forward to it!

Now thinking it IS a gull, just a VERY large one, with a gigantic beak. I saw another one this aft on the dock, and it looks much like the ring-billed gulls, just much larger, and with that huge schnozz.

Finally got some pics downloaded....
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...pics/Gull1.jpg

This is the foot after I got the fishing line off...
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/GullFoot.jpg

The legs with the fishing line attached.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/GullFeet.jpg

I assume this is some kind of gull at this point, but not sure which. It's HUGE!!!!!

Still haven't heard back from the rescue center...


Cheers,

Randy.

Yep, that's a gull alright.
Looks like a Greater Black-Backed gull.
But it's probably a related US species.

that's most definately a gull, some of them can become quite large, like ravens.

it looks to be a very elderly one by the condition of the feathers, too, and the thickness of them

Looks like an Albatross. Any shots of the body?

Here is a pic of another bird, same species though. It is significantly bigger than the ring-billed gulls around it, about 25-50% or so.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q.../gullsmall.jpg

Randy.

Yup! That's a seagull. Maybe this type doesn't visit your area often.

maybe not, but this thing is like Scwarzzagull! Or maybe Gullvester Gullone!...HUGE.

Gullzilla maybe??

I believe you have a herring gull http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herring_Gull

According to Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, everybody can recognize a seagull, but it is difficult even for the expert birders to id them at the species-level.

Another vote for herring gulf.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Canon_Bob

Looks like an Albatross. Any shots of the body?

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aren't they extinct?..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kajuah

aren't they extinct?..

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No. Several of the subspecies are endangered, but there are still plenty of them in the Southern Hemisphere. It seemed like a possible guess based on the "huge" size being mentioned, as an Albatross is significantly larger than a gull.

herring gull it is...