What happened to this eagle?

I caught this juvenile bald eagle flying in from the sea and about to land on that tree. This is no good shot in any way (wrong angle, head invisible, etc., etc., but I like the wing position) but, what happened to this eagle? It looks like it has lost some feathers in a fight or something.


Attachment 56983

Even after it was perching, it didn't close it wings much (is that how you say it?), too.

That poor guy does look in awful rough shape. It doesn't look like there is a feather on his body that's in decent shape. He didn't just submerge himself in a lake, did he? I don't see how a fight could damage all the feathers.

It flew in from the sea. Unless it went for a swim or something :D

Here's it coming in:


Attachment 56989


Even from this angle, the feathers don't look good at all.

Personally, I think he's just wet.

Hmm...another explanation could be it's molting.

maybe he went through a jet engine

This is the time of year when raptors are going through the moult. If you look closely, you can see it has a few new primaries coming in. eagles can take up to two years to complete the moult. This one does look like it has some lice damage also.

He's a Juvi. Not to worry, he'll look just fine in a few years :-)

those feathers can tell a story ! I have seen many a beatup raptor that flew perfectly fine and this one isn't that bad.