{"id":1897,"date":"2011-02-16T13:51:08","date_gmt":"2011-02-16T20:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=1897"},"modified":"2025-09-17T06:48:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T11:48:23","slug":"bald-eagles-one-to-five-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/02\/16\/bald-eagles-one-to-five-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Bald Eagles – Age Progression From One To Five Years Old"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OneOne year old Bald Eagle\u00a0juvenile –\u00a0 Nikon D200, full frame, f\/10, 1\/250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 280mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past week or so I have been photographing quite a few wintering Bald Eagles of various ages, from one year old to adults, and I decided to write about the different growth stages seen in their plumage. Bald Eagles take about 5.5 years to mature to the typical white head and tail and solidly dark chocolate brown body, legs\u00a0and wing feathers of an adult.<\/p>\n

The bald eagle above is one year old and is\u00a0a dark brown over all, the chest and back are a bit lighter. The eyes are a dark brown and the bill is dark with some yellow.\u00a0A one year old eagle will show some white on the underside of the wings in the axillaries and coverts.<\/p>\n

The circumstances when I photographed this eagle were pretty remarkable and I hope to\u00a0do a post on it later.<\/p>\n

\"Two\u00a0Two year old Bald Eagle in flight – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

A two year old bald eagle has some white mottling on the chest, there is more yellow developing on the bill and the underside of the wings show extensive white feathers. The top of the head is a more golden brown than a one year old eagle exhibits and the eyes are a lighter shade of brown.<\/p>\n

I’ve heard that a lot of bird photographers prefer to photograph only adults bald eagles because of their well known plumage but I find that I enjoy photographing all of the various plumage’s because they are; after all, the various cycles of an eagle’s life.<\/p>\n

\"ThreeThree year old Bald Eagle\u00a0in flight – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/500, ISO 400, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

A three year old bald eagle has some white on the chest, the underside of the wings are developing more dark brown feathers. The top of the head is lighter than a three year old’s is and there is some white developing under the chin and on the neck.\u00a0 They have\u00a0a dark eye stripe and\u00a0the eyes are\u00a0paler. The bill will show more yellow and the darkness at the tip is growing lighter.<\/p>\n

I’ve found bald eagles to be a challenge to expose correctly\u00a0at all ages, when young you need enough exposure to bring out the details in the dark feathers. As adults though\u00a0you also have to be concerned about the high contrasts of darks and whites and not blowing out the whites.<\/p>\n

\"PerchedPerched four year old Bald Eagle – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 320mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The four year old bald eagle above looks more like an adult, the head is nearly white with some paler brown feathers intermingling with the white. The eyes are much paler than\u00a0they are when they are just yearlings. By now the bill is a solid yellow and does not show the dark tip at all of the\u00a0younger stages. The tails show more white above and below. The body and wing feathers are nearly all dark including the under side of the wings.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Bald Eagle in flight – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Adult bald eagles have solid white tails\u00a0plus the head and neck are also white. The eyes are very pale, almost white and the bill is a solid yellow and a bit brighter than a four year old bald eagle.\u00a0The plumage of the chest, back and wings are now varying shades of dark brown.<\/p>\n

Today the one year old bald eagle flew\u00a0only 10 to 12 feet over my head and I can verify that their 80 inch wingspan is very impressive.<\/p>\n

I’m fortunate to live in an area where the bald eagles winter over in large numbers\u00a0so I\u00a0can see and photograph eagles of\u00a0all ages and all plumage growth stages. It’s great.<\/p>\n

So, here’s a basic guide on aging Bald Eagles using their plumage development, legs, and bills, accompanied by images that show the age progression. While more precise aging can be achieved through examining the molt of the primaries and remiges, this guide aims to provide a general overview.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my hawk, eagle, vulture, and osprey photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A simple guide to aging Bald Eagles by their plumage development, legs and their bills with images showing the age progression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[5139,4004,5038,10812,438,846,2409,5552,215,4874,3133,1098,5722,3790,5138,4152,1053,5330,5721,5037,5720],"class_list":["post-1897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bald-eagle","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-80-inch-wingspan","tag-adult","tag-age-progression","tag-aging","tag-aging-bald-eagles","tag-bald-eagle","tag-bald-eagle-age-progression","tag-bill","tag-bird-id","tag-development","tag-eagles","tag-first-year","tag-fourth-year","tag-growth","tag-growth-stages","tag-haliaeetus-leucocephalus","tag-plumage","tag-plumage-phase","tag-second-year","tag-third-year","tag-under-wing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/bald-eagle-flight-adult-mia-mcpherson-5005.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-uB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1753,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/01\/06\/bald-eagle-second-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":1897,"position":0},"title":"Bald Eagle – Second Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a second year Bald Eagle, and while the adult birds are probably the most photographed, I enjoy photographing all ages & phases of plumage of bald eagles.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Second year Bald Eagle at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bald-eagle-2nd-year-mia-mcpherson-utah-1235.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bald-eagle-2nd-year-mia-mcpherson-utah-1235.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bald-eagle-2nd-year-mia-mcpherson-utah-1235.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bald-eagle-2nd-year-mia-mcpherson-utah-1235.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56199,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/17\/farmington-bay-bald-eagles-close-up-and-far-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":1897,"position":1},"title":"Farmington Bay Bald Eagles Close Up And Far Away","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd gotten the long distance images of the Bald Eagles at Farmington Bay that I wanted to take plus close up images of this adult eagle as it flew past me. It was a great morning to be at Farmington Bay.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Bald Eagle banking over a marsh, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-adult-flight-marsh-water-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-adult-flight-marsh-water-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/bald-eagle-adult-flight-marsh-water-mia-mcpherson-4103.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm sharing a photo of a young Bald Eagle who was looking mighty fierce while perched on a power pole that I took last February on a very cold morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Bald Eagle looking fierce on a pole, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bald-eagle-young-staring-head-on-mia-mcpherson-6802.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bald-eagle-young-staring-head-on-mia-mcpherson-6802.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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