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Resident Raptor - Golden EagleAmazon & Orion
We lost Messiah suddenly on Thursday morning, February 16, 2006, to heart problems from what appears to be Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or other cardiac disease of unknown cause. Although we'd been treating him for several months for respiratory difficulties, he seemed to be much improved and had been greeting the lengthening days of coming Spring with lots of vocalizations and activity. He will be very much missed. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
A very large, dark to medium-brown bird with a
Notes
Size - Length: 27-33" • Wing Span: 72-87" • Weight: 6.6-14 lb. |
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Amazon A larger eagle,
broke both her wings in June 1995, when she fell from her nest at about one
month of age. The right wing healed perfectly, but the left wing, which had
an open fracture with exposed bone ends, maggots, and a major infection, did
not, leaving her incapable of flight. She cannot be returned to the wild
because of her injuries.
Orion A small male, was apparently tossed by the whirling air from a speeding truck near LaPine in 1990, tearing ligaments in his right shoulder. He was a popular education bird at the High Desert Museum in Bend for 17 years, and then was transferred to CRC in September 2007. Since he was injured as an adult, his age is unknown.
Messiah An adult male, was hatched at a zoo in Texas and transferred to a falconer
in Idaho at two weeks of age. Raised as a human imprint, he was flown as a
falconry bird for ten years, until a wing injury grounded him. Damage to the
muscle in his right shoulder prevented sustained flight and flying up. He was
transferred to CRC in April 1999.
golden head and nape. Females are larger than males, though plumages are similar.
The entire upperside of the adult bird is dark brown, underside a slightly
paler brown, with a buffy color on the legs, which are feathered to the
yellow feet. Irregular, indistinct dark gray bands on tail. Head is
relatively smaller than that of a Bald Eagle; the eyes are hazel to dark
brown; the beak is dark. It takes four years and several molts for these
birds to reach maturity. Juvenile birds have broader wings and longer tails
than adults as well as plumage differences, including patterns of
whitish areas on the feathers, and a tail pattern of a distinctive broad white band
and terminal black band. In flight, the wingbeats are strong, slow, shallow,
and smooth. Golden Eagles soar in a slight dihedral, glide with wingtips up,
and can dive on prey at speeds up to 200 mph.
Nesting - Enormous stick nests are built
on rocky crags, cliffs, and in trees in some areas. Some mated pairs return
to the same nest each year, others alternate between several nests. The same
nests can be used over many generations of eagles, growing larger each year.
If the location allows it, the nest can become really gigantic -- as much as
8 to 10 feet across by 3 to 4 feet deep. 
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