Can someone please help me find out what this raptor is?

[redhen]

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hum...if they stay together it may be a bald now!

cause we see anywhere from 1 to 3 together...lol...now i really have to figure this out or it'll keep bugging me..

 

[redhen]

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thats crazy!

 

[redhen]

ooh also..just thought of something! i saw it said they can take livestock!? these pics were taken right above my goat pen! i have a small pygmy doe..and also my small pot belly pig Dyson is in there with them... hes only like 15 pounds... would they go after them also?

 

[KattyKillFish]

i wouldn't worry about livestock unless it is a very large male eagle. it would be wise to keep an eye out just in case. something comparable would be watching for owls if you have a giant monitor lizard. it probably won't take on such large prey unless it is very, VERY bold.

 

[Faverolle]

They are turkey vultures


An easy way to tell them if the angle is right is they tend to hold their wings like a V. Also the head will be a reddish coloration and lack feathers. They very often fly in groups and are abundant in the area.

 

[Cetawin]

redhen that is not an eagle. that is a vulture specifically a turkey vulture.

Notice the "fingers" on the wing tips? It looks like the feathers are sticking out like fingers? That is a vulture. The Eagle's is a angle up almost curls and the wing shape is different.

Also, the eagle has a wedge tail not a thin straight.

Also, the bird is black with white/silver under wings...vulture. Eagles are brown tones and speckled. Never sold two tone like that. Whether it be the bald or the golden the underside is spotted until it mature and then the white tail is obvious. And the golden is also very obvious as an adult.

And because so many people this it is an eagle....here ya go

Mature bald in flight: Notice the curl on the tips

http://www.travel-destination-pictures.com/data/media/57/bald-eagle-in-flight-homer-alaska_175.jpg

http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/eagles/1024x768/Bald-Eagle-Graceful-Glider-1024x768.html

http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/eagles/1024x768/Bald-Eagle-Precise-Timing-1024x768.html

Golden Eagle in Flight:

http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/...n-Eagle-Coming-In-for-a-Landing-1024x768.html

http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/eagles/1024x768/Golden-Eagle-Soaring-High-1024x768.html


Redhen here is your turkey vulture in flight:

http://z.about.com/d/phoenix/1/0/S/X/1/birdforbes09.jpg


The only thing that is in jeopardy on the ground from the bird you have is your garbage or a dead chicken.

 

[redhen]

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you gotta come to my house...when the brabanters hatch come pick them up and hopefully they will be out

...and you can tell me what they are when you see them in person...because i have no clue now...

 

[Faverolle]

Here is a link
http://vulturesociety.homestead.com/TVFacts.html

It's difficult telling what one species may or may not be from a distant picture sometimes but it looks like a tv from what I can see. Eagles will generally keep their wings level when they fly while the vultures tend to rock and sway more and also hold their wings in a v pattern when they glide sometimes. Try to get a good look at the head and the way they hold their wings. Also the vultures very often fly in small flocks especially during migration. Thye are both common by you.

 

[Faverolle]

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you gotta come to my house...when the brabanters hatch come pick them up and hopefully they will be out

...and you can tell me what they are when you see them in person...because i have no clue now...

LOL, it's one of those things were I would recognize it in a split second seeing it live. The last couple weeks I have been seeing dozens of vultures every day going by. They are around here all year for the most part except for some winters when we get real deep snow. But, being near Quabbin we get a fair amount of eagles as well.

 

[whitecra]

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hey thanks! we do live by a river..its right on my road. But i would not call it huge...just average river size...and i have the wet lands behind me connected to my yard... it could be a young Bald Eagle...we have quite a bit of them in the Quabbin Reservoir by my house...(10 minutes away)....but these are the same ones we always see and they dont seem to ever get a white head or tail...like the bald eagle... thats why i am so confused.

Bald Eagles don't get their white heads and tails until they are 4-5 years old.
Chris