Eagle

I finally saw my very first eagle during my Festival of the Cranes outing. There was word from one of the wildlife refuge employees, sightings of a Bald Eagle at Bosque del Apache for the weekend and rumors of even a Golden Eagle perching about.

I decided to walk back to the visitors center after the early morning flyout, to take in the experience of the entire weekend and absorb the quiet of the refuge before heading back to Albuquerque, 90 minutes to the north. I decided to check out the observation deck before leaving. Only a handful of birders remained, with enormous telephoto lenses attached to cameras on tripods. In the distance, a solitary Bald Eagle up on a barren tree in the middle of the pond.

Earlier on the walk, I saw a huge brown bird camouflaged atop a tree. I looked through my binoculars, curious. Half expecting another red-tailed hawk, I fixated on this raptor, not really understanding what it was I was looking at. My instinct told me this was not a red-tailed hawk of any variety. The body was too large. The head seemed inordinately smaller compared to his bulky body.

Could it be that rumored Golden Eagle? I immediately thought. I was much too much of a novice to confirm on my own. I needed help and sought out the wildlife guide. Once I got his attention, I turned back to the tree. The mystery bird was gone.

I've thought about this sighting for almost two weeks now. My instinct tells me it was the Golden Eagle. I've gone over the description in my Sibley's Field Guide: "Rare in grasslands, deserts, and other open country relatively far from people, usually in mountainous areas..." (check) "Nests on cliff ledges or less often in tall trees..." (the tree was tall) ""Very large and dark, with buteo-like proportions and wing posture..." (I first thought it was a strange red tail hawk, and it was very large) "Could be mistaken for Turkey Vulture and even sone dark buteos, but note much larger size..." (check)

What is instinct? When do you trust your gut? I need more information, more experience at this birding thing, I think to myself. It nags at me, this instinct thing, trying to understand this conversation inside and when right is right and when wrong is plain wrong. Maybe it was a Turkey Vulture after all.

But what if it was a Golden Eagle? What if I could have added that to my year list with certainty?