Yes, that’s the answer. Raptors have a ridge above the eye to shade it which also makes them look fierce.
That’s quite a photo, Colibri! In the case of this nesting pair, the ridge is an easy way to tell the female from the male (besides the difference in size, the female being larger). The ridge is much more prominent on the female.
Bumping this for a good reason: Momma has laid her first egg of the season at 6:07 Central time! Here is a video of the the egg-laying, and here is live video of Momma sitting on the egg. Welcome to the world, D21!
Thanks for bumping this thread, Czarcasm. For anyone following along at home, the eagles are not in the same nest they used when I started this thread in 2011. They built a new one about 500 ft. from the old one and have been using it since 2013. They’ve been prolific, having hatched and fledged 3 eaglets every year since 2009 (and 2 eaglets in 2008).
The angle she is sitting, I swear she knows exactly where the camera is. What a beautiful sight.
Second egg laid last night at 7:01 pm CST.
Looks like they got some snow in Iowa- Papa was on the eggs with a layer of snow on his back. Then he stood up, shook the snow off and flew away as Mama arrived for her shift.
If there is a third egg, it’ll come any time now.
She is laying the third egg right now.
Bumped.
Some good news, for once: