Eagles
(Golden - Aquila chrysaetos)
(Bald - Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
 
Best spots to see eagles
include
Vermilion Lakes near Banff, Waterton
Lakes, Talbot Lake,
Columbia Icefields
area and the Bow Valley
The great migration
A startling discovery was made a few years ago. Eagle populations
would come and go but no one knew where or how, until 1992.
A naturalist discovered that twice a year thousands
of eagles migrate over a slim corridor in southern
Alberta's Rockies. The flight path is only a half mile wide
and is the only known major migratory sight in the world
for eagles. They travel hundreds of miles each day and,
with the help of geo-thermal lifts can "rise and glide"
for enormous distances. The females are the better flyers
and have to wait for the males to catch up from time to
time. |
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Few birds inspire man
the way eagles do.
Confident, fast, deadly and gracefully
beautiful
they glide over us as commanders of the skies.
The Canadian Rockies are home to two species, the bald eagle and
the golden eagle. A little known fact about eagles is that they
are not too proud to scavenge. A good percentage of thier diet
is derived from the kills/finds of other predators. Why work when
you don't have to, eh? Eagles mate for life and can live four
decades.
| Bald Eagles
are the larger of the two with considerable wingspans. They
are less common than the golden. Other than stealing meals
they feed on rabbits, squirrels, fish and waterfowl. |
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| Golden Eagles
can have wingspans greater than 6 feet and are completely
feathered, including their legs. They are more at home in
Alberta as they prefer alpine areas and you can see them
soaring over lofty peaks and valleys. |
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