Tweets:

Saturday about 5:30 p.m. I saw what could only be an immature Bald Eagle
sitting on the very top of a dirt pile at the Vashon Island landfill (read,
dump). The beak was a solid yellow and eagle shape (it was sitting facing
directly to my right, clear sky behind, perfect silhouette, about 50 yards
away, still enough light to see the beak clearly), and the body generally was
a rich brown color. There was a small amount of white streaking on the back
of the neck, visible when the eagle turned its head around and away from me.

What was interesting, however, was that the side of its head was generally
white, with a brown patch horizontally through the eye. The white patch was
larger below than above. That is, it almost looked like an osprey, except
that the pattern was much more blurred. Was this bird just beginning to get
its adult white head? Does anyone know if this is a typical (if there is any
typical) transformation? Is this the right time of year for the
transformation?

The bird later flew to the top of one of the poles holding the wires over the
top of the landfill, much farther away, but we could then see the feathers on
the legs.

Eagles are fairly common on Vashon. I saw an immature last month at the
north-end ferry dock, and an adult last year at a pond about 1/2 mile from the
landfill.

Eric Stahlfeld
Burien