This young golden eagle was one of at least twenty that we watched one evening last week in what at first seemed to be an empty creek valley north of Helena.
It was late afternoon, and we were driving along a gravel road between the little towns of Wolf Creek and Craig. A gray day, and at first it seemed that nothing was moving in the stubble fields and rolling hills that line the road.
But as we rounded a bend, a golden eagle took off from a fencepost, and landed on a hill a few hundred feet away.
We stopped to look, and noticed someone else looking at us.
We got out, sat down, and suddenly it seemed that golden eagles were everywhere.
In the distance…
overhead…
on the power poles…
and on the irrigation pivots.
There was even a beautifully constructed bald eagle nest, complete with mama eagle,
and what I’d guess was last year’s eaglet having a snack on a nearby branch:
The reason for all this eagle activity? That wasn’t too hard to figure out. Dinner, it seemed, was everywhere.
Off the Beaten Path: Hikes, Backpacks, and Travels 
Yeah!! That’s a great afternoon of shooting!! How lucky to see that many eagles!
It did feel lucky…golden eagles aren’t as easy to see as bald eagles, it seems.
Raptor heaven!
Sure is!
That is amazing! I think golden eagles are difficult to discern from hawks, so I’ve probably seen more than I think I have.
From far away they do look like hawks, especially the juveniles. But close up they are huge!
More amazing photos in one day than I will probably get in my whole lifetime.
Well, not sure about that, but it was a fun afternoon.
Great ending. You gotta luv dinner
Ha! Thanks.
You take GREAT photos. Dumb question here: What were the six animals watching you?
Thank you! They are pronghorns (antelope). They’re pretty common around here, but they don’t always line up so cooperatively.
What a perfect day! Great shots 🙂
It was a pretty nice day, despite the blah gray skies.
That’s an amazing photo story….what a gift to see so many Golden Eagles in one place. We do get them in Scotland but not in such big numbers in one place….I guess lunch is thinner on the ground here…Love that antelope shot. Too cute 🙂
We don’t usually see them in groups like that either, so it was pretty lucky.
Wow. Great photo essay.
Nice – thanks.