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Is this an Eagle? - Edited to add: Mystery Solved (See end of thread)
1northcoin
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Does anyone here see a similarity between this bird of prey I caught in flight last night and the flying Eagles on any U.S. Coins? Feel free to post any coin which depicts a match.
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Doesn't look like an eagle to me. It has a black, straight bill. Probably a raven.
We see eagles all the time here and that is not one.
Nope
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
Very likely. I did capture this photo of a hawk at the same location a week or two prior and based on its appearance had ruled out yesterday's sighting as being a hawk.
With the hawk I was able to get some close up photos at the same time as photographed the bird I captured in flight which made the identification easier.
Edited to add:
I assumed all three birds were the same, but as reflected upon further in light of davewessen's subsequent post, that may have been an erroneous assumption. (Dave opined that the perched birds looked like immature bald eagles.).
This is about as close as I can get.
your 'hawk' looks like an immature bald eagle
https://avianreport.com/photos-juvenile-immature-bald-eagles/
From a silhouette I can't tell, but I have a few photos of juveniles and their colors in this thread: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1054358/bald-eagles-of-american-coinage-in-real-life-my-summer-trip-to-alaska-lots-of-photos
@USSID17
Wow, that is an uncanny similarity. Just when I had been convinced that last night's sighting was not an eagle.
One thing for sure is that yesterday's bird was not a mature bald eagle and most likely was not a hawk.
One point is somewhat confusing. Different sites claim that it is the hawk that has the curved beak while others say it is eagles.
I can add that the locale of both sightings (which was the same locale for both) is known for having eagles.
I thought your first few pictures looked like a vulture.
Taking a look at airplanenut's linked thread with a number of eagles does add credence to your suggestion. His pictured eagles have curved beaks and my photographed "Hawk" from the prior sighting has a curved beak as well.
On the other hand, last night's sighting does reflect a beak that is not curved.
I am not sure this helps a whole lot, but I did capture from some distance last night's bird prior to taking flight:
It is also possible that the bird in flight as photographed a week or two ago is a different species than the two birds perched on the tree. All three were seen at the same time which led to the assumption that they were all "birds of a feather gathered together."
All I know is I've got Heckel and Jeckel in my backyard. Peace Roy
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Turkey Vulture's yes - see spread wing tips? BUT - remember crows take souls to heaven - just remember......
"The Crow, several crows are depicted as psychopomps that carry the souls of the dead to the afterlife and guide them back to the mortal world to exact revenge on the people who killed them."
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
There are many different types of hawks in greatly different sizes. In the Winter we have ferruginous Hawks that are only a few inches shorter than a bald Eagle, which we have year round but not often. Other Hawks are smaller.
I do not think your pictures are of an eagle.
Interesting. In Japan there is a similar association. The linked article discusses other countries as well with similar mythology.
https://folklorethursday.com/legends/death-takes-wing-birds-folklore-death/
Here's a brown headed cowbird.
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
We have Bald Eagles here in the Catskills, I have seen them often. Not as many as the PNW though... I once saw over forty in a field at once - seems there was a mouse colony there. Also in the Catskills are the seasonal Turkey Buzzards... in silhouette they look much like an eagle. They arrive in the spring and leave in the fall. Cheers, RickO
davewessen's identification as "an immature eagle" has been confirmed as correct.
I encountered some "professional" bird watchers at the same location yesterday and showed them the photos of the perched large bird as above pictured. They immediately recognized it as an immature Bald Eagle and pulled up on their phone the following for comparison:
@davewessen