Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Coasts, rivers, and large lakes across most of North America. Huge three-toed track with a rear toe, often 6 to 8 inches.
What does a bald eagle look like?
Adults are dark with a white head and tail. Immatures are mottled brown.
What do bald eagle tracks look like?
A very large bird print with deep talon holes. One or two prints at a kill or a shore, not a long walking trail.
- Huge three-toed track with a rear toe, often 6 to 8 inches
- Long curved talon marks
- Usually on a sandbar or a muddy shore, not a walking trail through the woods
- White head and tail on adults if seen
- Whitewash and pellets under a roost tree
What does bald eagle poop look like?
Whitewash under a roost. Pellets of fur and fish bone below a perch are the better sign. Do not handle droppings. Several species carry parasites that stay in the soil around a latrine.
Where you find it
Coasts, rivers, and large lakes across most of North America. Typical places: wetland, woods. Year-round where the species lives. Tracks show best in mud, sand, and snow.
What to do next
- Watch from a distance
- Do not handle droppings
- If the animal is injured or inside a building, call a local wildlife officer
This page is a field guide, not a permit to approach wildlife. If an animal is injured, aggressive, or inside a house, call a local wildlife officer.
Animals it is confused with
- Great blue heron identification
- Wild turkey identification
- All animal identification pages
- Identify an animal from a photo, track, or description
What do eagle tracks look like?
A huge print with long talon marks, usually a few prints on a shore rather than a trail.
How to tell a bald eagle from similar animals
Use the track, the dropping, and the place together. One print is not enough.
- Great blue heron. A skinny X with a long rear toe. Tall gray-blue wading bird, S-curved neck, dagger bill.
- Wild turkey. A big three-toed print. Large dark ground bird, featherless head, bronze body.
Bald eagle field marks
- Huge three-toed track with a rear toe, often 6 to 8 inches
- Long curved talon marks
- Usually on a sandbar or a muddy shore, not a walking trail through the woods
- White head and tail on adults if seen
Where the sign shows up
Coasts, rivers, and large lakes across most of North America. Typical places: wetland, woods. Year-round where the species lives. Tracks show best in mud, sand, and snow.
A very large bird print with deep talon holes. One or two prints at a kill or a shore, not a long walking trail. Whitewash under a roost. Pellets of fur and fish bone below a perch are the better sign.
Common questions
What do eagle tracks look like?
A huge print with long talon marks, usually a few prints on a shore rather than a trail.