I am trying to do my first lifesize Bald Eagle re-creation and can't figure out what legal bird feather you can use to simulate there primaries. I have the book by Jim Day and Frank Newmeyer and they use a set of goose wings to do the Eagle, but that can't be anywhere near a lifesize Eagle. I have not been to a competition yet to see the re-creations in person and was hoping someone who has seen them or done them would answer this question Thank you.
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Ok not being a smart A$$ but why would two top notch guys say this DUH could it be that a goose wing can spread well over 6 feet.
A goose wing is the closest leagal way of getting it close to the size of such a bird. And since you don't don't know the lenght of a bald eagle either you should look it up first or even buy a bird book. They usually have all that info in them.
I've got a little experience on eagles myself and Mike is absolutely right. The largest Canada you'll find is hard pressed to get 6 feet of wingspan, while that's about a foot short of a mature bald eagle. The wingspan is HUGE. So huge, in fact that the wings must be folded up in stages and will protrude in front and back of the bird.
Mike, these reproductions just never look lifelike in comparison to the real deal. The current issue of Breakthrough is a good example. Look at that recreation. The tail is certainly stunted and the wings make the head look as if it's oversized. Sorry, but the eagle has been revered for ages just because NOTHING else comes close to it in magnificance. Lockheed put out a beautiful poster some years back that has a magnificent bald eagle against an opaque setting with the following words gilded below it: "Eagles don't flock; you have to find them one at a time." Anything else is just a poor substitute.
Those goose-wing eagles look fake and ridiculous to me, and I DID see one up close at the WTC. They don't even come CLOSE to the size and shape of a real eagle.
Turkey feathers are your best bet, but you will need to find solid colored ones. (You can't hide the bars on wild turkey feathers.)
I had the good fortune recently of taking in a mature bald eagle. Because this bird is to be used in native American rituals it was completely disassembled and all tail and flight feathers were separated and cleaned individually.
I traced around all of the wingfeathers and tailfeathers so I now have lifesized patterns. I also made some crude casts of the intact wings with all feathers and skin removed. In addition, I cast the feet and made a sculpture/cast of the entire body with wings and legs attached. At that point I ran out of time and quit fooling with it.
Just for fun, I decided to try and re-create the largest primary, which I believe was about 16" long and almost 3" wide. (It's at the shop or I'd measure it.) It took 3 turkey primaries and secondaries to do it. I don't have time to persue it any farther right now, but I was satisfied that it COULD be done, and would be very convincing if the wings are only open partway. If they are fully open I think the splices that were needed to make the feathers wider might show. If the wings are mostly closed the width doesn't matter, and 2 feathers would be sufficient to achieve the length.
On a positive note, only some of the primaries are large enough to need more than 1 turkey feather. The secondaries are not a problem since a turkey's secondaries are big enough.
From the "wrist" to the "elbow" this eagle's wingbones measure about 10 1/2". A goose comes nowhere close to that. The smaller covert feathers of a goose look fairly close, but to get the wing to full size you would need 2 geese. I don't have enough experience with mute swans to know if they can be used or not, but they MIGHT work for the coverts.
Anyway, making a true-proportioned eagle recreation is going to take more work than just slapping some goose wings on an eagle form. In addition, their heads aren't white! The feathers are beige with grey down and they don't look white at all up close. Their tails aren't really white either - more of an ivory color.
If you manage to pull off a convincing eagle re-creation, you will have done something to be very proud of!
Nancy M.
That I will , as I said they are the one of the biggest legal wing span that most of can get LOL. I didn't say it was a full mature bird but come on that's pretty close to the bird.
Sure I'm not perfect but it's a recreation and that's the best we can do with out using the real thing.
Any thanks for making me eat crow you guys glad you can do it better that's why I like fish LOL.
Maybe your bird wasn't a full adult. The ones I've had are about as white as white can get. In fact, the one I had lost a few feathers and I picked them up and bagged them (as required by the permit to return with the mount) and up beside snow goose feathers, I'd have been hard pressed to find the difference.
I work third shift and just got a chance to read any responses to my eagle primary question. I even posted it on the beginner section (because it's my first re-creation) so I wouldn't get the wise answers some give. But low and behold one of the best, so they say "fish" taxidermists tries to make what he thought was a beginner look stupid. Frank if you don't know anything at all about the measurements of a Bald Eagle compared to a Goose why would you even atempt to give a knowledgeable answer? You didn't eat enough crow in my opinion. I am also learning how to paint fiberglass fish to put with my Bald Eagles and whenever I see you answer a fish painting question I will be suspect. Thankyou George and Nancy for responding with knowledge and Frank, Jim Day and Frank Newmeyer have some swamp land. Well you know the rest. Baldy,DUH no Mike Randle
I wouldn't go so far as to say they can't be white - just that I have never seen one that was. Oddly enough, I was working on a large Canada goose today and I noticed two things that sort of related to eagles: One, the "white" cheek stripe was exactly the same shade as the eagle's head - in other words, it looks white but it really isn't. Admittedly, I have seen some geese that came awfully close to being white, so I suppose eagles could too. I did notice that the newer feathers are a shade or two darker than the older ones.
Two: The skinned out wing covert section of the eagle's wing, even minus all primaries and secondaries, was only shy by about 6" of equaling the length of the entire goose wing. (About a 10-11 lb. goose)
BTW, I checked and the eagle feather I re-created is 18" long (with the quill) and 3" wide.
Nancy M.
I also noticed the tail on the Breakthrough recreation was jammed
against the wings. I am sure all of you already know that A young
bald eagle does not have A white head or tail. I have seen lots
of them where the head and tail had mottled appearence.
And that's why I questioned Nancy. Eagles don't turn white until sexually mature, usually around 5 years. But during that first two years of "adolescence", there are mottled feathers that tend to be the shades of gray Nancy mentioned. I did a 6 year old bird that LOOKED white at a distance but in hand, the feathers were almost dirty looking. Nancy is right about the Canada's. I've never seen a really white throat patch on even the oldest of birds.
Nancy, I'm glad you measured that feather. Obviously, I don't keep any of the "extras" that I get, but I know they certainly are long feathers. Interestingly enough, I had a guy call me and tell me that a golden eagle had flown into power lines over his wheat field and fallen into the grain. I called the USFW lady I deal with and was assured a temporary permit if I could retrieve it. I went out and was a little surprised to find 2 immature bald eagles nearby so I went looking for the third. I found "it" and had to laugh. Though it did LOOK like an eagle laying crumpled in the grain, it ended up being a turkey vulture. It's mating season and I guess two of the males were vieing for their sweethearts attention when one got careless or was chased into the wire. But I was surprised that, at hand, the bird did strongly resemble an eagle, though somewhat darker. They aren't really black at all. (BTW, did you know vultures nest ON THE GROUND? I didn't, but I do now.)
I climbed up a cliffside to look at a vulture's nest. I had been watching the vultures come and go from the same point for about an hour so I had the spot pinpointed. It was an ... interesting ... adventure. (understatement!) The nest was on the ground behind a large rock that was leaning against another large rock near the top of the cliff. There was one egg which appeared to be a very pale blue in color. I didn't linger around and climbed back down ASAP.
Mistake!
The next day I was so sore I could barely walk! My knees kept trying to bend backwards so I was not very mobile at all, even when I tried really hard not to walk funny. My co-workers found the whole thing very amusing. I'm still glad I did it, though.
'Wonder if the Alaska/Pacific northwest eagles are a different shade of color than the eastern ones? I think they are supposed to be a smidgen larger, but I have never heard color mentioned. I would swear this bird is an adult. From a few feet away it is your "classic" example of a bald eagle. It only looks off-white when examined closely.
The last one I did weighed 14 lbs. (Thanks to the spawned-out salmon it had been feasting on .... hands-down winner of the "fattest bird I've ever seen" contest!) and had a wingspan of almost 8ft. This current eagle is much smaller, w/approx. a 7ft. span. Both had the same color of head feathers, though.
I sure wish I had thought to measure the feathers on that big one!
Nancy M.
I got 8 feet 2 inches, but I probably hyperextended it's armpits. Can't answer about the species variations from coast to coast however. Good question.
Nancy,
I am doing a bronze eagle and very interested in the tracings and casts that you made of that large eagle. Is there any possibility of obtaining copies of the tracings and perhaps seeing the wing castings some time.
Thanks,
Mark Byrd
Dallas, TX