I've had a lot of trouble distinguishing juvenile bald eagles from mature golden eagles. I think I have them figured out. It takes approximately five years for bald eagles to lose all of the white on the rest of their body and turn fully white in the head and tail. They also have yellow eyes and the golden eagles have brown eyes. The bald eagles beaks turn solid yellow as they mature. I have tried to show different stages of the bald eagles and a big mature golden to compare. I'm no biologist just a bird lover. I could be wrong.
I thought this was a golden eagle but decided it is a juvenile bald eagle
A little more white in the head and tail
Almost mature.
A mature adult looking at his mate seen in later photos in flight.
Not sure if this is an older male, younger female or vice versa but they seemed to be in a mating ritual.
Bald eagles
This big golden eagle was sitting by the road near my house. Brown eyes and a dark beak are the main noticeable difference from the juvenile bald eagles.
This pair of goldens were flying around my house and as nature photography goes they were 800 feet up on this ridge by the time I got my camera.