Wet & Injured - Juvie Bald Eagle or Golden Eagle ?

In early May I was photographing Bald Eagles along a creek near Whitehorse, Yukon. As I was leaving I noticed another eagle in the distance, across the creek on an ice patch. It was so far off I couldn't tell much about it. The way it was fanning its feathers I figured it was wet, maybe from diving for its lunch. Using the car as my "tripod" I took some shots.

Today I was reviewing the images and noticed this bird had a head injury. Overhead there are numerous sparring matches so maybe this one was injured and fell into the creek. Or maybe it injured itself going into or out of the creek.

I'm not sure whether it is a juvenile bald eagle or a golden eagle. The area is busy with bald eagles (I'll post my shots soon) and I'm leaning towards thinking it is a juvenile bald eagle. Would like to hear others' thoughts!

Posted here in the sequence I shot the images ... about 100% crops.
Sorry about the "noise", it was an overcast & very gray day.

ONE - the head injury

Very good shots for a heavy crop and distance.

I agree that is most likely a juvie bald eagle given the the information you have.

Nice shots!

Definitely looks like a juvenile Bald Eagle to me.

I'm not seeing the injury though.

Images one & two show an open wound on the left backside of the eagle's head. No feathers on the spot ... very much so a "bald" eagle.

Another vote for juv. Bald Eagle

100% a juvenile bald eagle. One very distinct characteristic that you can see in these photos is the way the feathers grow on the legs - bald eagles have no feather from mid-tarsus to their ankles (bare shins), while golden eagles have feathers that grow all the way down and stick a little bit between their toes! Also the mottled plumage is quite distinct for jBAEA, whereas GOEA are typically a lot more dark all over, with just a touch of white on two patches on the underside of their wings and the base of their tail.

As for the injury, the "wound" in #1 and 2 show the downy underfeathers to my eye, but no actual wound. The down could be exposed because of a squabble or because that eagle looks SOAKED! If there was a serious wound, the down itself should be usually clumped and matted with blood. Overall feather condition is pretty bad though, looks like most of the tertiaries on the right wing are missing (photo 2, big gap next to the body), and lots of tips broken all over. So if not seriously injured, that bird has still been having a bit of a rough time.

Thanx for the education, sheawyatt! Good to know this info. Will help me in future.

I see you're from Victoria ... we lived at Shawnigan Lake until 2010, but now enjoying full-time living in Yukon.

You're welcome! I worked at the raptor centre in Duncan for nearly 4 years so lots of hands on time with healthy and injured BAEA & GOEA. Once you get the hang of it you don't even have to think when it comes to IDs, you just know with a glance, although it helps to let people know how you come to your conclusion!

I am dying to come explore the Yukon, someday soon I hope!