The Golden Eagle occurs worldwide across the boreal regions of the globe. In North America, it breeds from Alaska eastward across the Canadian arctic to northern Labrador, but is absent from most of Keewatin and the arctic archipelago. In the west, it occurs south to Baja and northern Mexico, including all of the western states, east to about 103 degrees of longitude. In eastern North America, it breeds sparsely south to northern New York state, but is absent as a breeder in the Canadian maritime provinces and south throughout the eastern United States.
Withdrawal from the northern breeding areas is common during the winter. Wintering birds can be found primarily from British Columbia and Alberta south throughout the western breeding range. Birds are also found in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec, but wintering populations become scarce or irregular east of the 100th meridian and south of Canada.
Year-round, birds can be found in extreme southern Alaska and presumably, these are non-migratory. Birds can be found year-round throughout the breeding range south of about 55 degrees in the western interior and 50 degrees latitude in the east. Numbers increase in the southern areas as the resident birds are joined by migrants from the northern breeding areas of Alaska and the Territories.
Depending upon the authority, from five to eight subspecies exist. Only one occurs in North America, namely A. c. canadensis.
MIGRATION
The Arctic, and at least some of the boreal breeding population, is highly migratory, leaving the colder northern regions in the fall. It has been postulated that these migrants "leapfrog" over resident birds at mid-latitudes as they make their way to more southern wintering grounds. Indeed, high elevation migrants moving in large numbers along the western mountain ridges give the impression that they are overflying any lower elevation birds that may be present at the same latitudes at the same time. Banding information from southern nest sites provides evidence that as long as seven years after being banded as nestlings, birds were still within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the nest site, and quite likely had not engaged in any significant migratory activities in the intervening period. Coastal birds in southern Alaska and the Aleutians are likely resident. South of the birds that migrate some distance, there may be a zone across Canada where birds move smaller distances to adjust to essentially local opportunities, but they are not moving hundreds of miles or more. Birds that breed in the hot, arid southern states, appear to move up into cooler alpine conditions after nesting.
Northern breeders are enroute south out of Alaska and the eastern arctic by early September. Migrants pass the 49th parallel along the ridges of the Rocky Mountains in large numbers between mid September and the end of October. Peak movements through the Great Lakes area are from late October through mid November, but numbers are dramatically less than in the west. Fall seasonal totals for all of the hawk watching sites in the Great Lakes area may be about 300 birds, whereas in southern Alberta, at one site alone, 4,600 Golden Eagles passed during the fall of 1993. At the Bridger Mountains site, some 300 miles southeast along the Rocky Mountain chain in Montana, some 1,700 eagles passed during the same time period. Migration routes along the Appalachian Mountains are quite well known, but again, the numbers are typically 300 to 500 birds per year through the northern Appalachians and less than 100 through the southern Appalachians.
In the mountains of the United States southwest, seasonal fall migration totals are again, dramatically less than counts farther north in the Rocky Mountains, suggesting that large numbers of birds may be dropping off at wintering sites before reaching the southwestern regions. Movements west of the cordillera in California are similarly light. Thus, the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains is a major fall migration route with Mount Lorette near Banff, Alberta and the Bridger Mountains near Bozeman, Montana being two noteworthy locations to see large numbers of Golden Eagles.
Northbound spring movement from the wintering grounds starts in late February or March. In northern Montana, peak movements are during March and a similar pattern is noted for southern Alberta. Movements through the northern Appalachians and Great Lakes probably peak during the latter part of March into April. Many birds are back at northern breeding sites by late March or early April, yet some birds may not have left wintering grounds before mid-latitude birds are on nests. As with the fall migration, the total number of birds passing the major migration spots is small in comparison with western totals. Spring numbers appear to be even less in the east than fall numbers, with regional totals of much less than 100 birds at major sites. Contrast again the Mount Lorette, Alberta site with nearly 4,200 eagles passing during the spring of 1993 and Roger's Pass, Montana showing counts of 900 to 1,600 birds each spring. The same general flight corridors across North America are used during both the spring and fall migration, but specific locations may be favored during one season over another.
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