Hi!
I found this feather the other day on a walk, and I was wondering if someone could help me ID it. I have several Canadian Goose feathers, and while this one looks similar, it has some distinctive differences. It has a small white patch at the base of the feather, that none of my goose feathers have, the vein on the back is darker, and the groove on the backside is shallow (like my hawk feathers), and not a deep groove like my goose and turkey feathers. In one photo, you can see that it doesn’t have that double inner layer like the goose feather it’s next too, but I’m not sure if that’s just because it’s from a different location on the wing. It’s also 15” long, and has whitish blotches near the end of the tip. Is this just a funky looking (gigantic) goose feather, or possibly an eagle or vulture? Thanks!!
(Whitish areas)
(Backside)
We recommend using the Feather Atlas to help you with feather ID.
As always after you take your photos leave the feathers where you found them due to laws prohibiting the collection of most wild bird feathers.
Lucky find. These might be Bald Eagle feathers. How flimsy are these feathers? If they're stiff they could be a wing feathers. Bald Eagle feathers can be very long especially on the wing. Some wing feathers can be 16-22 inches in total length! This feather could also be a tail feather. It might be a juvenile Bald Eagle's tail feather who hasn't grown the white tail yet. Most eagle feathers are plain dark gray or gray-brown, sometimes with a very small whitish patch at the base, which I would say is pretty accurate with the feather you have shown.
(Whitish areas)
(Backside)
