This afternoon a juvenile/immature Bald Eagle was seen from our house, circling over the dunes in Morro Bay.  It does not appear to be one of the two that I photographed on March 3 at Whale Rock Reservoir in Cayucos. The least blurry photo is now on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaarenp/

Before this bird appeared I was just getting ready to send out a thank you to those who responded to my request for help aging this species. Basically they all agreed that the immature plumages are extremely variable with young Bald Eagles and it is nearly impossible to age them with confidence during this time using plumage. It was also noted that there is a lot of variation that isn't always consistent with the guides/literature.  Banding at the nest site and subsequent photos to determine age are considered the most reliable.