Golden eagles in California: Range, nesting and the law that fully protects them

Golden eagles live in California all year and occur throughout California except the middle of the Central Valley. Most of California's golden eagles stay year-round, and some migrate in for the winter, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). They hunt open country from sea level to about 11,500 feet, from coastal hills and oak woodland to deserts and high mountain slopes.

The golden eagle is a fully protected bird under California law, which means it may not be taken or possessed at any time apart from narrow exceptions such as research. It is not listed as endangered or threatened by the state or the federal government, but it is covered by the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. CDFW says golden eagle abundance in California is unknown.

This guide covers how to identify a golden eagle, where it lives in northern and southern California, how it hunts and nests, what it sounds like, how the law protects it and which birds look like it. It is part of our guide to the birds of California and our guide to birds of prey in California.

Golden eagle identification: A dark brown eagle with a golden nape and a 6- to 7-foot wingspan:

Adult golden eagles are dark brown with a golden sheen on the back of the head and neck. Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds gives their length as roughly 28 to 33 inches, their wingspan as about 6 to 7¼ feet and their weight as about 6½ to 13½ pounds. Their wings are broad like a red-tailed hawk's but longer. At a distance, the head looks small and the long tail extends well behind the body.

Young golden eagles have white patches at the base of the tail and in the wings for their first several years. In flight, golden eagles soar or glide with the wings raised in a slight V and the long wingtip feathers spread. They are usually seen alone or in pairs.

Golden eagle at a glance: Size, season and status in California

Sources: CBRC checklist (September 8, 2026); CDFW Golden Eagles in California; CDFW CWHR account B126; All About Birds.

Golden eagles in California: Year-round residents everywhere except the middle of the Central Valley:

CDFW's California Wildlife Habitat Relationships account describes the golden eagle as an uncommon permanent resident and migrant throughout California, except in the center of the Central Valley. Its typical country is rolling foothills, mountains, sage-juniper flats and desert. The current CDFW species page adds forests, canyons, shrublands, grasslands and oak woodland.

Most birds stay put. Those that live in California all year may move downslope for the winter or upslope after the breeding season, and some golden eagles from elsewhere migrate into the state for the winter, CDFW says.

Golden eagles in northern and southern California: Found in both, perhaps more common in the south

Golden eagles live in both halves of California. The CWHR account says the species is "perhaps more common in southern California than in north." In both regions it uses the same kinds of country: rolling foothills, mountains, open slopes and arid plateaus cut by canyons, with cliffs and rock outcrops.

Golden eagle habitat, diet and nesting in California: Cliff nests and a diet of rabbits, hares and rodents:

Golden eagles need open ground to hunt: grassland, desert, savanna and young forest or shrubland. The main prey are rabbits, hares and rodents, CDFW says, and the eagles also take other mammals, birds and reptiles. Carrion is part of the diet too, especially in winter. The CWHR account says golden eagles search for prey by soaring roughly 100 to 300 feet above the ground or by flying low over it, and pairs often hunt together. They sometimes steal food from other predators and occasionally take domestic calves and lambs.

The breeding season runs from late January through August. Golden eagles nest on cliffs of all heights and in large trees in open country, favoring rugged land with canyons and escarpments. The nest is a large platform of sticks, twigs and greenery that can reach about 10 feet across and 3 feet high, and pairs keep alternate nests and reuse old ones. The female lays one to three eggs, usually two, between early February and mid-May. The CWHR account gives incubation as 43 to 45 days and the nestling period as usually 65 to 70 days. Pairs may abandon a nest early in incubation if people disturb them.

CDFW lists the threats to golden eagles as loss of foraging areas and nesting habitat, pesticide poisoning, lead poisoning and collisions with structures such as wind turbines. Its Raptors of California page links to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's eagle take permits for wind energy projects.

Golden eagle calls and sounds: Rarely heard, high, weak whistles:

Golden eagles do not call often. All About Birds describes their occasional calls as high, weak and whistled. They are heard most in the breeding season, when the high-pitched begging calls of nestlings can carry a mile or more and adults give short notes as they bring food to the nest. The All About Birds golden eagle sounds page includes a recording made in California.

Golden eagle legal status in California: Fully protected but never listed as endangered:

The golden eagle is one of the birds named in Fish and Game Code section 3511, the fully protected birds that may not be taken or possessed at any time except in narrow cases such as scientific research. The fully protected statute was California's first effort, in the 1960s, to protect rare animals, before any endangered species act existed. CDFW's July 2026 list of listed animals notes that most species on those early lists were later listed as endangered or threatened. The golden eagle is one of the few exceptions, along with the white-tailed kite, trumpeter swan, northern elephant seal and ringtail. CDFW still tracks it in the California Natural Diversity Database.

As a bird of prey, the golden eagle is also covered by section 3503.5, which makes it unlawful to take, possess or destroy any bird of prey or its nest or eggs except as the code allows. Section 3513 protects every bird on the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act list, which includes the golden eagle. Federally, it is covered by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which prohibits killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or their eggs, CDFW says.

CDFW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service built a California and Nevada golden eagle database, now managed as part of the California Natural Diversity Database, and the public can submit sightings through CDFW. The two agencies and the Nevada Department of Wildlife set up a golden eagle working group in 2011.

The golden eagle is not California's state bird. Government Code section 423 has named the California valley quail the official state bird since 1943.

Similar species to the golden eagle in California: Bald eagles, condors, vultures and ferruginous hawks:

The young bald eagle is the closest look-alike. It is brown like a golden eagle but blotched with white across the body and wings, while a young golden eagle shows tidy white patches in the wings and at the base of the tail. Bald eagles also soar on flat wings, All About Birds says, and they stay mostly near water.

The California condor shares some of the golden eagle's range, and the CWHR account notes the two may compete for carrion. The condor is much bigger. Its wings spread more than nine feet, and it can weigh more than 20 pounds, according to CDFW. The turkey vulture is smaller than an eagle, with a bare head that is red in adults, two-toned underwings and a rocking, teetering flight, All About Birds says.

The dark form of the ferruginous hawk, which CDFW's habitat account describes as a winter resident and migrant in California, is deep rufous-brown with feathered legs. It is smaller than a golden eagle and shows white flight feathers and a pale tail from below, according to All About Birds.

Golden eagles in California: A widespread eagle with unknown numbers:

Golden eagles in California range over nearly the whole state, from coastal hills to the desert and high mountains, and most live here year-round. State law gives the golden eagle its strongest protection as a fully protected bird, and federal law adds the Eagle Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. CDFW says little is known about the population trend and that Breeding Bird Survey data show no strong trend in California. To fill that gap, CDFW collects golden eagle observations from biologists and the public in its golden eagle database.