Feather Outlook 2025
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma members 18 years old and older are eligible to receive bald and golden eagle feathers from the Grey Snow Eagle House. Members are eligible for 50 standard feathers per lifetime and as many plumes, body feathers, or damaged feathers as needed. The 50 standard feathers do not have to be picked up at the same time.
Applications can be printed off at eagles.iowanation.org/applications. Completed applications should be turned in at the ITO administration building where they will receive the Business Committee’s approvals. Once approved, the application will be sent to the GSEH and an appointment for pick up can be scheduled. Approved applications are good for 365 days after the approval date allowing tribal members to pick up feathers without the need to submit a new application for each appointment.
Feather terminology:
- Standard feathers – Eagle feathers that are greater than 7” and have minimal to no damage. These feathers are located in the cabinet drawers and count towards your 50.
- Damaged feathers – Eagle feathers that have moderate to severe damage. These feathers can have bends, missing quills, missing pieces of the feather, or be broken. These feathers are in a plastic tote that tribal members can sort through. These feathers do NOT count toward your 50.
- Plume bags – These are normal sized and smaller plumes that are placed into grab bags. These bags have an assortment of sizes and colors for individuals to pick up the bag as a whole. These feathers do NOT count toward your 50.
- Large golden plumes – These are very large plumes from golden eagles. These are located in a drawer for individuals to look at them individually and pick them out as individuals. Bald eagles do not make plumes this large. These feathers do NOT count toward your 50.
- Body feathers – These are feathers smaller than 7”. These feathers are placed into bags for individuals to pick up. These bags will have an assortment of feathers including the smallest of feathers (like on the chest of the eagle) up to small wing feathers. These feathers do NOT count toward your 50.
- Adult bald/golden eagle feathers-Feathers that are molted from eagles that are 5+ years old. The bald eagle’s feathers are solid white or brown. The golden eagle’s feathers are stripped, spotted, or solid none of which have any white.
- Juvenile bald/golden eagle feathers– Feathers that are molted from eagles <5 years old. Bald eagle feathers with this coloration are commonly referred to as “speckled” which are darker (more brown) in earlier years and lighter (more white) the closer to 5 years old. Golden eagle feathers with this coloration are commonly referred to as “black tip”. True black tips are only made one time during the eagle’s hatch year and the white will fill in with brown as the eagle approaches 5 years old.
| Standard Feather Type | Feather Availability Probability |
|---|---|
| Adult Bald Eagle-not straight | Very Likely |
| Adult Bald Eagle-straight white | Likely |
| Adult Golden Eagle- not straight | Very Likely |
| Adult Golden Eagle-straight | Likely |
| Juvenile Bald Eagle (speckled)- not straight | Likely |
| Juvenile Bald Eagle (speckled)-straight | Rare |
| Juvenile Golden Eagle (black tip)-not straight | NONE |
| Juvenile Golden Eagle (black tip)- straight | NONE |
| Plumes bags | Very Likely |
| Plumes-Large golden | Likely |
| Body feathers | Very Likely |
| Damaged feathers | Very Likely |
Caption: The likelihood the described feather coloration and shape will be available for pick-up on the following scale: None, Rare, Likely, Very Likely. Updated 5-7-25.
2025 Feather Molt Outlook:
The molt typically runs from May through October with the eagles molting their feathers in a specific pattern. As all of the resident eagles at the Grey Snow Eagle House are adults, we do not expect any juvenile bald or juvenile golden eagle feathers to come in during this year’s molt.
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