Hokkaido Photo Tour Steller's Sea Eagle - American/Canadian Debut

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Saturday, January 29, 2022

By Japan Dreamscapes Photography Tours

One Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) has spent almost an entire year hunting far, far from home. One Steller’s Sea Eagle was recently spotted and photographed in the United States and Canada. Steller’s Sea Eagles are sub-regional endemic to the Kamchatka Peninsula, Eastern Russia, and Japan. Their home region has remained unchanged for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of years or three ice ages. The majority of Steller’s Sea Eagles migrate to Japan starting in autumn and remain in their winter home until late winter/early spring, then returning to Eastern Russia in the first weeks of March, but this date varies depending on the ice flows. The migration is not a day or two, closer to a month’s migration time back and forth. They are the perfect predators, just like the Vikings of ages past. There have been several theories as to the reasons why this Steller’s Sea Eagle has been spotted so far afield from its usual predatory domain. Initially, it was suggested that this raptor was simply a vagrant bird that kept heading east until reaching outlying Alaskan islands, ultimately reaching the mainland and moving southeast along the continent being spotted and photographed as far east as Nova Scotia. This is a simple, silly theory, and whoever came up with this theory is not a professional wildlife conservationist, more likely a reporter sensationalizing something they read about this raptor and making wild guesses. It’s clear they don’t know what they’re talking about. If vagrancy were a sufficient explanation, and a strong polar vortex with high winds pushed the Steller's sea eagles over to Alaska, there would be about six to a dozen Steller’s Sea Eagles, as they always travel in flocks/packs like wolves, they are the perfect predators. In cases where vagrancy was determined to be why the Steller’s Sea Eagle was in North America/Alaska, after 1 - 2 days, due to their internal magnetic compass, they returned to their usual habitat in the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. What seems more likely to account for this world traveling Steller’s sea eagle now in the USA is that this raptor got caught up in fishing lines, got injured, and stowed away on a fishing boat until it felt well enough to return to the air. On countless occasions, I have documented lone injured Steller’s Sea Eagles in fishing villages and close to ice fishermen getting free handouts, and they will not return to the flock because if they do so without being in peak health, they will be overpowered and further injured or killed. Another possibility is that after being injured in a battle with another Steller’s Sea Eagle or a White-tailed eagle, the Steller’s Sea Eagle was near a fishing boat heading for Alaska and took refuge. Steller's sea eagles recognize fishing boats and crew and will only get close to boats they know and sometimes get a free meal from the fishermen, but if a strange boat appears, they will back off. Maybe an American or Canadian fisherman took pity on the injured raptor and cared for it until it felt well enough to fly; by the time the Steller’s Sea Eagle returned to the wild, it’s possible that Steller’s Sea Eagle was on the Queen Charlotte Islands which are at the same latitude as the Kamchatka Peninsula. Hence, the magnetic compass kicked in, and the eagle flew south in search of its flock, but a small snag in that plan is that the Steller’s Sea Eagle didn’t realize that it was on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. It has continued searching for its home and pack as it has traveled across most of North America. Another logical theory is poachers. A live Steller’s Sea Eagle sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars, so a poacher could have absconded with a juvenile Steller’s and then tried to sell it on the black market. With c/19 persisting worldwide, however, the poachers were most likely unable to sell the eagle for a price they would accept and simply released it back into the wild somewhere in North America.

From a professional wildlife conservationist and pro photographer’s point of view, this Steller’s Sea Eagle needs to be tranquilized and x-rayed for broken bones or any other injuries. Once that’s done, a working theory of what brought this magnificent ice age relic to North America will become clearer. From the photos of the Steller’s I’ve seen, due to its size, I would say it's between 2 to 5 years old and male. Although incredibly resilient, this eagle is surely lonely and seeking a way back to Japan or the Kamchatka Peninsula so it can return to its home territories with its pack/flock.

During my annual Hokkaido photo tour wildlife expedition workshop, the Steller’s Sea Eagles are continually pursuing prey. They have tracked prey since the age of the dinosaurs and have not survived just one ice age but three and never needing to evolve. Steller's sea eagles have a reputation as one of the most fierce diurnal birds on Earth. Their plumage is blackish brown-black all over except on the shoulders, rump, tail, thighs, and forehead, which are white. Their HUGE razor-sharp hooked bill is yellow; when they feed, they do it with raw power. These eagles are huge, on average, the heaviest raptor on our planet, weighing up to and over 10 kg (22 pounds). They are also tall, measuring up to 94 cm (3 ft), sometimes even taller, with a huge wingspan of up to 250 cm (8 - 9 ft). Some research reported that due to their strength and HUGE wings, Steller’s sea eagles can carry prey up to 7 kg (15 pounds). This figure is calculated from the median weight of Steller’s Sea Eagles, so the larger, closer to 10 kg specimens could carry nearly 12 kg (26 pounds). Because the Steller’s Sea Eagle presents a potential safety threat, when the hunting is scarce on Hokkaido’s pack ice, the First Nations People of Hokkaido, the Ainu, for many generations have made sure that no pets or small children are left unattended at any time due to potential mishaps. Local Hokkaido farmers, fishermen, and residents also report opportunistic hunting by Steller’s Sea Eagles at varying times during the winter season throughout Hokkaido.

The Steller’s Sea Eagle, as mentioned above, is an ice age relic that has survived three ice ages. Part of the reason Steller’s Sea Eagles have never needed to evolve is that they are aggressive and built to hunt and have remained in the same region on our planet through the ages. In the winter landscapes of Hokkaido, Steller’s Sea Eagles seize any opportunity to feed. I have seen Steller’s Sea Eagles descend on prey faster than greased lightning. The average flying speed for a Steller’s Sea Eagle is between 30 to 50 kph (19 to 30 mph), but when diving to catch prey, Steller’s Sea Eagles have been clocked at speeds faster than 160 kph (about 100 mph). They also sometimes sit on ice-flows and snatch fish from the water with their HUGE wickedly hooked samurai katana sharp bills. Further assisting their hunting prowess are the spicules that cover their feet. These bumpy contours help the Steller’s Sea Eagles hold onto wriggling fish once they have been captured in the Steller’s Sea Eagles razor-sharp talons. The eagles also devour beached whale and seal carcasses that wash up on the Shiretoko Peninsula when the seas are exceedingly rough and choppy. Moreover, even though they are more than proficient hunters, they actively loot from other Steller’s Sea Eagles and other birds of prey on the pack ice like the White-tailed Eagle.

Photograph Steller’s Sea Eagles - The Perfect Predators in Hokkaido with JDS in 2024!

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