My annual Hokkaido wildlife birding photo tour is a little more than a month away, and I’ve been spending all the time I can planning for the upcoming workshop.  My pro-support team and I leave nothing to chance, and every detail is gone over with a fine-tooth comb. We triple check everything from participant's special needs such as food allergies, lodging preferences, as well as any questions regarding camera equipment.  As for the routes themselves, I eagerly consult weather charts and wildlife feeding routes/locations, which change by the weather and by the day of the week.  We know the situation in the wild for bird spotting such as the Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Shima Enaga (Aegithalos caudatus), The Red-Crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), The glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), The Eurasian nuthatch  (Sitta europaea), The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), The great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), The Japanese Pygmy woodpecker or (Yungipicus kizuki) as well as other wildlife. 

Of particular interest for the upcoming Hokkaido birding wildlife photography adventure, the Steller’s Sea Eagle is a species that inhabits Japan about six months a year.  The Steller's Sea Eagle is acclimated to sub-arctic temperatures, so climate change is having an impact on their access to rich fishing grounds.  In the next 50 to 100 years, the Steller’s Sea Eagle may not migrate to Japan due to warming temperatures and no pack-ice, which triggers their migration to Japan from the Kamchatka Peninsula; they are now an internationally protected species, so when joining a Blain Harasymiw Hokkaido Photo Tour, you will see and photograph hundred's of Steller’s Sea Eagles on the pack ice enjoying life as they have for hundreds of thousands of years as they did during the age of the dinosaurs. Japan is abundantly rich in avifauna, and it is among the top spots on our planet for birding and birding photography, and the best opportunity for an up-close and personal encounter with the Steller’s Sea Eagle.