Among the numerous raptors, birds, and other wildlife I spot and photograph during my Hokkaido Wildlife Birding photo workshop tour is the annual interloper, the Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is one of the most sought after.  The Steller’s Sea Eagle is the heaviest and one of the most fierce raptors on our planet; their plumage is blackish brown-black all over except on the shoulders, rump, tail, thighs, and forehead, which are white. These raptors have a razor-sharp, wickedly hooked huge yellow bill that is the largest of all eagles. They prefer the taste of sweet trout, salmon, or other fish but will eat sea lions or just about any land species when fishing is slow, but being opportunistic hunters, they sometimes engage in Kleptoparasitism, tearing away a prey that has already been claimed.  I have seen several heated exchanges of barbs and slashes from the aforementioned razor sharp beaks and the keen talons of Steller’s Sea Eagles and White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) on the pack ice or even soaring meters above it.

Young human children and house pets such as dogs and cats are carefully watched when venturing out on their own when the Steller’s Sea Eagle’s food supply becomes scarce. There are even fables of children going missing during these periods due to insufficient safety protocols being followed. It’s far too common that cats, dogs, and some young livestock and even deer go missing when there’s foul weather.  These raptors have even been known to attack the Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki), the Red-Crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis), Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) and are always seen in conflict with the fourth largest raptor on our planet, the White-tailed eagle, that hold their own against these larger raptors.  As soon as prey becomes the eagles’ primary focus, or an eagle spies another catching a fish, a rodent, a rabbit, or any form of edible prey, their raptor instinct comes alive, and open combat begins. The successful hunters immediately try to land and devour their prey, but on many occasions, they take to the air to defend their catch while others seek higher elevations to start their divebombing or a sneak attack from below or a blind spot in the hunter’s line of sight in order to strip the prize away, the Kleptoparasitism I mentioned before. This is why one of the main events on my Hokkaido Photo Workshop/Tour takes place from the deck of a ship photographing the Steller’s Sea Eagle and the White-tailed Eagles, or for the adventurous spirits, from a Zodiac boat.