Pack ice is a mainstay for my annual Hokkaido Photography workshops because some of the fiercest diurnal predators on the earth, Steller's Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus), use the pack-ice as a platform for their hunting grounds. The winter of 2022-2023 has been an unusually cold one. It's almost April; Spring is in the air, cherry blossoms are blooming in Central Japan, and I will soon embark on my annual cherry blossom photo tour. But it is still winter in Hokkaido, and the pack-ice and the majority of Steller's Sea Eagles are still in the winter wonderland on Japan's north island. In the coming days, the winds will be kind and fair, and the pack ice off Hokkaido's Pacific coastline will still be in peak condition, so there will be plenty of raptors on the pack ice. It's an unusual year; pack-ice is usually thawed by now.

For over 20 years, I have been leading Hokkaido photography tours in summer, autumn, and winter. My favorite time of the year for birding is in winter when the Steller's Sea Eagle migrates to Japan from the Sea of Okhotsk, where they breed and reside from spring to early winter; then, when it gets cold, they take about a month to migrate to Hokkaido, Japan. During migration, some raptors wait for the pack-ice to form and ride it, while some take the land route, arriving earlier. There is nothing like an up-close and personal encounter with the magnificent Steller's Sea Eagle on pack-ice; the Steller's Sea Eagles, in my opinion, are best photographed at eye level in Zodiac boats, a genuinely a fantastic and a must once lifetime experience in my opinion. But you have to have an experienced local crew, as the weather is not always favorable for Zodiacs. In the coming days, a window will open with fair winds and calm seas for Steller's sea eagle photography from zodiac boats. I would recommend gathering your camera gear and heading toward the Pacific coastline of Hokkaido in search of that once-in-a-lifetime experience with The Steller's sea eagle; they are the champion of Raptors, glacial relics that have survived not just one ice age "but several ice ages." Somehow they seem immune to the passage of time. They are such extremely rare and formidable birds of prey that they have been around since the day of the dinosaurs, representing near evolutionary perfection. With its deep, piercing voice ra-ra-ra-raurau, those who have been in their presence "in the wild" have heard the echoes of the Steller's dinosaur legacy.

 If you'd prefer more safety and creature comforts, then I would suggest a chartered vessel.