During the annual Japan Dreamscapes Hokkaido birding photography workshop tour, our workshop leaders find themselves in awe each year when they first bring The Steller’s Sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) into focus.  The Steller’s sea eagles are such extremely rare and formidable birds of prey, that they have been around since the day of the dinosaurs, representing near evolutionary perfection, and 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.  Part of their evolutionary success may be their narrowly defined habitat and hunting grounds.   For the better part of the year, the Steller’s sea eagles usually call northeastern Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula their home, which are their breeding grounds where they mainly feed on trout and salmon.  From early winter Steller’s Sea eagles venture down to slightly warmer climes of Hokkaido, Japan, so if a Steller’s photo op is what you’re after, you’ll need to make the pilgrimage to Hokkaido to make your dinosaur raptor dream a reality, and as many professional birding photographers know, a local or well-experienced Hokkaido workshop leader or guide is a necessity.  

The Steller’s raptors have a razor sharp bill, that is wickedly hooked huge and yellow, the largest of all eagles.  The Steller’s Sea 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 massive wingspan of up to 250 cm (8 – 9 ft).  Our Hokkaido photo workshop leader has personally photographed a Steller’s Sea Eagle he swears had a wingspan eclipsing 10 ft that he witnessed from his chartered helicopter while on assignment capturing landscape shots between Hokkaido and Russia.  The Steller’s prefer the taste of sweet trout, salmon or other fish but will eat sea lions or just about any species when fishing is slow.  These birds have even been known to attack cranes, swans, and often can be seen fighting with the fourth largest raptor on our planet, the White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).  On only a few occasions, our workshop leaders have been so close, just a few feet away, to a feasting Steller’s Sea eagle that the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and set him on edge, a mix of adrenaline and fully justified apprehension as they locked eyes. The workshop leader fully believes the Steller’s sea eagle was not impressed with him invading it’s territory, as it let out a shriek he had never heard from them, and then this huge raptor took off and buzzed the zodiac boat, our group was so close to the raptor he had to put down my camera with a super telephoto lens, and he picked up his landscape camera with a 24-105mm lens to get the shots.  For a moment he thought he could have been its next prey as a dinosaur contemporary chowing down on me, such as the Quetzalcoatlus northropi surely would have.  It was the raptor birding experience of a lifetime, one that he hopes and know will come again on the annual Hokkaido Photography Tour.

But how do these ice age relics, the Steller’s Sea eagles match up to another giant prehistoric raptor, the largest animal ever to have taken to the air, Quetzalcoatlus northropi?  The Quetzalcoatlus northropi had a wingspan of approximately 11 meters (36 ft), and in order to get airborne it needed to leap 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) into the air to use its powerful flaps to pull it into the sky.  The fossil record places them within the Cretaceous Period (146 - 65 million years ago) with a hunting territory that encompassed what is now Texas.  During the Cretaceous Period, even though the landmasses of the earth looked much different than they do now, the two species would have been on opposite sides of the earth, so even if they were contemporaries, they would have most likely never have run into each other, but there have been cases of America’s National bird, the Bald Eagle being sighted in Hokkaido as well as more than a few vagrant Steller’s Sea Eagles venturing down from Alaska, across Canada, and into the continental United States, so although unlikely, the Quetzalcoatlus northropi may have shared airspace with a Cretaceous Period version of the Steller’s Sea Eagle.

One thing that sets these two raptors apart is their feeding styles and flight patterns.  Researchers have referred to the Quetzalcoatlus northropi’s beak as similar to chopsticks, so their hunting style would resemble that of a heron, extracting fish or whatever prey was in its sights and gulping them down whole.  Our workshop leaders have spent their share of time on Hokkaido’s pack ice on the deck of reserved charter ships or in zodiac boats, and they have witnessed the pure viciousness of Steller’s Sea Eagles as they tear through the carcass of a captured fish with more skill than any sushi chef in Japan!  And they have seen Steller’s Sea Eagles track prey and turn on a dime to zero in on a fish among the pack ice and swoop down with pinpoint precision to claim their fishy prize.  Because of the Quetzalcoatlus northropi’s size, it flew more like a condor or vulture, using its head to help complete turns, and as for landing, researchers suggest it landed like an airplane, slowing until it was almost stock still in the air before touching down.  The Steller’s Sea Eagles style of predation does not allow for this type of lackadaisical approach.  Its viciousness has helped it survive for several ice ages.

Considering all we've learned about both raptors, the Quetzalcoatlus northropi was certainly a formidable specimen, but let us ask you this, which of the two avian predators is still hunting?