Posted on 12/22/2021 6:43:55 AM PST by Red Badger
(David Ennis/Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife) NATURE Spectacularly Rare, Enormous Eagle Shows Up in North America, 5,000 Miles From Home FIONA MACDONALD22 DECEMBER 2021 Bird watchers in Massachusetts have been given an early Christmas present in the form of an incredibly rare sighting – a Steller's sea eagle, which is native to Asia almost 8,000 km (5,000 miles) away.
The large sea eagles are native to the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia, and also seen in Japan, China, and Korea. There are estimated to be only around 5,000 individuals left, including this one, which has somehow made its way to the Taunton river in Massachusetts.
Steller's sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) are among the heaviest eagles on the planet, weighing 5 to 9 kg (11 to 20 pounds) and with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters (8 feet).
They're pretty easy to identify with their Gonzo-like bright orange beak, and distinctive white-edged wings.
The coolest part is that this bird is likely the same individual that was spotted last month flying around eastern Canada; it's also been sighted as far north as Alaska, dating back to the summer of 2020, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
There's also been a sighting of a Steller's sea eagle in Texas, but its identifying marks weren't photographed so we can't be certain if it was the same individual.
"It's almost as far away from your origin as you can be," Andrew Farnsworth, a senior researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology told the New York Times back in November. "It's mind-boggling."
Steller's sea eagles are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
StellerSeaEagleA Steller's sea eagle photographed in Korea. (Lim Yangmook/Wikimedia, public domain)
Birders have been able to identify it by the white markings on its wings – and we think it's safe to say they're pretty excited about its appearance near local rivers and coastlines, where it's likely hunting for salmon.
Nick Lund, advocacy and outreach coordinator for Maine Audubon, described sighting the bird over on his blog The Birdist.
"An absolute dream to be all of a sudden standing in this random park in southern Massachusetts looking at a wild, rare Russian monster," he wrote.
Interestingly, Lund spotted the Steller's eagle alongside local bald eagles, which look pretty tiny in comparison.
Look how much larger it is than the Bald Eagles just above it @MarionRenault pic.twitter.com/a21K77T3cu
— The Birdist (@TheBirdist) December 20, 2021 So how did this majestic creature end up so far from home? It's not unheard of for birds to stray from their homeland, a phenomenon known as vagrancy.
Sometimes it's environmental factors such as climate change or habitat loss that push them out of their natural range. But sometimes it's just an internal navigation failure.
With this individual now having strayed for so long, Alex Lees, a conservation biologist at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK told NPR that it's unlikely it'll return home.
"It may be doomed to perpetually wander in search of a member of its own species, remaining in suitable areas for months perhaps, but the urge to wander to find a mate may drive it to keep moving," Lees told NPR.
"It is still possible that this individual may find its way back, but the longer it stays the less likely this seems."
That might sound lonely right before Christmas, but Lees and colleagues just published a paper in Current Biology sharing evidence that some vagrant birds may actually be pioneers of new habitats, setting up new migratory routes for their species.
For now, we'd like to imagine this noble-looking bird isn't lost. It's just looking for a new place to call home.
Vince: How long did you|actually live in Guatemala?
Sheldon: I was in the jungle, the bush, we called it...for approximately nine months.
Vince: Nine months? My God, that really must have been something.
Sheldon: It was unbelievable. I saw things...They have tsetse flies down there the size of eagles.
Sheldon: Really.
Vince: In the evening, I would stand in front of my hut and watch in horror...
...as these giant flies would pick children off the ground and carry them away. Oh, it was an incredible sight. Peasants screaming...chasing these flies down the road, waving brooms. You can imagine|the pathetic quality of this.
Waving these crudely fashioned brooms at these enormous flies...as they carried their children off|to almost certain death.
Sheldon: Oh, my, that is just|the most horrible thing. You’re sure these are flies you’re talking about?
Vince: Flies. Natives had a name for them. Jos Grecos de Muertos.
“Flamenco dancers of death.” These enormous flies flapping slowly away into the sunset. Small brown babies clutched in their beaks.
Sheldon: Beaks? Flies with beaks?
On another note the Mrs. and I saw a Golden Eagle about 10’ away from our car as we were driving home. BIG bird!
Covid?
Nah, it was 5G being rolled out in Asia that messed this one up.
So this bird can’t mate with other species of eagles, whether fishers or bald?
Are these the same eagles used to hunt down wolves on the plains of Asia?
We have Ospreys here........... BOTH KINDS!.................... 
I don’t know.
I’ve never hunted wolves on the plains of Asia..............
Unless it gets a mate, birdwatchers might just have a limited time to catch a sight of the species in the area.
The Sea Eagle will head South, mate with the War Eagle, and the Sea War Eagles will rule over out descendants.
The People's Republic of Massachusetts? Wouldn't they be happier with the Russian monster Stalin?
Animals have been know to breed with ‘cousin species’.......................
Pretty cool videos of them on YouTube trained by Mongolian herdsmen to hunt wolves.
5K miles from it’s native range? They can be found in Russia, China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea.Breeding takes place on the Kamchatka peninsula-which is where the Russians come in, to grab a newborn for falconers to purchase and raise up/train. Reasonable conjecture given the “trade”.
Falconer types do this quite a lot (in the trade in Saker Falcons in Romania, and Laggar Falcons in Pakistan, Peregrines elsewhere)
As to falconer’s with Steller’s in possession in a place very much farther away than NH— here’s a photo of a falconer in the UK with a very large one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_sea_eagle#/media/File:Stellers_Sea_Eagle_with_Man.jpg
How does a “birder” get attention on the net— clicks. A not unreasonable thought- especially trying to say the single bird came
Way to test this, unlikely for a birder photog to do- is to have a real pro falconer— try to call this bird in. Even so- it could still be an escapee from someone’s private falconry operation.
One other observation- would have to see more photos- sure to be provided with the crowd this guy photo’d:
The comparative photo with Bald Eagles compares this Steller’s with two juvenile Bald Eagles— from what is photo’d on the twatter link. Juvenile Bald Eagles have not matured to the white head feathers.
Global warming. 😐
It’s wings are each 6 inches longer than a full grown female bald eagle. And slightly bigger than a brown eagle. But we have cranes and great blues as well. Big birds in general are making a resurgence. Lake Michigan is filled with bald eagles now. So is the northern Mississippi. They were not there at all 20 years ago.
Same here....................
Yeah— caught that comment also— absolutely ridiculous for a single bird to go that far from normal range, and they come up with “global warming”. Falconer’s getting paid to scam for global warming more like. See post above yours here for a photo of a UK guy with a mature huge bird.
5K miles is the “over the Pole” route for a single bird to NS and then NH?— there being nothing to eat along the way if the polar route? Doubt seriously either overland/ocean routes. Hummingbirds, however do migrate over the Gulf of Mexico to Mexico (little bitty birds).
https://www.distance.to/Kamchatka/Scotland,GBR
https://www.distance.to/Kamchatka-Krai,RUS/Nova-Scotia,CAN
I’ve heard the hummingbirds hitch rides on geese or cranes.
==========================
A little closer to Trumpeter Swan.
Those fish eaters all taste fishy.
It’s like when Frankie Pentangeli’s brother showed up from Sicily at the Senate hearing as a warning for Frankie to get his act together.
C’mon, American bald eagles, get it together!
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