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.
Yeah— they would LOVE them to have a “Stalin” Josef Vissarionovich Jughashvili Georgian who renamed his very small self from his bankrobber days as “Koba” (the Robin Hood like character of the novel The Patricide. He had a short foot (just like Goebbels club foot) and had webbed toes (verified, rejected by the Tsar’s Army because of it, rejected by the Russian Orthodox seminary, also).
A true psychopathic mass murderer). Just ole “Uncle Joe”— like JoeBama only waaaay more devious, and intelligent.
And BTW—the Massa’-choose-its citizen types ought to be asking Sen. Blumenthal WHY he spoke at the annual Communist Party of Connecticut meeting— and then said he HAD NOT— or, didn’t know they were Communists! Absolutely priceless and sick SOB, and really crazy imho. Him and Bernie the “not” Sanders are buddies! In the Commune down for the Struggle. Forward!!
I have lived here in Enfield, NY (Ithaca city of evil adjacent town) for over 40 years and just saw the first eagle here a couple months ago. He flew right across my windshield, I couldn’t have gotten a better look at him. It was just a bald eagle not this fancy schmancy eagle, but WOW! What a site to see. Haven’t seen him since.
It was maybe 1/2 a mile from my house.
We have those here now as well... Florida Panhandle...............
Could happen— don’t doubt it a bit, they are something else. Had one that got taken out by a 10’ Praying Mantis hiding on a feeder (that was a real shock, the thing eating the little bird’s guts still hanging on to the feeder).
Oil derricks in the Gulf put out feeders and they get swarmed— so there is that “assist” that didn’t used to happen. Over history— they follow the flowers and the bugs down the coast of Mexico as the seasonal tilt happens.
Will have to keep my eyes peeled now.
Whitehall?
I'm from Holliston and fished Whitehall many a time over the years. I'm living on lake in TN now.
We are going to need a higher wall!
We still have bald eagles in Florida.
Amongst other birds of prey.
5.56mm
Yes, we have Bald eagles, Ospreys, Red Tailed Hawks, Golden Eagles and Owls of all kinds...................
Bald Eagles are regular site in Pepperell, MA on the Nashua River.
Bald Eagles and Perrigrin Falcons live in and around downtown Manchester, NH. There is a pair of falcons that nest in one of the taller buildings. They have a web cam.
Bookmark
I see both them birds quite often over my back yard as well. Actually see the latter more often
Or Kevin Hart
LOL!!.......................
Their nests must be huge.
Really? A ten feet long mantis? That sounds like something from the 1950s monster movies of big ants, crabs, etc.
here ya go SHIFT on ‘ yields “. Inches but yeah- that would have changed the drive in to the farm that day. Mantis have a way of cocking their targeting pod head that creates the impression they are “sizing” up whether they can take one out. An instinctive cocking of the head (which sci fi movies have used a lot— particularly Spielberg- he with the impatient tapping of a velociraptor’s ripping claw. Cute mind game for the audience).
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