Posted on 01/04/2022 10:35:41 AM PST by nickcarraway
Hundred of birders flocked to the Pine Tree State for a glimpse of the rare raptor.
A rare eagle, recently spotted in Massachusetts, has made its way to Maine.
Hundreds of birders gathered in Georgetown, Maine, on New Year’s Eve to view the Steller’s sea eagle, likely the same one seen recently near the Taunton River, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The bird — native to China, Japan, Korea, and eastern Russia, according to Smithsonian Magazine — has created a stir across the country.
The bird was first seen in North America on Alaska’s Denali Highway in August 2020.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the same bird likely traveled to Nova Scotia, Texas, Quebec, and New Brunswick.
Often identified by its yellow beak and the pattern of white feathers on its wings, the sea eagle is one of the largest raptors in the world, according to MassWildlife. It can weigh up to 20 pounds, boasting a wingspan of up to 8 feet.
Experts believe this sea eagle is likely lost, which is not uncommon. Vagrancy — when birds lose their path — happens when birds either make a navigation error or get lost due to a storm.
“It’s like an avian soap opera,” vagrancy expert Alexander Lees told the New York Times. “We’re all rooting for it. Will it make it home? Or is it doomed to never see another species of its own in its lifetime?”
The hundreds who flocked to Maine from neighboring states seemed happy for a glimpse of the bird, according to the Press Herald.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The thing couldn't be more lost if it tried.
Wonder how many started a Big Year over the Weekend? Are they headed up to find the Eagle?
There’s plenty for it to eat in Maine’s coastal waters. Has a newspaper given it its Disney name yet?
Had the pleasure of riding the train up the coast from Bowdoin to Rockland. Osprey eagles everywhere.
They are beautiful.
Here’s a photo of another singletary “lost” Steller’s Sea Eagle— in the UK, on the arm of the falconer who got the bird as a fledgling in Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. The singletary in Maine/NH is not in a mating pair, and most likely is an escapee from some falconer’s compound. 5000 miles is a long way to “migrate”. In a previous article posted— get this- the birders and enviro nuts are blaming “global warming” forcing a single bird out of its environment to go 5K miles away. Further BS.
Here’s the falconer in the UK— with a full size mature bird, not the size of the one in the NH/Maine photos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_sea_eagle#/media/File:Stellers_Sea_Eagle_with_Man.jpg
Maybe they can direct the eagle to Mexico to pick up and drop on the American side the wolf that can’t cross because of the wall.
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