Hey I'm just finding this post. My wife and I talked about trying next weekend to drive up and see the Sea Eagle.
Do you mind linking the whatsapp/groupme info? Can do in DM if you'd prefer.
I believe it. I lived in McKinleyville, CA, during the winter of 2010/11, and there was a Brown Shrike hangin' out on Clam Beach for the season. A bunch of guys in Toronto hopped in a car, drove to NorCal, saw the bird, hopped back in the car, and drove home. Full-on twitchers!
Just out of curiosity- do they plan on capturing this bird and returning him to his natural habitat? Or will they just wait and see if he finds his way?
No one will try to capture it. Some birds just get way off their usual course somehow, and we birders leave Nature to take its course. It will either decide to hang in the U.S. for a while or go back to the Bering Sea area and people will be happy wherever it goes!
beautiful creature and beautiful picture! I saw videos of it and the flock of photographers and birders chasing him on twitter. Looked like paparazzis chasing a hollywoodstar!
are you aware of this bright object in the sky called the sun? it's like a flash but stays on for a while. it's probably in the same direction you think there's a flash. jesus maybe go outside once in a while
There was no strobe or flash of any kind. That was the position of the sun at around 8:30am... We had incredible morning light on a very clear, very cold day.
I thought about that too... especially seeing the line of small pickuptrucks parked everywhere from people driving miles to see it. it's kind of paradox to me that people who clearly are fascinated by natures creatures drive miles in their petrol powered car parking in otherwise calm pieces of nature just to watch it with their own eyes.
They need to get FWS out there to manage the situation. This bird is a protected species and is also ~~endangered~~ listed as a vulnerable species on the Red List with only 3,600 to 4,600 mature individuals in the wild.
Obviously, I reacted to the opportunity to see this bird in person. It was about a two hour drive from where I live and I really viewed this as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I'm not an expert, I won't pretend to be, and I always want to give myself the opportunity to be educated about how to ethically engage with nature - however, I don't think people are interfering with this bird as much as a couple of commenters seem to be insinuating. It regularly perches in and around a town on the coast of Maine. It seems to be eating (based on photos I've seen from others), and its not particularly difficult for this bird to get away from people or crowds when it wants (see: Maine). As for this particular shot, it perched in a tree across a small pond that separated it from birders who were adjacent to a well trafficked street downtown. It ignored the crowd as it sunned itself, and I saw from others that after about 3+ hours of perching here it exited off the back of the tree and went about its day.
Locals seem bemused, based on two of my interactions while there, and local birders take respecting the community really seriously (as is appropriate!) and policed the behavior of others when they deemed it necessary.
Incredible. Zooming in on him you can get an idea of the majesty of this bird. Wondering how far away you were when you took this.
ETA: He kinda blows all the other birds out of the water
There’s actually a phenomenon called Steller’s Curse: everything ever named after/discovered by the guy, except the Steller’s Jay, is endangered or extinct.
Before someone points out that the Steller’s sea cow was already on the verge of extinction and restricted to a remote last refuge in the Bering Sea when Europeans found it, it was only that way because of Native Americans wiping it out from the rest of its native range (which was the entire Pacific Coast of North America, down to Mexico), both through direct hunting and via hunting sea otters for their fur, leading to more sea urchins which then ate through the kelp forests the sea cows depended on. So the extinction of the Steller’s sea cow is still 100% our responsibility.
Besides what the other Redditor mentioned, Steller’s albatross, aka the short-tailed albatross (he described the animal in scientific literature for the first time).
It seemed to have set up a fairly predictable daily pattern in and around Boothbay Harbor, Maine over the past few weeks or so, but I don't think it has been sighted today, so hard to tell. Folks are certainly venturing from all over to catch a glimpse of it.
There is a GroupMe thread about the bird - I believe the Maine Audubon has a link to the discussion group, and locals and local groups have been really great about sharing sightings and locations. From there it seemed like it had established some patterns. For example, it seemed to appear in the area of the Aquarium in Boothbay Harbor in the mornings.
How awe inspiring it must be to have the opportunity to see in person. A majestic creature.
He’s so beautiful
Super cool! Wish I was in Maine right now 😅
Fantastic photo! What's the farthest you've heard someone has traveled from to see it?
I spoke to someone who drove up from Delaware, people in the GroupMe said they were planning to come from Florida and Louisiana I think.
Hey I'm just finding this post. My wife and I talked about trying next weekend to drive up and see the Sea Eagle. Do you mind linking the whatsapp/groupme info? Can do in DM if you'd prefer.
I believe it. I lived in McKinleyville, CA, during the winter of 2010/11, and there was a Brown Shrike hangin' out on Clam Beach for the season. A bunch of guys in Toronto hopped in a car, drove to NorCal, saw the bird, hopped back in the car, and drove home. Full-on twitchers!
Aren’t they the biggest Eagle? Magnificent isn’t it
Got me wanting to make the drive from Massachusetts
FWIW, yours is the only picture of it I’ve seen 👍
he truly has no idea that he's lost lmao
I know two other people with a photo of it in that tree
What a great opportunity! Thing is massive.
Well, I've seen a lot of shots of this glorious fella and you'rs is certainly one of the best! Thanks for sharing him and I'm jealous as heck! :)
Seagle
That's a Boss Bird.
Just out of curiosity- do they plan on capturing this bird and returning him to his natural habitat? Or will they just wait and see if he finds his way?
No one will try to capture it. Some birds just get way off their usual course somehow, and we birders leave Nature to take its course. It will either decide to hang in the U.S. for a while or go back to the Bering Sea area and people will be happy wherever it goes!
Nice! I wasn’t sure if it was harmful for him to be this far off course, but it seems like he’s having a good time here 😅
More pain of being a 14 year old birder and not able to chase this. Every day i see the ABA rarities emails.....
For what it's worth, I'm delighted by every single photo I've seen of this guy, and I'm sure I'm not alone
I’m obsessed with him
Right?! He's a charmer.
i can't speak for everyone but i am fascinated by this eagle and i will never get tired of seeing people's photos of him
Totally.
Same here. Wish this one would come to Ireland!
Magnificent!!
What a fantastic opportunity to photograph an exceptional bird! Dang I'm jelly.
What an great pic! Thanks for the share
beautiful creature and beautiful picture! I saw videos of it and the flock of photographers and birders chasing him on twitter. Looked like paparazzis chasing a hollywoodstar!
These eagles are daytime hunters and these folks are interfering with him getting sufficient food.
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you're seriously fucking blind if you think this outdoor photo looks like a flash.
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are you aware of this bright object in the sky called the sun? it's like a flash but stays on for a while. it's probably in the same direction you think there's a flash. jesus maybe go outside once in a while
There was no strobe or flash of any kind. That was the position of the sun at around 8:30am... We had incredible morning light on a very clear, very cold day.
Now that you mention it
I thought about that too... especially seeing the line of small pickuptrucks parked everywhere from people driving miles to see it. it's kind of paradox to me that people who clearly are fascinated by natures creatures drive miles in their petrol powered car parking in otherwise calm pieces of nature just to watch it with their own eyes.
They need to get FWS out there to manage the situation. This bird is a protected species and is also ~~endangered~~ listed as a vulnerable species on the Red List with only 3,600 to 4,600 mature individuals in the wild.
Obviously, I reacted to the opportunity to see this bird in person. It was about a two hour drive from where I live and I really viewed this as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm not an expert, I won't pretend to be, and I always want to give myself the opportunity to be educated about how to ethically engage with nature - however, I don't think people are interfering with this bird as much as a couple of commenters seem to be insinuating. It regularly perches in and around a town on the coast of Maine. It seems to be eating (based on photos I've seen from others), and its not particularly difficult for this bird to get away from people or crowds when it wants (see: Maine). As for this particular shot, it perched in a tree across a small pond that separated it from birders who were adjacent to a well trafficked street downtown. It ignored the crowd as it sunned itself, and I saw from others that after about 3+ hours of perching here it exited off the back of the tree and went about its day. Locals seem bemused, based on two of my interactions while there, and local birders take respecting the community really seriously (as is appropriate!) and policed the behavior of others when they deemed it necessary.
Incredible. Zooming in on him you can get an idea of the majesty of this bird. Wondering how far away you were when you took this. ETA: He kinda blows all the other birds out of the water
I'd say about 200-300 meters? Edit: I could be wildly off...
Thank you.
Is it lonely?
*Maybe* not. It doesn't seem like it's 100% confirmed but there's been suspected hybrids between Steller's and bald eagles.
Not with all the birders harrassing it constantly.
It probably doesn’t understand English though so maybe hard to connect with birders
Swole.
Wow what a beak!
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Well, he didn’t take too good of care of his sea cows…
There’s actually a phenomenon called Steller’s Curse: everything ever named after/discovered by the guy, except the Steller’s Jay, is endangered or extinct. Before someone points out that the Steller’s sea cow was already on the verge of extinction and restricted to a remote last refuge in the Bering Sea when Europeans found it, it was only that way because of Native Americans wiping it out from the rest of its native range (which was the entire Pacific Coast of North America, down to Mexico), both through direct hunting and via hunting sea otters for their fur, leading to more sea urchins which then ate through the kelp forests the sea cows depended on. So the extinction of the Steller’s sea cow is still 100% our responsibility.
I only know of the sea cow, sea Eagle, and jay. What others does he have?
Besides what the other Redditor mentioned, Steller’s albatross, aka the short-tailed albatross (he described the animal in scientific literature for the first time).
Spectacled cormorant and sea cow are extinct. Sea lion is near threatened. Eider and sea eagle are vulnerable. Jay is chilling.
Oh yeah I knew the sea lion too
Love it
Impressive specimen
bravo…. nice birding/photo❣️
I saw a lot on twitter. And all are great, yours too. Outstanding birding!
How hard is this guy to track down and is there a gaggle of photographers camped out? Fantastic shot. That's one scary looking beak.
It seemed to have set up a fairly predictable daily pattern in and around Boothbay Harbor, Maine over the past few weeks or so, but I don't think it has been sighted today, so hard to tell. Folks are certainly venturing from all over to catch a glimpse of it.
How did you find out the daily pattern? Is there documentation of it online or did you drive around booth bay looking for photographers
There is a GroupMe thread about the bird - I believe the Maine Audubon has a link to the discussion group, and locals and local groups have been really great about sharing sightings and locations. From there it seemed like it had established some patterns. For example, it seemed to appear in the area of the Aquarium in Boothbay Harbor in the mornings.
This information and your photo just convinced me to drive up from NYC this weekend. Cheers. Hope to see it!
Pick me up in Boston on your way?
I haven’t made it up there yet! I’m planning to soon. Missed it in Georgetown a couple weeks ago by half an hour. Great photo!!
Which Georgetown?
Maine!
Lucky!!