After the poor eagle season at Yakumo it was nice to get fairly close to some Steller’s…
Tag: Steller’s Sea Eagle
Mukawa March 2024 #1
We took our annual late winter trip up to Mukawa last week. Slightly earlier than normal and it was much colder…
There were more eagles around the port than last year.
A mild Monday afternoon out east
Nice weather but very quiet birdwise…
This Red-necked Grebe was the only bird posing for photos.
Otherwise the ports were very quiet. A few raptors around of course; flyover White-tailed Eagles and a lone Mountain Hawk-Eagle being the pick. The regular Steller’s was around but was being very very lazy.
Dunno if I’ll be out this way for a while, will I see it gain this winter?
A quiet day out east
Another mild winter day and we spent a morning out east. Very quiet birdwise but the local Steller’s was pretty active…
Usually there are a few other species posing for photos but not today. So here’s a local ‘dirt bird’…
Return of an old friend…
We established the local(ish) Steller’s had cataracts last winter and I didn’t expect it to return this winter. But I was wrong!
You can see the gammy eye here…
2 days away #9
In years gone by, my main focus at this time of year would be the eagles at Yakumo. But this the 3rd consecutive year with a very poor salmon run and the eagle numbers have dropped off a cliff…
At a rough guess there were only half a dozen around along the whole coast. Very sad.
More hungry eagles
Reasonable numbers of both species of eagle at Yakumo at the moment but there really isn’t that much to eat for them…
And not opps for decent photos either.
Twiggy
The eagles are back at Yakumo. This one (I think it’s the same one) always occupies the same spot on the river and it’s difficult to get a clear shot of it as it’s usually obscured by twigs. Hence the nickname ‘Twiggy’.
There seemed to be about 20-30 eagles of both species but for the third winter running salmon numbers are very low. As this is their main food supply I don’t think they’ll stick around for long. This juvenile Steller’s was pitifully thin…
Twiggy did take a dump though; this photo is post-dump pose. Twiggy has eaten something recently at least.
Other interesting stuff around included Whooper Swan, Crested Kingfisher and Stejneger’s Scoter.
Late Winter Trip 2023 #23
One advantage of getting up so early every day was the early morning light…
Late Winter Trip 2023 #21
No winter trip in Hokkaido is complete without a Steller’s Sea Eagle on the ice pic…
And here’s a bonus White-tailed Eagle on a post…
And on a tetrapod…
Late Winter Trip 2023 #19
A Steller’s Sea Eagle on one of the rivers in early morning light…
Late Winter Trip 2023 #4
Only a few Steller’s around, most must have already gone back north…