A mild Monday afternoon out east

Red-necked Grebe

Nice weather but very quiet birdwise…

This Red-necked Grebe was the only bird posing for photos.

Red-necked Grebe
Red-necked Grebe

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.

Steller’s Sea Eagle

Dunno if I’ll be out this way for a while, will I see it gain this winter?

Twiggy

Steller’s Sea Eagle

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…

Steller’s Sea Eagle

Twiggy did take a dump though; this photo is post-dump pose. Twiggy has eaten something recently at least.

Steller’s Sea Eagle

Other interesting stuff around included Whooper Swan, Crested Kingfisher and Stejneger’s Scoter.