A lousy wet windy Monday, at least there were some Harlequin Ducks around east of town. Not much else: my first Skylarks of the year, the usual gulls and ducks and a lone White-tailed Eagle.
A rainy Monday
Category: Esan
Still there……….
The adult Steller’s Sea Eagle was still at Esan on Monday but it didn’t co-operate for any photos. The above subadult flew over, a different individual maybe passing through on its way north. The White-tailed Eagle below was one of at least 6 in the area…………
This surely must be my last eagle post of the winter……………
Another resident
Small birds have been very few and far between this winter. Just the resident species like this Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker on the cape at Esan.
On the move
White-tailed Eagles were everywhere this weekend, some of them presimably just passing through on their way north. This one was at the cape in Esan.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
A Great Spotted Woodpecker on the cape near Esan this afternoon……………..
Capeside
The cape near Esan is now snow free. Which meant it was easy to see this Peregrine…………….
Still around
The Steller’s Sea Eagle to the east of town was still around as of today. Not a great photo: a heavy crop. It was so windy that keeping the camera steady was almost impossible too.
The thaw has begun and signs of spring are starting to appear. A distant skein of geese heading north, Red-breasted Mergansers displaying in the ports…………….
At least 3 White-tailed Eagles were also present but remained high in the sky. Not much else around: a few common species of duck, some Brent Geese and Glaucous-winged Gulls etc.
The last one?
Was Monday my last afternoon with Steller’s Sea Eagles this winter? Maybe. The qweather was good but it wasn’t as active as the day before. It did a couple of fly-bys at least.
Other raptors included 2 Mountain Hawk Eagle, 1 adult White-tailed Eagle and 1 Goshawk,
Harbour visitors
Whilst waiting for eagles to do stuff in the sky above there were a few birds in the port: 3 Black-necked Grebe, several Glaucous-winged and a lone Glaucous Gull in among all the Slaty-backed Gulls, small flocks of Red-breasted Merganser and Goldeneye plus 3 Harlequin Ducks.
The Black-necked Grebes are common but photogenic.
A long wait
I waited a long time for a Mountain Hawk Eagle to flap over the ridge but eventually it came. Still pretty far off (and this photo is cropped quite a bit) but it was worth the wait. The light was much better than yesterday too.
This is an adult. The paler immature showed up too but that was even further away…………..