The Steller’s Sea-Eagle Saga

 Rogue Bird: A Sea Eagle’s Story

The Seven Foot Swing Span

Episode I: The Phantom Eagle

This battle of a man vs. a colossal, Siberian bird of prey began back in July of 2021 in Ontario. For me.  For the Steller’s Sea-Eagle, the journey to celebrity status in Eastern Canada and the United States, began much earlier in, perhaps, Russia. They are normally found in Russia, Korea, China and Japan.  It was a bird that was rare even in the Aleutian Islands, which are not that far from Russia, but spending time on the North American mainland was not expected.  

This particular Steller’s Sea-Eagle, one of just about 4000 remaining birds, has been on North American soil since at least August of 2020, nearly a year before I drove to Quebec to try and see it for the first time.  In August of 2020, it was first reported along the Denali Highway in Alaska.  Certainly far from home,(about 4700 miles), but not so far from the Aleutians as to be a total surprise.  But that was only the beginning of this incredible, giant eagle’s story.

I have pinned every state and province where ”Stella” was reported. 

The highlighted pin is where I finally saw it in New Brunswick 

Episode II: Attack of the Rare Bird Alerts

The biggest surprise was still to come.  In March of 2021, after a winter storm blew through Texas, the Sea-Eagle had found its way to the Barnhart Nature Retreat outside San Antonio, Texas. Birders there were stunned. They had never seen anything like it.  They assumed that it was likely the same bird that had been seen in Alaska.  It had made its way, unseen for months, to the far south.

And then, it vanished and was all but forgotten.  It was probably stealthily making its way north, again, somehow evading binoculars and birders all the way to Quebec, Canada.  On June 28, 2021 it was reported from the Gaspé Peninsula.  It was shortly after that when I came into the picture.  I heard about it at the beginning of July and so began my odyssey to see the Steller’s Sea-Eagle.  I was unable to go in July and then it went unreported for a while.  In August I heard that it had been re-found, not so far from the original location and I drove the nearly 15 hours to Quebec, only to get there a day late, and a few dollars short, as the saying goes.  I headed back to Ontario, disappointed, and figured that I had lost my one and only chance to see this once in a lifetime bird.  It also showed up in New Brunswick for a bit,(though I was unaware of that sighting, but it would one day return there,(just for me?).

In November of 2021 it was spotted in Falmouth, Nova Scotia and in December, as I was planning my Canada Big Year and thinking I had another shot at getting this bird for the 2022 year list, it suddenly turned up in Massachusetts.  Oh, no, I thought.  It’s migrated back to the US. Would it fly south for the winter? Of course, this was during the pandemic and US birders weren’t able to cross into Canada, so they were rushing to the scene to see it for themselves.  For myself, any other time, I would have driven directly there, as I had once done for many a rare bird, including a Black-backed Oriole.  

Episode III: Revenge of the Steller’s

With just weeks before the official start of my Big Year, I had to accept that the bird was gone, at least for now, and concentrate on where to go for January 1, 2022.  Would the Steller’s have plans to return to Canada, or was he just continuing south for warmer temperatures?  These questions would be frustratingly answered over the next 10 months.

While I was spending the first week of 2022 in Nova Scotia, adding a Lifer Dovekie, one of the smallest sea birds, one of the largest, the Steller’s Sea-Eagle was tantalizingly close in Sheepscot River, Maine.  Question: Would the winds change and send this sightseeing sea bird back to Canada before I headed back to Ontario?  Answer: A Big Fat NO!

And so, I continued on with my travels, adding new birds and Lifers to the year list, occasionally checking e-Bird to see if my nemesis ignored Covid travel restrictions and returned to the country that had so generously hosted it in 2021.

Episode IV: A New Hope

And so, I continued with my Big Year, traversing the country from St. John’s Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, just waiting for a report that would send me back to the east coast for another once in a lifetime shot at this Dark Lord of the avian world.  I was Luke Skywalker up against Darth Vader.  I did have my own personal Jedi Council, so to speak, an Obi Wan and Yoda in the Maritimes, Jason in Nova Scotia and Jared in Newfoundland.  Both have been instrumental in helping me get rare birds this year.

Jason let me know that the wandering eagle was seen in Nova Scotia, at the Wallace Bay National Wildlife Area.  I booked a flight and was there at dawn on April 6, hope in hand, and searched, in vain for two days.  Once again, this flighty bird got the best of me.  I did add one species to the year list, a Swamp Sparrow.  Nothing against sparrows, but seriously…  I was losing the battles but hoped I still had a chance to win the war.  At least Luke got to blow up the Death Star at the end of his New Hope, while I had the fate of Porkins,(deep cut for all but the most die hard SW fans), and crashed and burned.

Episode V: The Kidney Stones Strike Back

Spring turned to Summer and though I was criss-crossing the country, the Steller’s Sea Eagle had gone into hiding.  Early in August, my Birding Master, Jared in Newfoundland, informed me that this frustratingly flighty bird was seen in his province in the northern peninsula.  I was on vacation with Sue, birding in Nova Scotia and the southern tip of Newfoundland and it was not possible for us to get up there. 

In September I was back in Nova Scotia for a pelagic with Jason, and had the gnawing suspicion that the kidney stone pains I had been going through as far back as August, were coming back to haunt me once again.  I was okay on the pelagic out of Briar Island, and had another one scheduled in New Brunswick.  That one was cancelled due to weather, but the Sea-Eagle was still in Newfoundland.  I found the person who had been taking people out on his zodiac tour to see it, and booked a trip with him.  

I had also booked the 18 hour ferry crossing from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and was on my way there when I realized that even having the chance of seeing the bird was overpowered by the pain of passing kidney stones.  I am no stranger to the ailment.  I am a kidney stone manufacturing machine and have passed at least a couple of dozen and undergone mutliple surgeries, so I knew what I was up against.  So, I arranged to drop my rental car off in Halifax, put the dream on hold, and flew home.  I was right to listen to my body and not my Big Year brain.  A few days later I was rushed into emergency surgery in Brantford to have the menacing stones removed.

Episode VI: Return of the Sea Eagle

Late in November I was trying figure out my next destination.  There was a Whooper Swan in British Columbia I wanted to chase, but there was also a Fieldfare in Quebec.  Five hour flight to the west coast, with a ferry ride to Nanaimo, or a seven hour drive to Quebec?  I opted for the Fieldfare and it turned out to be the right decision, though I didn’t know it at the time.  I drove until after dark and stayed in Trois Rivières for the night and was at the spot where the Fieldfare had been seen early the next morning.  There were lots of birders searching, including Martin, who had driven up from New Jersey.  We searched all day, but the bird was already long gone. 

However, I received an e-mail from Edna, another New Jersey friend, who had been following my adventures since discovering my 2012 Big Year blog. We got to meet at the Meadowlands in New Jersey that summer and birded around Cape May together, along with her family and Sue.  Well, she was excited to report that the missing Steller’s had turned up in New Brunswick.  I was worried about getting my hopes up too soon, but since the Fieldfare was a no-show and Bouctouche was “only” about seven hours away, the decision to go was this time made by my Birder Brain and off I went.

I spent the night outside of Miramichi, where I had seen the Mistle Thrush, another rarity, years before, and was in Bouctouche first thing in the morning.  Shortly after I arrived I was told the bird just flown off a few minutes earlier.  Of course it did.  Thanks to Facebook friends,(more of my Jedi Council), Angela MacDonald and Mitch Doucet, I was put on the NB Birding Live Chat on Messenger and had access to all the updates. It was a chilly morning and quite foggy and it was easy to miss the bird as it flew along the water and dunes.  In fact, a few minutes later, just after 10am, someone saw it fly, got a record photo and then it was gone.  I had missed it again.

As the day wore on, the fog lifted, the temperatures rose a bit, and the 20 or so birders kept traversing the area searching, and searching and searching.  But the bird was in hiding, perhaps having found a tasty morsel of mouse, and had gone off somewhere to eat in private.  By midafternoon I was despairing of ever seeing this bird and messaged Sue that I might have to cry.

Then, around 3pm word got out that the bird was seen across the water from Rotary Park.  I was unsure of where it was and accidentally headed in the wrong direction at first.  However there were two birders, whom I had met on two previous boat trips this year, scoping the water and I jumped out of the car and told them the Sea-Eagle had been found.  They both piled into their car and followed me, now that I had directions punched into my GPS.  

Many people were already there and others were arriving right behind me.  Our cars were haphazardly strewn all over the parking lot and people were lined up with cameras, scopes and binoculars excitedly trying to get eyes on the bird, like paparazzi trying for an intimate photo of a movie star.  Finally, using a borrowed scope, I saw, over 16 months from its initial appearance in Quebec, the object of my burning, Big Year desire.  The Steller’s Sea Eagle was finally, finally in my sight.  A beautiful, larger than life eagle, dark brown with white on its wings and an unmistakable, large yellow beak, almost as big as the head of a Bald Eagle.  I ran back to my car, got my scope and took some videos of the bird.  After about 10 minutes of sitting, the bird flew off and I got some nice photos of it in flight.

We all milled about excitingly sharing the excitement of seeing, what for nearly all of us, was a Lifer.  We all agreed this was the best day of birding ever.  But we were not done yet.  Even though we all saw it and got distant photos and videos, we weren’t exactly seeing the bird up close.  Then someone said that the bird had landed a short drive away on top of a tree in a nearby neighborhood.  We all raced over, and found the bird less than 50 yards away posing atop a tree,  Just when we thought the day couldn’t get better, it did.  For me, it was species 447 for the year, and 707 for my ABA Life List.  If I don’t see another new bird all year, I can’t complain.  Still, with 32 days left, perhaps I can finish with 450.  We’ll see.

I stayed the night in Bouctouche at the lovely Le Gite de la Sagouine boutique hotel and had a celebratory and traditional Lifer Steak Dinner at the Restaurant La Sagouine next door.  I was asleep early and well rested the next morning for the long drive back to Brantford.  I spent the night in Cornwall, Ontario and awoke to news of a Tundra Bean Goose just outside Montreal.  I drove 2 hours back the way I had come to the Bassin sud Pont Marchand and was greeted by 10,000 Snow Geese when I arrived, but after an hour of searching, no Bean Goose.  I missed two birds on this trip, but got the ultimate prize in the charming maritime town of Bouctouche in New Brunswick.  

I am resting back in Brantford now, and will take a few days to plan my next adventure.  Three more species in 32 days,  It could happen.

Cave Swallows Purple Gallinule: Story at 11

…and the Rarities, they keep a comin’

Cave Swallowers

Above, in the Purple Jacket, Marcie recorded her 400th species for Ontario!

So, the past 30 days or so since I returned from British Columbia, have been pretty good for birding here in Ontario, making me hesitant to leave for parts unknown chasing birds that may have flown the proverbial coop by the time I arrived, possibly at great expense.  Here in Ontario I had already taken day trips for a Magnificent Frigatebird, who was not in magnificent condition, a Tropical Kingbird that was far from The Tropics and a Cattle Egret who was hanging out with, well, cattle.

This weekend it was time for Cave Swallow migration.  These birds are late migrators and have an odd migratory route, passing over the Great Lakes from on their way from their breeding grounds in Texas and then back down to Mexico.  It’s a long way north just to go south of where you were born.  But it also might be that their love of nesting under bridges has helped expand their range north of Texas and the ones that do show up in Ontario could be from that population, riding the warm north winds up before turning south again.

For whatever reason, these birds have a habit of turning up this time of year and 50 Point Conservation area in Grimsby, Ontario is one of their known flyways.  I got a message the night before from fellow birder Ezra that the winds were favourable for these birds and though I arrived after two big flocks had already gone by, I was on time for a smaller flock of about 6-8 birds.  However I was concentrating too much on seeing them that I was too late for photos that day.  The Cave Swallows were not just species 445 for the year but another Canadian Lifer, bringing that list up to 476. I had begun the year with 390 species on my Canada Life List and have added 86 Lifers.

The next day I returned early and was able to get photos of these lovely swallows.  Not good ones, but I am happy enough to get any record shots.

Later that morning we were all treated to another rarity, a Northern Gannett on its migration.  They spend their winters at sea off the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts but occasionally a few wayward birds pass through the Great Lakes regions too. For Ontario Big Year Birders this was a big deal.  For me, though I had seen many this year, it was still a treat to see this juvenile gannet entertain the birders on the shores of Lake Ontario.

That made for a pretty good weekend, but Monday had another surprise in store for us chasers of wayward birds.  A juvenile Purple Gallinule was seen Sunday in Oshawa, Ontario at the Oshawa Second Marsh.  I’m not sure if there is a First Marsh, but if there is, I have never heard of it.  The Durham region has been good to me this fall, with birds such as the Ruff and Glossy Ibis, along with the Cattle Egret sightings.

I rushed out there first thing in the morning with just a coffee and nutrition bar and arrived to see a nice gaggle of birders looking, though by the time I had arrived it had not been seen for a couple of hours.  But people were staked out along the creek where it had been seen and we hoped it was just a matter of time before it showed itself.  Late in the morning I was feeling hungry and needed a comfort break, so I figured a 15 minute round trip for something to eat and another coffee from the Tim Hortons Drive-thru might help get me through the rest of the morning.  

Upon my return, just moments before I arrived, the group I left behind to watch, had spotted it again.  However it had once again vanished and I could only hope my full bladder and empty stomach hadn’t cost me seeing this bird.  I needn’t have worried.  Less than five minutes later it was seen again, walking in the cattails and reeds and finally emerged for some photos and made everyone present smile with the pleasure of a successful rare bird chase.  For me, this one was a biggie. Species 446 for the year and just a step closer to my stretch goal of 450 species for 2022.  It was also nice to just take a breath and enjoy the company of all the birders that showed up, many of whom I have known for years and see at many a rare bird stakeout.  Good times had by all.

53 days remain in 2022.  Plenty of time to add 4 more species to the list.  But either way, 450 or 446, I have succeeded beyond my expectations.  I have seen some of the most amazing parts of this country, seen birds that were both Lifers and new for Canada, chased rarities both near and far, with mixed success along the way, and have enjoyed nearly every minute of it.  

Now, where to next?