A once in a Lifetime bird! A Steller's Sea Eagle.
Persistence versus patience.
I tried for this bird 3 times, from Massachusetts to Maine. First 2 times just missing it..ahh so close!
This trip, I set the alarm for 4:30 am, which I ended up beating from excitement, finding myself on the road by 4:15.
As I am approaching my friend @warbling_in_the_woods is giving me updates..still there..how close are you...do you see it!?
I jump out of car at aquarium, 40 to 50 birders around scopes and cameras. A young fellow standing by a scope asks if I have seen it yet, I say no. I clumsily stumble and move his scope. He smiles and lines it up for me and I look through and there it is! I talk to 10 or so people sharing the thrill.
A message comes over that there is a spot on the other side of the bay where you can get a closer look. Now content with a long distance confirming photo. I decide to take a chance. I park my car amongst another 40 or so and hike down a dead end street. There is a hush and i see a large group of birders , including @manbythesea staring up into a tree and there it was. It perched for about 10 minutes, and then it flew. Not to be seen that close for the rest of the day.
Had I left on schedule, I would have missed this once in a lifetime chance!
So go with your gut! don't wait! Follow your impulses!
I'm glad I did.
Persistence over patience.
Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was described first by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. No subspecies are recognised. A sturdy eagle, it has dark brown plumage with white wings and tail, a yellow beak, and yellow talons. Typically, it is the heaviest eagle in the world, at about 5 to 9 kg (11 to 20 lb), but in some standard measurements, may be ranked below the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi).[3]
Steller's sea eagle lives in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish and water birds. The Kamchatka Peninsula in Far Eastern Russia is known for its relatively large population of these birds; about 4,000 of these eagles live there.[4] Steller's sea eagle is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species.
(From Wikipedia)
