Asian Bird Lost? Heaviest Eagle on Earth Spotted in North America, 5,000 Miles Away from Home

A Steller's sea eagle, the heaviest eagle species and a native to Asia, has recently been spotted, almost 5,000 miles or 8,000 kilometers away from its homeland.

As indicated in a ScienceAlert report, this new sighting is quite an early Christmas present for bird watchers in Massachusetts.

Specifically, the largest sea eagles are native to the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia. They have also been spotted in other countries, including Korea, China, and Japan.

There are approximately 5,000 individuals left, which include this newly discovered eagle, which somehow made its way to Massachusetts' Taunton river.

Steller's Sea Eagle

With the scientific name "Haliaeetus pelagicus," Stellar's sea eagles are among the heaviest eagles on Earth, weighing 11 to 20 pounds and having a wingspan of up to eight feet.

These eagles easily identify with their bright orange beak similar to Gonzo and unique white-edged wings.

Essentially, the coolest part is that this bird is the same individual seen in November flying around eastern Canada. It has also been sighted as far north as Alaska, around the summer of 2020, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

The same bird species have been sighted in Texas, although its identifying marks were not photographed, and thus, it is uncertain if it was the same eagle.

According to senior researcher Andrew Farnsworth from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it is nearly as far away "from your origin as you can be." He added, the discovery is mind-blogging.

A 'Vulnerable' Species on the IUCN Red List

Steller's sea eagles are included in the UCN Red List of "vulnerable" species. The so-called birders have been able to determine it through the white markings on the bird's wings, and the team thinks it is safe to say they are quite excited about the eagle's appearance close to local rivers and coastlines, where it is possible in the quest for salmon to eat.

Advocacy and outreach coordinator Nick Lund, for Maine Audobon, described seeing the bird over on his blog article posted on The Birdist.

The piece said that an ultimate dream "to be all of a sudden standing in this random park" located in southern Massachusetts looking at a "wild, unusual Russian monster."

Intriguingly, Lund was able to spot the Steller's eagle together with local bald eagles, which look pretty small when compared.

The 'Vagrancy' Phenomenon

The question, how such a majestic creature ended up very far from home now arises. As indicated in this report, it is not unheard of for birds to stray away from their homeland regardless of their species. This phenomenon is called "vagrancy," as detailed in the Audobon Guides.

Sometimes, environmental factors like climate change or loss of habitat push them out of their homeland. At times though, it is only an international navigation failure.

According to a conversation biologist Alex Lees, a Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, with this eagle now having strayed for long, it is unlikely to go back home.

Lees also sad, the Steller's sea eagle may be fated to permanently wander in the quest "for a member of its own species," staying in suitable places for months, probably, although the urge to wander in search for a mate may drive it to keep moving.

Report about the Steller's sea eagle spotted in Massachusetts is shown on CN Post's YouTube video below:

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