Birdwatchers Flock to See a Rare 8-Foot Tall Raptor

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https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/stellars-sea-eagle-seen-in-maine-still-there/

Yes. Big Bird from Sesame street was mobbed by paparrazzi, and by autograph hounds, after being seen in Manhatten with Foghorn Leghorn. Both maintain that they are "just friends".

Not "eight feet TALL".

It has an eight foot wingspan.

Its body length is probably little more than two feet.

Last edited by naturalplastic on 19 Jan 2022, 5:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

But yes it is a birdwatchers dream. Like seeing a tiger in Yellowstone Park in the US where tigers are not supposed to be.

American buzzards are the biggest living things you commonly see in American skies...black shapes soaring on thermals. Both common species of buzzard/vulture are about six feet in wingspan.

The two competing native species of eagle in north America are the bald eagle, and the golden eagle, both of which usually stop growing at seven and half feet in wingspan.

This sea eagle is native to the eastern shores of Siberia, is even bigger than our two native eagles. So it is a stunning sight for birders -both for its size and its novelty.

How did it get here?

I have a crazy theory that maybe it was blown off course in its native Siberian habitat, and may have flown over the north pole. Global warming maybe causing the ranges of sea birds on both old world and new world sides of the polar ice cap to extend farther north. And we may start seeing more and more of these odd visitors from other side of the world in the upper latitudes of both hemispheres.

Why exaggerate the size of the thing? We all know they don't come that big!

https://youtu.be/UVIv3kc3p3I

Magnetism of the earth is used by many species to orient for migration. The earth's magnetic fields are changing and this is resulting in some unusual reports of birds especially now nesting and showing up after migration in areas where they were not seen in previous times. One good example is the pelican population that is now nesting near Chicago and north on Lake Michigan's shores. There are lots of other examples. What a wonderful opportunity for bird watchers. Our region is seeing a lot of Snowy Owl activity in recent years.

Slightly off topic but I was watching a flock of waterbirds last month fly up to Mount Hotham in Victoria State in Australia. It was absolutely fascinating that when they reached the summit the flock circled the summit systematically 7-8 times. It was as if they were doing some ritual but I think they must be following an electromagnetic field.

More likely they were just following each other. Like if you were in a shore hugging boat following another boat, but the skipper of the leading boat didnt know that you were off the shore of an island. So both of you just kept circling the island until you both realized "Hey! The scenery keeps repeating...this isnt the mainland. This is just an island".