ML397587661
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age and sex
- Adult, Unknown sex - 1
- Playback
- Playback not used
Media notes
This audio from the first time the bird was heard calling in Mass and was before anyone else had yet joined me here. I was getting out of car and heard the yelping call coming from direction of perched eagle, did not recognize it (but did not think it sounded even a little bit like the wimpy Bald Eagle call) but immediately deduced that it was no bird sound that I knew, and was loud, and therefore must be the Steller's. I started recording just in time and looked through the scope just in time to heard it call again--and see it call again as it opened its beak in time with the sound--just as an immature Bald Eagle flew right to left in the field of view. More than any other moment today (which was incredible) this one will live in my memory. A *calling* Steller's Sea-Eagle in Mass.
Observation details
***mega; pure insanity. I am no fan of emojis in eBird comments, but the only words here are 🤯 Epic day: if you had told me yesterday that I'd be getting audio recordings of Steller's Sea-Eagle vocalizing in Dighton, Mass, I am not sure I ever could have believed it...even though many of us have joked about the Maritimes Steller's making its way south to *our* patch, you never really expect it to actually be 40 minutes from *your* house! Especially gratifying day because my fears about an issue with residents, or police, or something else seemed largely unfounded, especially once the bird was found across the river from Dighton Creek SP, with ample parking for many dozens of cars and giving everyone (and their grandmother) the opportunity to observe the bird safely through scopes, which gave excellent looks at a safe distance, with no need to encroach upon the bird for closer looks or regret how distant these looks were. Better than I could have dreamed! This adult Steller's does seem individually identifiable, from its pattern of white in the coverts and even primaries. There are not lots of flight shots from today, and more legwork is probably required to firmly establish the same bird theory. But on probability (no evidence for more than one adult Steller's outside of Alaska over the past two years) and early checks of feather details on flight shots, this bird seems to check out as the same as seen in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia in June-Nov 2021 and Denali Highway in 2020 (Texas in Mar 2021 also presumed same bird, but maybe not probably so). Watch for more analysis of this bird's movements. Also worth saying: if raptor vagrancy was not embraced in prior decades, perhaps it can be now. Multiple individual raptors have now turned up far from home range and through individually identifiable plumage features, or tags/bands, have been confirmed to be the same birds moving massive distances (e.g., South Padre Island-->Portland Maine for Great Black-Hawk, Zone-tailed from Nova Scotia to Virginia and almost every state/province in between, tagged California Condors roaming to Wyoming, Bearded Vultures wandering all of Europe including the UK, etc.). Raptors seem to just go on walkabout sometimes: it’s in their nature. Ongoing patterns of terrestrial vagrancy in raptors shows great capability of exploratory wandering, so northerly Short-tailed Hawks, Crested Caracaras, and even wayward Gray Hawks and Zone-taileds, are now seemingly routine as these birds get photographed more and correctly identified more. And large raptors can cover a lot of ground. What's next? Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture or White Hawk in the US? Confidence that Red-backed Hawk records are legit? Anyway, count me as a believer that a Steller's that decides to wander, can wander, especially once it makes landfall in mainland western Alaska. For chasers on 21 Dec, we wish you the best. This bird's departure to the north was a bit unnerving: it could have left the area. On the plus side, it could have done an exploration and will return to its favorite haunts that it has worked for the past week. Photos from 12 Dec and 17 Dec seemed to be exactly at Dighton Rock SP...or nearby. So maybe it really likes the area, as do a dozen+ Bald Eagles. FYI, not a single serious birder knew about this bird before 19 Dec. The birding community jumped on it with vigor and not a single birder was secretive or unethical in how news spread thereafter. On the other hand, the initial news only broke because word leaked out gradually from the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game. That leak was intentionally slow: the intention from the state agency was to *not* share this bird...and this was apparently partly because of past bad photographer (and birder?) behavior and reputation as other birds, like Snowy and Long-eared Owls. Warranted? Or not? You be the judge. But once this reached the birding world, a number of people went above and beyond to verify the veracity of the information chain, consult with the primary sources, get details on where it was seen, mobilize the locals best equipped to search for and refind this bird, and plan for the eventuality of its discovery. In the end, it worked out amazingly, at least until 13:10 today when it flushed and flew north. Mass DF&G got their Facebook post in at ~2pm Monday, finally sharing this mind-blowing news publicly, once the bird flew off to the north: https://www.facebook.com/MassWildlife/posts/275709444589214. I much preferred Facebook posts like this: "Can't believe you nailed it you short-arsed Lancashire muppet!!!!!!" As we all prepare to try to refind it tomorrow, I implore everyone to: 1) enjoy this bird and the amazingness of it to its fullest; 2) be thankful to local landowners, police, and others who have tolerated and welcomed this sudden onrush of birders; 3) be thankful to those who have worked hard to get word out, woke before dawn to refind the bird ASAP, helped with crowd control, set up text groups and other communication avenues, and ensured that as many as possible can see this bird...all this stuff doesn't just happen; 4) give this bird a wide berth: the last thing we want is to pressure this bird and cause it to leave the area. It will give good looks with patience (if it is still around) Wow!
Additional species
Technical information
- Recorder
- iPhone
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Voice Record Pro
- Original file size
- 4.53 MB