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Steller's Sea Eagle in Somerville (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Nathan65
- Start date
Bismarck Honeyeater
Barely known member
Any phone shots, or camera pictures? One imagines it would be an escape, to be that tame, and in such a built up area, though I don't think Steller's Eagles are that common in captivity. What made you think it was a Steller's Eagle? Any chance it could have been something else?
I had no camera but walked up to the bird within six feet and got a very very good look at it. I don't think I am mistaken. It's an incredibly unusual bird.
definitely not a turkey vulture. I have seem many of those in Ohio. And this bird was way bigger than a bald eagle let alone a crow. I have extensively examined Peterson's guide and the Steller is the only match. I'm kind of surprised that there have not been other sightings.
If the bird is still anywhere near, please take a picture.
It is not inconceivable that there might be another Stellers Eagle, but it needs some independent evidence.
Bismarck Honeyeater
Barely known member
Could you give us a description of the bird, or even a poor drawing would help.
Actual size, colour, shape of bill, leg length, anything really.
I had no camera but I had a cell phone. This picture is totally horrible because the background lighting is so bright... which is why i didn't post it. The background lighting from the sunlit grass really screwed up the view of the head and neck. Sorry!! I knew the picture was going to be lame but if I had known how badly it would turn out I would have tried a lot harder. When I approached the bird my first thought was "woa this is the size of a dog!". It was about 2.5 to three feet long. I noticed the feathers around its legs made its legs look thick and stumpy and fat even though that was obviously an illusion. And the claws looked very strong. After I took this picture I walked around and got even closer from inside that batting cage.....I got a got long look but left cause I didn't want to drive it away I was kind of surprised that it wasn't scared but then again I was probably the one who should have been worried. In a direct front view, with the bird looking straight at me the beak looked maybe 1/2 inch thick And the point of beak hooked aggressively downward and looked incredibly sharp....as emphasized each time the bird took a chunk out of the critter. (I did not identify the animal it was eating because it was just a pile of guts at that point.) Sorry I am not better informed...I'm not a bird watcher of any kind. I certainly hope somebody get a better picture than this. Whatever this turns out to be was really amazing to see such an incredible creature at such close range... and even though I am not a birder I feel pretty thrilled at this encounter. Even if I am mistaken it's still the coolest animal encounter I have ever had.
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oh wow. i had thought that bald eagles didn't have black feathers covering their head and I couldn't imagine a juvenile being so huge. But now that I have read up on it that makes a lot more sense than a bird that basically doesn't exist in these parts!
Wow, the picture actually isn't bad. I thought you were just joking around...I would guess immature bald eagle too. From your description of the huge size that is probably it. It takes 5 years before they assume the uniform brown color with white head and before that it's all different varieties of white & brown mottling.
I just read a report a few months ago about Bald Eagles feeding on Chestnut Hill Reservoir which was pretty shocking to me but apparently not unusual now. The eagles are comfortable coming right into urban areas of Boston and now Somerville.
You should join the Massbird email list, I'm on it - people would have been interested in this sighting, it's a good place to report rare bird sightings, that's where I read about the eagles in Brighton
I just read a report a few months ago about Bald Eagles feeding on Chestnut Hill Reservoir which was pretty shocking to me but apparently not unusual now. The eagles are comfortable coming right into urban areas of Boston and now Somerville.
You should join the Massbird email list, I'm on it - people would have been interested in this sighting, it's a good place to report rare bird sightings, that's where I read about the eagles in Brighton
Bismarck Honeyeater
Barely known member
Thanks, every bit of information helps. I’ve brightened it a bit.
Possibly, as some have said, an immature Bald Eagle, though it would be fairly audacious behaviour.
Or, more likely perhaps, an immature Red-tailed Hawk. Both are in your area. Data from eBird:
Historical distribution of Bald eagle.
Historical distribution of Red-tailed Hawk, plus a picture taken last year just across the road.
Agree: if not bald eagle then red-tail.
man it honestly was pretty huge. I'm thinking the bald eagle is more likely...unless red tails are wayyy bigger than I thought. I grew up in Ithaca and saw a good number of them but never anything this big. It was flying up a tree when I first saw it and i was shocked by the size of it...i actually figured it for a vulture until I got up close and got a good look at the head.
MiddleRiver
Well-known member
Rough legged Hawk ?
jmepler
It's just a flesh wound.
I'm not saying that it couldn't be a Bald Eagle, just that my first impression of the bird is that of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.
In addition to the close proximity making it seem very large, juvenile raptors are typically bigger than the adults. This gives them a head start at life when they start to hunt on their own. Females are also larger than the males.
The behavior seems better for a Red-tailed Hawk as well. If this bird killed what it was eating then it was almost certainly a Red-tailed Hawk. Bald Eagles will scavenge a dead animal, but it would be very unlikely to have one kill a mammal in an area like where you saw it.
Regardless of what it was, I'm glad that you enjoyed the encounter. It's always exciting to be close to birds, especially large raptors.
Looking at the shape and fluffiness of the plumage on the legs it does look more buteo than eagle....the body seems more compact like a hawk I think. Of course the bald eagles prefer fish so that would make this a very rare sighting of bald eagle
Nothing to do but go back and look for him some more! I've got a Red-tail that stops by my property like a buffet every day around 11-1130 AM. He browses the wildflower meadow for a few minutes from the same perch and then moves on.
Nothing to do but go back and look for him some more! I've got a Red-tail that stops by my property like a buffet every day around 11-1130 AM. He browses the wildflower meadow for a few minutes from the same perch and then moves on.
I've observed a few red-tails around my property for years through binoculars or a spotting scope, and am relatively familiar with them. This one looks more like a red-tail to me, particularly by seeing the color at the tail end under more light. See what I circled of the original image. But of course, bear in mind the image quality was not that good.
