With expectations that this will be my first installment of what, I hope, will be many, I’ll begin with an enjoyable birding failure! (Let’s root for this not to become the norm!)

I’ll start by saying that when my wife, who is not a birder, mentions to me about a rare bird, I should really pay attention! She announced to me that there has been a sighting of the mega rare Steller’s Sea Eagle along Maine’s coast and that we should go see it.

ROAD TRIP!!

The Steller’s Sea Eagle is the largest Eagle in the world and numbers estimate about 5000 total birds known. It is normally found in Russia, Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan and has a worldwide vulnerable status. It was found here in the USA in Maine last year and stayed for about a month before moving up to Nova Scotia in Canada.

Steller’s Sea Eagle Distribution Map

My interest was piqued to where I quickly joined a Groupme chat with birders who were actively reporting on daily sightings of where and how long it was the eagle was being seen. After a week-long influx of information about the rarity and the excruciating decision of whether we should go or not, it was settled! We are going to Maine!

As I mentioned before, my wife is not a birder by any means but she does enjoy all the beautiful nature that goes along with it. From sunrises and sunsets to walking and hiking in the forests and along lakeshores. She also let me know she enjoys watching me in my birding chases, so she was just as excited about the trip as I was.

After procuring a suitable spot for my 8 year old daughter to stay for the weekend (Thanks Grandma!!), we started on our 48 hour birding adventure!

We started off around 5pm on Friday and set off to drive through the night to be able to arrive as early as possible the next morning as the eagle was regularly being first seen between 9 and 10 in the morning until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon so our chances at seeing the star of the show was on our side!

After a long night drive through Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York (where we hit a bit of snow in Syracuse) we finally made it to Massachusetts.

As I stated earlier my wife loves sunrises and sunsets. She was not disappointed! The sunrise over The Berkshire mountain range in western Massachusetts was glorious!

Sunrise Berkshire Mountains, Massachusetts

Sunrise Hampton Beach New Hampshire

Soon after the first reports were coming in saying the bird was sitting in its normal area! With about 2 hours until our arrival the almost certainty of seeing this wonder was starting to set in!

With nearly 25 years of experience I’ve had birding and chasing birds, I know that birds have wings and sometimes don’t stay put. (I had one such almost encounter with a rare Sun Grebe that I missed by 10 minutes) so I am well aware that there is always a possibility that a bird won’t be there when I arrive but as with earlier reports in the week and the countless sightings posted I was almost certain this one wouldn’t be the case!

The first negative news report shows up on my Groupme feed… 10:00 am Eagle flew off east over the pines. Knowing that the bird had flown off and returned most of the week I still wasn’t too worried about it. I mean, it had done this before right?

We arrived in Bath, Maine around 10:30 and after grabbing a bite we headed past 100 or so birders standing on a bridge spanning the Back River and decided to go to Flying Point preserve where the home for this majestic bird has been for the past week.

As we got to the spot where around 20 other birders were standing in anticipation we enjoyed the brilliant sunshine and blue sky. The Back River, that runs through the preserve, was as blue as the sky and was dotted with Bufflehead Ducks, Canada Geese, American Black Ducks, and a Common Goldeneye. American Bald Eagles were standing in the pines as we waited in excited expectation.

Flying Point Preserve, Maine

Red-Breasted Nuthatch Flying Point Preserve

By 1:30 and still no sign of the bird’s return visit, we decided to go search the area hoping the eagle would turn up in another spot in the area.

Maine is known for their lobster and Five Islands Harbor is a beautiful spot to launch the boats from! Birds seen here were Red Throated Loon, Herring and Ring-billed Gull, Common Eider, Horned Grebe, and Black Guillemot. But no Steller’s, whom the birders now named Stella.

Five Islands Harbor, Maine

After searching until about 4:30 we decided to sit on the bridge that crossed the Back River along with around 25 other birds with the hopes that Stella would return but as it was getting dark our hopes diminished. At sunset, we headed back into town for dinner, which of course included a lobster roll, and started the journey home. After much needed sleep at a hotel, we headed back to Michigan.

Sadly we didn’t get to see the star of the weekend. Stella will have to wait for another adventure. But what we did have was another amazing adventure that included many birds (including a lifer: Black Guillemot). Gorgeous rivers, lakes, bays, and the Atlantic Ocean. Amazing sunsets and sunrises. And majestic Mountains and valleys.

Ready for the next adventure in birding!

Birds seen on the trip:

Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Canada Goose, Red-Brested Nuthatch, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Black-Capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Black Duck, Bufflehead Duck, Common Goldeneye, American Bald Eagle, Mallard, Common Eider, Horned Grebe, Black Guillemot, Red-throated Loon, American Crow, Dark-eyed Junco, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Common Merganser

Trip Location Arrowsic, Maine