SPECIES PROFILE

Name: the Steller’s sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is one of the largest eagles in the world. It is a member of the Haliaeetus genus – which are commonly known as ‘sea eagles’.

Appearance: Steller’s sea eagles have distinctive black and white feathers, with large, orange beaks.

Size: weighing up to 9.5 kg and with a wingspan of up to 2.5 metres, they are the largest of the sea eagles and one of the largest of all eagles alongside the harpy and Philippine eagle.

Diet: Steller’s sea eagles mainly feed on fish, targeting salmon, trout, and cod. They can also take mammals and have even been observed preying on young seals. One unverified study recorded an eagle carrying off a seal pup weighing over 9 kg – which would be a world record!

Did you know: each winter, thousands of Steller’s sea eagles migrate to the seas off Hokkaido in Japan. They gather in large numbers on the drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk from January to February alongside large numbers of white-tailed eagles. They are attracted by the abundance of Pacific cod. The cod also support an important commercial fishery and fishermen in Japan have started to feed the eagles. This unique partnership provides an incredible opportunity to see these birds up close and an astonishing natural spectacle.  

Location: they breed on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the coastal area around the Sea of Okhotsk, the lower reaches of the Amur River, and on northern Sakhalin and the Shantar Islands in Russia. The majority of birds winter in the southern Kuril Islands and Hokkaido, Japan.

Where TO SEE Steller’s sea eagles

According to reports submitted to WildSide, you can see Steller’s sea eagles in the following places: