I am currently leading my annual Hokkaido birding photo tour on this chapter of our Hokkaido expedition.  We are spotting and photographing the Steller's Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) by chartered boat.  Steller’s Sea Eagles are some of the largest diurnal birds of prey in the world, and these raptors are fierce and unrelenting in their pursuit of prey, and these Eagles are huge, on average the heaviest raptor on our planet, weighing up to 10 kg (22 pounds). They are also tall measuring up to 94 cm (3 ft), with a huge wingspan of up to 250 cm (8.2 ft). Their plumage is blackish brown black all over except on the shoulders, rump, tail, thighs and forehead which are white. Their big bill is yellow, razor sharp, and wickedly hooked, with raw force they quickly slice through the flesh of their prey and devour it.  They prefer the taste of sweet trout, salmon, or other fish but will eat sea lions or just about any land species when fishing is slow.  Could you imagine a human-sized or even larger raptor similar to the Steller’s Sea Eagle?  Well, they existed in the same window of time as the Steller’s and one species is called the Quetzalcoatlus northropi which had wingspan of 10m (33f) and it was a none picky eater, WoW!  And even today, from time to time, we hear of people sighting thunderbirds.  The First Nations Peoples of North America and most First Nations People worldwide believe that all animals are spiritual, divine beings composed of or possessing spiritual energy.  And all First Nations Peoples in the northern hemisphere have oral stories of the thunderbird or a similar bird.  Various nations have different oral traditions about the mysterious thunderbird, which they highly revere.  While photographing a thunderbird has remained an unfinished adventure for me, I am more than happy to photograph the magical Steller’s Sea Eagle during my annual Hokkaido birding photo workshop tour, and one day I hope to spot and photograph a thunderbird.  Speaking of fantastic stories, Lake Motosuko, one of the Fuji Five Lakes, has an inhabitant, ‘Mossie’, akin to the Lochness monster.  I live and explore in the Mt. Fuji region, but I have yet to spot and photograph Mossie, but I’m hopeful for the future.