During the annual JapanDreamscapes Hokkaido bird watching photography workshop tour, spotting and photographing the Steller's Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is always the main birding event on our Hokkaido photo tour itinerary. Their distribution across Japan’s north island means they can be seen from Rausu to Nemuro, and on rare occasions in the Kushiro region when the pack-ice is thin and food is scarce. In recent years, in response to lean years and subtle climate shifts in the region, wildlife agencies have erected feeding stations. Also, from Nemuro to Rausu, approximately 160 km (100 miles), there are about a dozen natural feeding points for the eagles and a couple spots where you can pay to see the eagles devouring fresh fish. The Steller's Sea Eagle prefers a diet of trout, salmon, or other fish but as opportunistic predators, they will also eat baby seals or land animals. The Steller's Sea Eagle is protected by law and is designated as a national treasure in Japan, listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered Species. Around 4,000 remain in the wild, their population slightly decreasing, and over 2,000 visit Japan every winter. The first photo in this newsletter of the Steller's Sea Eagle, that was taken on the deck of a chartered vessel of the coast of Rausu, Hokkaido. Our workshop leader used the Nikon Z9 and Sigma’s 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sport with Sigma’s 1.4x teleconverter giving a focal range of 168-420mm. The ship's captain jammed the ship into the pack ice with the rising sun to our group's backs; camera settings were 1/2500th, f/11, ISO 500. The second image of a Steller’s sea eagle, was taken while in a Zodiac boat off the coast of Hokkaido. Our workshop leader had the motor off and was paddling around pack ice looking for raptors and landscape shots.
Sadly, many photography agencies have no choice but to bus their clients into Rausu, book them into their lodgings, and hold meaningless seminars on how to photograph raptors on the pack ice. WOW! Yup, Rausu is a one store fishing village, with some great seafood restaurants, and a small bar or two, but in the daytime there’s not much to do in winter but board a chartered vessel to photograph the Steller’s sea eagles on the pack ice. So, what do you do if there is a storm? You sit in your hotel, enjoy the onsen, head to the local convenience store, or you could enjoy more lovely seminars about how to photograph birds that you can’t actually see due to a storm. As a last resort, some walk around the piers and photograph sea birds. Wow, sounds like fun! Even worse, some agencies only book one day to venture out on a chartered boat in Rausu. If you're lucky, you get two days. With JDS and a few other photo workshops agencies, you will have booked three or four days to venture out on the pack ice to spot and photograph the Steller’s sea eagles. In over twenty five years leading Hokkaido birding workshops, our workshop leaders have hosted clients, they average at least two days spotting and photographing raptors on the pack ice on the deck of a chartered boat. They have never had zero days!
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