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Steller's Sea eagle

( Haliaeetus pelagicus )

The Steller’s sea eagle is the world’s largest sea eagle, with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters. It lives in the wild in East Asia, representing all the different sea eagle species, including the white-tailed eagle.
The diet and lifestyle of these two sea eagles are quite similar. They primarily feed on fish, which they catch in shallow waters. However, their menu also consists of various waterfowl, such as ducks and geese.

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Hear the Steller's Sea eagle

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Weight

5-9 kg

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Habitat

By sea coasts, lakes and rivers

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Diet

Fish and small seabirds.

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Offspring

1-3

Get to know Steller's Sea eagle

Classification: Bird (Aves)

Order: Accipitriformes

Family: Accipitridae

Distribution: Eastern Russia and northern Japan

Habitat: Coastal areas, lakes and rivers

Lifespan: Unknown, but probably more than 20 years

Wingspan: 2.5 m

Height: 85-105 cm

Weight: Male: 5-7.5 kg – Female: 6-9 kg

Maturity: 5-6 years

Mating season: February/March

Eggs: They lay eggs in April/May and the eggs hatch after 39-45 days

Number of offspring: 1-3

Food: Primarily fish, but also seabirds, small mammals, shellfish and carrion

Habitat

Sea eagles inhabit a wide range of habitats but are always closely connected to water. They are often found in coastal areas, where they can nest on both high cliffs and low-lying islands. However, they can also live near large rivers, lakes, and inland wetlands. In winter, many sea eagles gather in coastal wetlands, river estuaries, and marshlands, where food is more easily accessible.
Sea eagles prefer quiet surroundings with old, tall trees for nesting and generally avoid areas with high noise levels and human activity.

Distribution

The range of the white-tailed sea eagle extends from coastal areas in Western Europe and Scandinavia to Siberia and parts of Central Asia. It breeds in both temperate lowland areas and further north in more subarctic regions. This gives it a broader ecological adaptability than Steller’s sea eagle, which is more specialized for the subarctic zone.
Steller’s sea eagles breed on the Kamchatka Peninsula and along the coast of eastern Russia. In winter, many migrate to Korea, Japan, and China, but most overwinter just south of their breeding grounds in Russia and on Hokkaido in Japan. Occasionally, wandering individuals have been observed as far away as North America and Taiwan.

Djursland

Breeding sea eagles can also be found on Djursland, and they can be spotted near several large lakes and along the coast. Stubbe Lake is a great location for spotting them—just watch the water birds. When they panic, it’s time to look up, to see if the ruler of the skies is on the hunt.
From time to time, we also see them over Scandinavian Wildlife Park, and they almost always make a round past the eagle aviary to check on their Russian cousins. Maybe they’re trying to figure out how to get in on the meal plan.

Distribution

The range of the white-tailed sea eagle extends from coastal areas in Western Europe and Scandinavia to Siberia and parts of Central Asia. It breeds in both temperate lowland areas and further north in more subarctic regions. This gives it a broader ecological adaptability than Steller’s sea eagle, which is more specialized for the subarctic zone.
Steller’s sea eagles breed on the Kamchatka Peninsula and along the coast of eastern Russia. In winter, many migrate to Korea, Japan, and China, but most overwinter just south of their breeding grounds in Russia and on Hokkaido in Japan. Occasionally, wandering individuals have been observed as far away as North America and Taiwan.

Djursland

Breeding sea eagles can also be found on Djursland, and they can be spotted near several large lakes and along the coast. Stubbe Lake is a great location for spotting them—just watch the water birds. When they panic, it’s time to look up, to see if the ruler of the skies is on the hunt.
From time to time, we also see them over Scandinavian Wildlife Park, and they almost always make a round past the eagle aviary to check on their Russian cousins. Maybe they’re trying to figure out how to get in on the meal plan.
Oplev vildtflyvende havørne i Danmark
Mød Stellers Havørnen i Skandinavisk Dyrepark

The aviary

The aviary is the largest of its kind dedicated exclusively to sea eagles. It has a ground area of 60×60 meters and a height of 12 meters. The netting was originally designed to protect fish farms and has an extremely high breaking strength. The small lake has a shallow area near the viewing area, where the water is 20 cm deep, while the deepest part reaches around 70 cm.
We do not have physical contact with the sea eagles, as they were not hand-raised like falconry birds often are. This means they cannot fly to a glove, but it also means they are not dependent on a human schedule to stretch their wings and fly.

The residents

At Scandinavian Wildlife Park, we have two Steller’s sea eagles. They are both males and are not related to each other. There are no plans to breed sea eagles at our facility, so instead, we have a bachelor group of males that are not part of the European breeding program.

The Steller’s sea eagle is not a Scandinavian species, but according to Danish law, we are not allowed to keep the European white-tailed eagle. Therefore, it resides here as a representative of its European cousin—a species that occasionally inhabits the same areas as the Steller’s sea eagle and has a very similar lifestyle and diet.

Name:

Gandalf

Born:

19.03.2014

Gender:

Han

Gandalf has lived at Scandinavian Wildlife Park since 2015 when the enclosure opened. He is a determined fellow with his own opinions on things, and he only does what he wants to do. 

Name:

Dumbledore

Born:

03.05.2005

Gender:

Han

Dumbledore is the newest resident in the sea eagle aviary. He has spent most of his life in England, where he unfortunately failed as a breeding male due to his somewhat cautious approach. 

Verdenskort