This is the third summer in a row that an emperor eagle has taken up residence in Newfoundland, more than 9,000 kilometres from its usual habitat. The impressive bird of prey from Asia is a tourist attraction in the coastal village of Trinity.
In the summer of 2022, Bob Bartlett, skipper and founder of Trinity Eco Tours, was the first to observe the bird in Trinity Bay. “I had never seen a bird that big. I posted his picture on social media.” His post, shared on the Stellar’s Sea Eagle in Canada and Maine (and beyond) Stellar’s Sea Eagle pages, which have just over 16,000 members on Facebook, went viral. “The phone was ringing off the hook. People wanted to know if he was still there. The first tourist to come to photograph him was from Quebec. He was willing to pay a lot of money for me to take him to him. I thought he was crazy to want to pay that kind of money to see a bird.”
The emperor eagle’s habitat normally extends from eastern Russia to northern Japan. In the summer of 2020, the bird was observed for the first time in Alaska. Since then, thousands of Internet users have followed its trajectory from Texas to the Gaspé Peninsula via New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine, Massachusetts and Newfoundland. With its large orange beak and broad white epaulettes on its two-and-a-half-metre wingspan, it is easily distinguished from the bald eagle, its North American cousin. Estimating that there are at most 4,760 individuals left, Birdlife International gave it the status of vulnerable species.
PHOTO HÉLÈNE CHOQUETTE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
With its large orange beak and broad white epaulettes on its two-and-a-half-metre wingspan, the emperor eagle is easily distinguished from the bald eagle.
In search of new territories
According to Alexander Lees, professor of biodiversity at Manchester Metropolitan University, and author of Vagrancy in Birds (Princeton Press University, 2022), the presence of the latter in North America could be explained by the habit that juveniles have of dispersing, in search of new territories suitable for feeding and reproduction. Although climate change affects the migration of some birds, Alexander Lees does not believe that this is the case for the emperor eagle.
“What’s unusual is that this one went all the way down to Texas and then back up the Atlantic coast. It could well be looking for mates or good fishing spots,” says Alexander Lees.
In the summer of 2023, a roseate spoonbill was also observed in the Lower St. Lawrence. As with the emperor eagle, hundreds of people traveled to the region to observe it. It is now easy to follow avian news on online groups and on collective science applications. QuébecOiseaux hosts the “Québec rare birds page”.
Its general manager, Jean-Sébastien Guénette, recalls that not so long ago, you had to be a member of a birding club to be informed of the presence of a rare bird. While technology is helping to democratize the ornithological hobby, “amateurs, left to their own devices, do not always know the best practices to adopt. Several applications hide the precise location of certain rare birds in order to avoid crowds that could disturb them. Raising awareness among amateur ornithologists about best practices is one of our challenges.”, says Jean-Sébastien Guénette.
Since the arrival of the emperor eagle in Trinity Bay, people have come from as far as Switzerland and Germany to see it. In Trinity, population 1,650, craft shops and restaurants are doing brisk business. According to a study by Southern Illinois University published in 2023, between 2,115 and 2,645 people would have converged on the American east coast to observe the emperor bald eagle between December 2021 and January 2022. These people would have spent a total of between $584,373 and $731,809 US, including the cost of their travel.
As this is the third summer in a row that the emperor eagle has spent in Trinity Bay, experts believe it may well return for the rest of its life. Newfoundland’s fish-filled waters and many bays accessible only by boat could be an ideal location. Last June, the raptor was seen carrying branches as if it were trying to make a nest. Alexander Lees believes that, “the only one of its kind, it could well breed with a bald eagle, like this one was the case in Juneau, Alaska in 2004, and gave birth to a generation of hybrid bald eagles.” One thing is certain, the Newfoundland emperor has not finished making people talk about him.