s30986u@kaira.hut.fi (Martin Helin) (04/24/91)
An adult Steller's Sea-Eagle was observed on April 21nd and 23rd in SW and W Finland. As the species breeding grounds lie very far away (i.e. NE Siberia) and it's a rare and local breeder even there many people in Finland (including [some] members of the national Rarities Committee) regard it as an escape. Thus, we would welcome ANY information on its status as a cage bird. Do you know of any zoos which would have it ? Can you find out if any birds have escaped (recently) from the zoo (in Eurasia) ? Obviously, the species has not been recorded in Europe before and the Finnishh record would be a new species for the Western Palearctic if accepted in the A (wild) category. Steller's Sea-Eagle has been recorded in the US (Alaska, I think) but any records of other vagrants are most welcome as well. You can reply here or directly via e-mail (I'll summarize any eventual replies here). Thanks, Martin BTW, has any of you seen the species wild ? At least a couple of Finns has managed to 'tick' it in Siberia. I guess, it might easier to get to its wintering region (the sea of Ohota, sp?) including (N?) Japan. Martin Helin Helsinki University of Technology, Finland Internet : mhe@otax.tky.hut.fi s30986u@kaira.hut.fi UUCP : uunet!kaira.hut.fi!s30986u