[cobirds] RFI: Steller's Sea Eagle

I spoke this morning with a not-very-serious birder who saw a very large bird in fall of 2020 at Dixon Reservoir (Larimer) that he struggled to ID. He claimed to be familiar with Bald and Golden Eagles, including immatures, and Ospreys. Saying he felt sure it was not one of those, he looked around on the internet but the only thing he could find that looked right was Steller's Sea Eagle - a species he learned had never been observed anywhere remotely close to this part of the world. He convinced himself it couldn't be that, it had to be something else like a "mutant bald eagle", and let the mystery fade. Until he learned about the vagrant sea eagle seen that year in Alaska (before his mystery bird sighting) and Texas (after his sighting).

FWIW, his description of the bird he saw matched the field marks for Steller's Sea Eagle. I don't know the guy but he didn't strike me as a hoaxer, or someone seeking glory.

I'm only posting this to ask if anyone else ever heard anecdotal stories or speculation about that famous sea eagle perhaps migrating across/over Colorado? Obviously there are no documented sightings but I didn't know if there were any rumors?

And finally, the fun part: this guy says he had pictures but his hard drive died. He is trying to find a part so he can restore the hard drive. If he succeeds with that, and shares a photo, I'll let this community know of course. Until then, it's just an intriguing story.

John Shenot

Fort Collins, CO

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/3cdf6163-093b-4d81-9b08-e6fa06c4052fn%40googlegroups.com.