Adult eagle: migration in Progress

The adult eagle took off from the Okhota river on 18 October and flew along the coastline, some 15 km inland and on 20 October arrived in the Belaya Gora region of the Russian Far east. The place, judging from the Panoramio photos, is a magnet for the eagles.

It was here last autumn from 28 October to 17 November (that is 2009)... the same place, similar time. Interestingly during spring 2010 this place was not visited: the eagle went straight to the ice north of the Shantar islands.

Will the youngster will join the adult here as they did last fall? I bet it will happen sometime between 2 and 7 November.

Adult and youngster at a favorite location

It looks like both the adult and young eagles prefer the same place on the Okhota river. In the past this place has been very attractive to some eagles, but it can also be death trap when eagles remain too long it this area and are cut off from reaching feeding areas along their migratory route heading south. Hope it won't happen to these ones.

Circlular movements of the young eagle

Meanwhile the immature eagle (65629) demonstrated rather strange movements between the Chilchikan and Okhota rivers. In early July it moved from the Okhota river to the seashore around the Chilchikan and Tolmot estuary, where it stayed until September 5. Then it flew back to the Okhota river via the Urak river (September 6), where it stayed at the same place until September 10. Then it made a loop through the tundra surrounding the Okhota river lowlands and then flew back north on September 18. Then the eagle flew back to the Chilickan River, then to the Amerikan River on September 30, and then back to the Okhota River on October 4th. Currently, it is at the same location where it was first noted in July, not far away from the adult. We hope it will fly away from this place before the ice forms.

The snow cover is steady in Magadan from yesterday.

Adult arrived to the Okhota river

Our adult eagle started the migration on September, 13, 2010, and arrived on the Okhota River on September22, where it has remained up until now (18 October).

Adult started to move!

If August was uneventful for both immature and adult eagles, the month of September turned out to be an action-packed time for the adult. On 13 September it started to move west at a leisurely pace, spent 3 days on the Lysyanskogo Peninsula, and 2 days on Ulbeya river, before arriving to the Okhota river. Where it stayed at the same spot as our immature eagle! They meet up again. Previously they met in November 2009, at the Belaya Gora village, in Primorye.

What is unusual is that this autumn the adult, which was not breeding this summer, started to migrate almost 1 month earlier than in the previous year (when it was presumably breeding). Compare: 12 October in 2009 and 13 September 2010.

June-July

Our young eagle (65629) after re-visiting the Okhota river (location identical to the one of the summer 2009), came out to the coast and remained at the estuary of the Chilchikan river, west of Okhotsk.

The adult remains at the Motykley Bay. At the end of the month it moved to the famous hotsprings of the Motykley Bay. Lot of small fish there.

This is the picture of this place taken in May 2005

June-July 2010

It appears that the adult eagle settled on the Amakhton Bay and makes short flights to the areas of the bay which are exposed to low tide.


The youngster (65629) stays at the Gyrby River, Khabarovsk District.