I went to Steller’s sea eagle forest in the Usotannai River because I heard that mid-December is the best time to see Steller’s sea eagle. Rumor has it that about 500 Steller’s sea eagles and white-tailed sea eagles gather in the small Usotannai River during the peak season. But unfortunately, there were only about 50 on this day.
This river doesn’t freeze over even in winter, so when the rivers around it freeze over, the salmon gather here. However, this year’s winter was so mild that some of the rivers were not iced over so that they may have been delayed.
Still, I don’t know of any river in Hokkaido where we can see eagles so densely.