Mallacoota Birds: White-bellied Sea-Eagle

Bird of the Week: White-bellied Sea-Eagle 18 September 2020

A bird you all know! If Mallacoota was to have a signature bird, this one would be a strong candidate.

Knowing the adults is easy – they are the only white, grey & black, very large, bird of prey in the area.

But knowing the immatures and juveniles is much harder. Especially as Mallacoota is home to Wedge-tailed Eagles, Little Eagles, Whistling Kites, Square-tailed Kites and even rarely, an Osprey – all of which have similarities.

The first thing to look for is the size. White-bellied Sea-Eagles are massive birds. Only Wedge-tailed Eagles are a similar size. But size can be hard to pick when there’s nothing around for comparison.

The second thing to look for is the short tail. Compared to the wings, the White-bellied Sea-Eagle has quite a short tail.

Compare this to the Wedge-tailed Eagle’s very long tail, and the Whistling Kite’s long blonde tail.

The tail ends in a bit of a triangle, but its a shallow triangle, not a long pointy diamond like a Wedge-tailed Eagle has. Whistling Kites, Little Eagles and Osprey have a rounded end to their tails. Square-tailed Kites have a flat, square end to their tails.

Also look for the broad wings, often held upwards in a triangle.

Colour is difficult. Young White-bellied Sea-Eagles are brown, as are most of the others. There are times when the light is bad and they can look quite dark, almost like a Wedgie. So shape is the key.

They don’t just eat fish. They are known predators of flying-foxes, seabirds, freshwater turtles and even occasionally rabbits. They will eat carrion, and anything suitable washed up on the beach.

White-bellied Sea-Eagles are a shy and wary bird, and don’t respond well to disturbance or development near their habitat. Breeding success is highest in remote areas. They have been known to abandon nests and chicks if people get too close.

Did you know that ‘our’ White-bellied Sea-Eagle is not exclusively Aussie? They also occur in India, south-east Asia & New Guinea. Debus (2012) says that Sanford’s Sea-Eagle H. sanfordi from the Solomon Islands is a subspecies, but I can’t find further references so I think that information may be superceded. Do others know?

In Mallacoota we are very lucky to have several breeding pairs. It is estimated that the whole of Victoria only has 100 pairs.

Scroll through to see lots of great pics here: https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=wbseag1&sort=rating_rank_desc&mediaType=p&regionCode=

DETAILS:

White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster

Location: All of the Australian coastline, and inland along major rivers especially in VIC, NSW, QLD, TAS, NT and northern WA. India, south-east Asia, New Guinea.

Conservation status: Endangered in Victoria, Vulnerable in TAS & SA.

Learn about them: http://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/white-bellied-sea-eagle

Watch Sea-Eagle Cam: https://www.sea-eaglecam.org/video.html

Threats: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=20322

Information from Debus, Stephen Birds of Prey of Australia, A Field Guide and
Menkhorst, Rogers, Clarke et al The Australian Bird Guide.

Thanks to Rob Clay, Marlo and Martin Maderthaner, Echidna Walkabout for the terrific photos.