The Sea Eagle - King of the Seas | Free Documentary Nature

Up to five kilograms in weight with wings that span almost two and a half meters and two muscular claws with needle sharp talons. The sea eagle is perfectly equipped for hunting so it represents power and strength and it is merciless. The sea eagle's habitat stretches all the way to the far north of Europe right to the coldest most barren places. A surprising number of animals brave the harsh climate here in Europe's freezer. For example the musk ox just a few days old well guarded by his mother. Musk oxen are not on the menu of the sea eagle. The sea eagle hunts for more vulnerable prey. While searching for food he is usually accompanied by a gang of ravens. They are bothersome followers for the eagle who can only manage to shake them off when he flies out over the open sea. Out here beneath the surface there is an abundance of food but it is hard to catch. Millions of herring are on the 1,000 kilometer long journey southward to their spawning grounds. Every single fish would serve as a daily ration for a hungry eagle and there are many others who also enjoy a herring dinner. Killer whales follow the fish. Sometimes several groups pin themselves to one of the same swarm of herring. Not only orcas are interested in this plentiful buffet even humpback whales accompany the herring on their journey to gorge themselves. With just one dive these giants can swallow hundreds of fish at once. During the day the prized swarms of fish swim in 100 meter deep water. At dawn they come up to the surface. They ceaselessly move along with the warm gulf stream. The sea eagle also follows the gulf stream and searches for the wandering fish. He doesn't have much time for hunting since the winter days are short north of the polar circle. The whales on the other hand do not need to rely on daylight for their orientation. Their snorting and spluttering attracts hungry seagulls who are always ready to Seagulls and eagles circle over the orcas and humpback whales with an eye on their prey until the fading light of dawn. Table manners go out of the window for the sea eagle. When the big sea mammals hunt for herring and other fish there are plenty of leftovers and that's just what the birds have had their eyes on. The eagles observe the feast from a distance while the herring gulls dive straight into the action to fight for every last fish left by the whales. The eagle keeps an eye on the situation and holds back. For now hungry seagulls are busy with their own kind and overlook some scraps. Time and again the whales rise up to the surface and spin off new food remnants along with them. Finally the moment has also come for the sea eagle. In the end the endless circling and waiting has paid off. Half a kilo of fish per day is enough for an adult eagle. So does the majestic bird of prey turn out to be more of a bargain hunter than a dangerous predator? Or is this a special trick of the sea eagle off the Scandinavian coast? The frothy shoreline of the North Atlantic is not the only habitat populated by sea eagles. Quiet and tranquil lakes can also be eagle territories just like here in the northeast of Germany. The lake is stark and silent it seems but there are still parallels with the arctic waters. As with the Atlantic animals gather here in large swarms that the eagles love to eat and as always when an abundant source of food is found all kinds of different predators make their way to get their own share. Very slowly the eagle moves closer to the waves. Ducks, swans and coots huddle together in the last open water holes. The more the lake freezes over the tighter the space becomes for the aquatic birds. They then literally become trapped. There is not much left for them to eat here. Nevertheless the aquatic birds magically gravitate from the surrounding area towards the last ice-free place in the lake. Hundreds of paddle folks keep the water moving and prevent it from freezing over completely and what's more the birds feel safer in a community than being alone. Just like with the herring in the North Atlantic the swarm protects the individuals by confusing predators. In contrast to their fellow birds in the far north however the eagles here have to do the attacking themselves. The adult bird with the white tail feathers is an experienced hunter. Still it is difficult for it to catch an aquatic bird. It even briefly takes flight away from the angry hooper swan. The young eagle wastes more energy. He makes a swoop at the fleeing aquatic birds much more often than his parents do. Dozens of times the eagles leave from the shore, circle over the waterhole and wait for an opportune moment. But time and again the eagles let the targeted prey slip out of their sight at the last minute amidst all of the movement. Once it has landed the eagle no longer spreads fear. The young eagle has managed it after all. He has seized a loon which came to this lake from the far north to spend the winter here. In this season love often comes before scavenging for the raven. Just like us humans ravens like to live in a monogamous relationship. A pair will typically create its bond long before the breeding season using gestures and chatter. Of course the ravens want their share of the loot sooner or later but the couple has time. And anyway they're busy with more important things. The beak is its knife and fork. The sea eagle only uses its deadly fangs to hold the prey steady. The ravens have gained strength and an appetite. In the end they provide a little assistance to make sure the eagle doesn't take too much time over its meal. The sea eagle is an XL-sized bird of prey. There is also a smaller size. The buzzard is not choosy when it's cold and icy. When he sees the leftovers his beak starts to water. The buzzard waits patiently until the big eagle is full and moves away. Then it's the buzzards turn. Their biggest competition is each other. Many buzzards arrive quickly at one food source and nobody is ready to give in to let the others have these precious calories. The hierarchy is continually fine-tuned. The strongest buzzard tries to defend his place. The birds know each other and spend the whole winter together with other buzzards in a loose group on a lake shore where there is the most nourishment. A lighter colored buzzard appears and wants to assert himself. There is hardly another bird of prey that varies so much in its coloring as the buzzard. The color of its feathers has no influence on the bird's position in the hierarchy. One of the two will soon get to fill its stomach but the weaker one is driven away. The sea eagles look on. Finally the conditions are right. Buzzards do in fact feed mostly on other birds but especially in the wintertime the eagle's loot left lying around is most welcome. In order to be able to hold their own the animals target certain food sources. The red deer diversifies in winter when it can no longer find foliage or grass in the forest by the lake. It nibbles at bark and buds, a never-ending food source. The goldfinch, which in contrast to most songbirds does not migrate south in autumn but rather spends the cold seasons in central Europe, has his special nutritional needs. He gathers plant seeds from various prickly fruits with his strong and pointy beak. That's how he gets his other name, thistlefinch. An attractive songbird that feeds on weed seeds. That's why animals such as the goldfinch have always been so popular. Others on the other hand have to deal with a bad image and prejudice against them. Shortly after the snow has melted the liverwort is blooming. It's the first sign of spring. The cries of the sea eagle used to be a common sound until this distinctive sound disappeared almost completely from central Europe some 100 years ago. Sea eagles were persecuted mercilessly throughout Europe. There were often bounties. Thousands of eagles were shot especially during the 19th century. Even in the sparsely populated northeast of Germany, which is rich in forests and waters, the total population sank to just a few animals. By the 1980s the sea eagle had become almost extinct. But just like the mythical phoenix which was burned and then resurrected from its ashes, the sea eagle would also experience a surprising comeback. In the 20th century nature conservation developed and the hunting of eagles was banned. Now the birds of prey have increased again but more slowly than expected. Why is that? To this day countless sea eagles still fall victim to hunting if only indirectly. Lead in gun ammunition is a devilish poison for eagles. Lead-free ammunition for hunting rifles has been around for a while. Nevertheless lead ammunition continues to be sold and used. If wild game is shot with lead, ammunition remains in the forest and constitutes a mortal threat to the eagles. The bullets burst into countless tiny lead particles upon impact. We humans rarely notice it but in eagles even the smallest amounts of lead cause nerve damage and blindness. A death sentence for these birds of prey. Dead animals and the offal left behind after the hunt are a coveted source of food for sea eagles. Ravens love carcasses as well. They come and go and seemingly remain unharmed by the lead. But several dozen sea eagles have to die each year just because some hunters are not ready to switch to lead-free ammunition. Now the ravens have the deer to themselves. Although there's enough for everyone, arguments break out again and again. Ravens were also hunted by humans until they had largely disappeared from central Europe. Now they are slowly returning to their old habitats. More than 700 sea eagle territories in Germany are currently inhabited. Biologists calculate that there could be twice as many. If more lead-free ammunition was used for hunting, in just a few years the cries of the sea eagle could be heard in these forests as well. At the end of March the small eagles are already hopping. The trees are still bare and the warm rays of the springtime sun reach down inside the nest and warm the offspring. Although sea eagles generally tolerate proximity to civilization, the ideal eagle habitat looks completely different. Forests, alternating lakes and swamps, little agriculture and few people. Wilderness areas with a high level of biodiversity. The cormorant was also persecuted for centuries and remains so today. There are management plans today and competitors for food no longer need to be eradicated. But the bird is still considered to be a fish pest and 80,000 cormorants are killed every year in the European Union alone. The cormorant likes collecting nest material in the water. He painstakingly transports the dripping cargo to the colony. The cormorant has numerous natural enemies, including the sea eagle. In wilderness areas with a great diversity of species, the colonies of cormorants never become so large that they can harm fish populations. The cormorant is a valuable member of the ecosystem, even if it has few advocates among us humans. For some sea eagles, these cormorant colonies with often hundreds of nests are a real life insurance, but more about that later. In the vast expanses of northern Europe, most of the eagles have survived. In a period when their population radically diminished in central Europe. Even today, the feathered giant can also be encountered far from the seashore or large lakes. Scandinavia not only offers sparsely populated landscapes, it is also home to over 4,000 brown bears and other predators. Fellow creatures that play a key role in the lives of the sea eagles, even if one would not suspect that at first. Again and again, birds of prey are attracted to the vicinity of large predators. They wait patiently in the vicinity of a bear and follow him on his forays. Only the cautious, shy variety of brown bears have survived centuries of persecution by humans. These bears are easily scared, but a seductive fragrance causes this chap to stop. A second dark bear appears. He was also lured here by an aroma that makes the bears go wild. During the summer, the day does not end north of the Arctic Circle. It stays light the whole night long, and life takes place more slowly because everyone has a lot of time. A cadaver is on the moor. It attracted scavengers. The eagles would never dare to go down to the bears, so it's waiting time. The bears demolish as much of the carcass as possible. They can swallow up to 40 kilograms at a single meal. There is always enough to eat where bears are living, even if these large carnivores mainly have a vegetarian diet. They do not refuse if their fine noses lead them to a dead animal. They are often the ones to make it accessible to others because they rip open the carcass and tear it into pieces. Bears, eagles, ravens, all waiting for their chance. In the wild, a carcass is a valuable source of protein. It's not until the next morning that the last bear arrives and takes some food for the road. Finally, the danger seems averted. Now it's just a case of checking that the coast really is clear. Then the majestic birds can break their fast. First, one of the adult birds marches cautiously through the cotton grass, eyeing his surroundings time and again. Then his partner arrives. Eagles live in monogamous relationships and stay together throughout the year. They sleep and eat together. Picking at corpses is ascribed more to vultures than to eagles. They spare their energy reserves when they operate as salvagers. In addition, they assume a lower risk because with quick hunting flights or more aggressive prey, the birds could easily get hurt. The eagles just need to be vigilant and make a quick getaway if the rightful owner unexpected returns. Sea eagles always try to satisfy their hunger with the least possible effort. That's why they may seem sedate, even lazy to us. But the birds also rule the skies and prove themselves to be bold hunters out on the prowl with lightning speed. This can, however, be seen more rarely in the forests and bogs of Scandinavia than in a habitat which could not be more different. On the coasts of northern Europe, up to far beyond the Arctic Circle, the enormous adaptability of the sea eagle can be seen. Steep and craggy islands rise up from the sea. Thousands of them seem no more than tiny rock islands, others jutting out of the Atlantic like small mountains. Land predators cannot reach these islands, so the seabirds that congregate in large numbers to breed here are well protected. Like the gannets, they are perfectly adapted to a life on the sea. They play ceremonially with the wind and have no enemies in their element. There is one place where gannets and sea eagles regularly come dangerously close to each other, the seabird colonies, when the gannets settle temporarily. Forty-five such gannet-breeding colonies are known to exist worldwide, with a total of 360,000 nests. The individual looks for protection in the crowd. The prerequisite is that there have to be plenty of rock crevices on steep slopes as nesting sites. Here the birds are safe from predators, almost safe. Every spring puffins also come in large numbers to the bird cliffs in the Atlantic. They start their fishing trips from here. In their case, they seem to be better at the start of a jump into the depths than at the landing. For months they were at home out on the open ocean. Now they come here to court and to breed. Dry grass is a popular padding material for the puffins' nesting place. The ones who are distracted too easily are in danger. Sea eagles can still easily reach even such a well-protected nesting place. There is no cure-all for flying predators, therefore the gannets must always remain alert. The eagles patrol along the bird cliffs for hours and observe what happens. Then the hunter spots a suitable victim. A gannet that wasn't paying attention. When the breeding season of seabirds is over, a silence falls over the idyllic but cold beaches. Now there is not much left here for the eagles to take either. Lush food for a few weeks is all well and good, but a real eagle-friendly area has year-round protection against disruption, a suitable nesting place and, most importantly, enough to eat. When the seabirds are gone, the eagles fly to the mainland and look for other sources of protein. Carcasses, for example. That is what the sea eagles need. A diverse habitat with a variety of foods from which the eagles can partake depending on availability. Whether the deer has fallen victim to wolves, a hunter or even traffic on the road is not important to the eagle. What matters is that it can eat undisturbed, even though undisturbed is relative. The crafty hooded crows know that the eagle's dangerous end is the front end. Not much is known about the regions in which the eagles bred before they began to be hunted intensively. But Central Europe's once vast deciduous forests, with their rich wildlife, were certainly among them. When sea eagles breed in the woods, then only the biggest tree is good enough. After all, the massive nest can weigh half a ton and have a diameter of two meters. Only one of the two chicks is left, not uncommon for sea eagles. The weaker of the two often has no chance. Eagles have no natural enemies, so a single chick per breeding season is quite sufficient to secure their continued existence. And it is also enough to ensure that the number of sea eagles continues to rise. More than 100 years after its almost total extinction, this phoenix has managed to colonize Western Europe again. Forests rich in game help the eagles. While the growing number of wild boar in many places gives farmers and hunters a headache, the eagles benefit as third parties. A healthy wild boar is hardly ever a victim of a sea eagle attack. But where there are many wild boars, cadavers will continue to appear. They can carry the birds of prey, which live on the top floor of the forest, through tough times. On the roof of the forest, at a height of nearly 30 meters, this strong nest has been built. It has served the eagle pair as a breeding ground for more than two decades. The chick is now 70 days old and has been fed more than 50 kilograms of fish and meat. The sea eagle is thus once again an integral part of Europe's wildlife, just like the wolf or crane, all species that we humans have brought to the brink of extinction through hunting. The fact that they are reproducing here again, becoming even more common than they ever were, must not be misunderstood. Because countless animal species in Europe are becoming increasingly rare or are disappearing from the landscape, the return of eagles and co cannot hide that. The eagle chick turns out to be a quite intrusive offspring. Sea eagles reach a body length of 90 centimeters and the female reaches 10 pounds on the scales. Nevertheless, she rises almost effortlessly into the air. The enormous wingspan alone shows eagles really need old forests with towering trees. The most important thing is that the eagle's forest isn't far away from the coast, a lake or a river. Today, the sea eagle is considered to be not endangered. One could also say no longer at risk, but perhaps not yet at risk again as well. Because a new danger to eagles and other birds is lurking, even in very remote places. It's not only migratory birds that fly in their millions every year in spring and autumn along European coasts, who are exposed to new risks. Wind turbines are the symbol of the energy revolution. But just as the cultivation of biomass, accelerated species decline in agriculture, the growing army of these propellers has also taken its toll. The ends of the rotor blades can whiz through the air at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. The pan-European extent of their effect is unknown, but a single newly built wind farm in Norway has taken the lives of 30 eagles within a decade. In Germany, so far at least 95 eagles have been killed by wind turbines. Sites for wind farms must be chosen wisely. Otherwise, more and more eagles and many other birds will potentially become victims of eco-electricity production. Almost the entire Scandinavian Atlantic coast has been resettled by sea eagles. 2,000 pairs nest in Norway alone. In the warm water of the Gulf Stream, which relentlessly flows to the north, the sea eagles find plenty of fish. But there's not always forest up here. Mostly, the northern eagle territories lie beyond the tree line. So where do these birds breed? Many sea eagles just build their stick nests on the ground. Small islands that lie in the stormy North Sea offer protection against bears or foxes. The eagle chick is already more than 80 days old and sets about leaving the nest. In a ground nest, of course, that's no big deal. At least a fall can be ruled out. The mortality rate among young eagles is lower than in other birds of prey. Only about one in ten young eagles die in their first year. In contrast, not even one out of two buzzards survive their first 12 months. So this youngster has a good chance of continuing to make great leaps forward. The young eagle is almost always alone. The adult birds come by only once or twice a day to bring him food. In his spare time, the chick spends lots of time strengthening his flight muscles. Nobody needs to teach him how. He follows an internal, unstoppable drive. This shows the enormous adaptability of these birds. To take advantage of the huge cod and herring shoals and the huge seabird colonies in the far north, the eagles had to come up with something. The solution was breeding on the ground on predator-free islands. So, for the mother of the almost fully-fledged island chick, the trip to hunting grounds is short. And even if there are no whales to serve as fishing assistants or even as catchers, there is always a careless or dead fish somewhere in the water. Sea eagles live in an area stretching from Iceland to Japan. And most of them breed not on the ground, but in trees. In Germany, it's usually in a pine or a beech tree. In the meantime, the piglets have become small wild boars. And now the chick is almost a full-grown sea eagle as well. The adult bird motivates his offspring again and again to do as he does and leave the nest. First, however, that means practice, practice, practice. Just at the time when the young sea eagle leaves his nest at a height of 30 metres, a natural spectacle takes place very close by that puts more than just the eaglets under its spell for days and weeks. There is a cormorant colony on an island in the nearby Forest Lake. Approximately 1,500 of the blackbirds gather here to breed each year. Then a lot falls, quite literally, for others. The floor is completely bare due to the harsh cormorant droppings and animal visitors can easily search it for treats. The cormorant island becomes a magnet for countless hungry birds. The eagles frighten the adult cormorants a little as they settle on the white corroded branches every morning. The eagles sporadically plunder cormorant nests. But usually they fly in and wait. While the cormorants diligently care for their young, the eagles are hoping for juicy chunks to literally fall at their feet. Once again, the eagles are active in salvaging. One depends on the other. Where there's a large bounty of fish, the offspring of fish-eating birds can eat their fill. And thanks to the cormorants, it's easier for dozens of sea eagles to make ends meet. Sure, it's a small bite for such a large bird, but he didn't take any effort. On some days, up to two dozen eagles, especially young birds, wait in the queue on the cormorant island. And others have acquired a taste for it as well. Usually it's white fish, which has no nutritional value for us humans. The king of the seas is actually a king of waiting. With a bit of luck, fatter delicacies fall from time to time as well. A dead cormorant, for example. That will really satisfy the eagle's hunger. Those who pass by the island probably think that there are too many cormorants. But it is a part of an intact natural state for some species to form large colonies. Whether on remote Atlantic islands with thousands of seabirds, or on the lakes of Germany. There have never been as many sea eagles in this country as there are today. Thanks to dedicated conservationists, foresters and hunters. The time when eagles were considered pests is definitely over. Most of the dangers for birds of prey can be managed. And additional protected areas can be built around appropriate nesting trees without much effort. But what the eagles are lacking in Germany is true wilderness. Extensive protection areas where large animals can also display their natural behavior. There are only a few landscapes in Europe where we can imagine what our continent looked like before humans began to reshape it how they saw fit. Landscapes where all native animals have a place. Even those that were once hated, that were persecuted for a long time. In places where many large animals live, the smaller ones have a chance as well. Right up to the eagle. There are suitable places for them, for example, in national parks or on former military training areas. Again and again, wolves and bears are moving into predator-free regions. If we allow them to stay, many will benefit in the end. Without predators, the sea eagles' search for food would be considerably more strenuous. Following them is an energy-saving strategy that they developed over the course of evolution. And if patiently accompanying other hunters accomplishes nothing, the eagles can still rely on their own hunting skills. The return of this phoenix is one of the great successes of nature conservation. Now, it's about daring to bring more wilderness into the territory of the sea eagle.