Sea eagle
Watching this majestic bird fly along while you are up on deck will make you wish you could fly yourself.
The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeëtus albicilla), also known as the sea eagle, is the largest bird of prey in Norway. It has a wing span up to 2,65 metres. On deck, fairly close encounters between man and eagle are not uncommon, as we sail through the eagle's natural habitat. if it happens, you will realise just how big a bird this is.
However, there is no need to worry, despite old stories and myths that eagles have attacked and abducted children. Scientists believe an eagle may carry up to its own weight. The heaviest sea eagle ever recorded was 7 kilos.
Apart from Norway, the sea-eagle is found across a wide area from Greenland and Iceland to Iraq in the south, through Central and Northern Asia and all the way to the Pacific. Today, the sea eagle is a protected species both in Norway and most countries in Western Europe. From what one believed was a low point of approximately 500 breeding couples in all of Western Europe in 1975, Norway alone now has more than 2.000.
The sea eagles prey mainly on fish and other sea birds. They build their nests in treetops or mountainsides, usually sticking to the same nest for several breeding seasons. The normally lay two eggs. The chick comes out after 38 days and leaves the nest after 10-11 weeks.
