On the last day of the year my friends, Paul and Lisa, and I went back up to British Columbia to try our luck at seeing the thousands of bald eagles that flock to the Fraser, Harrison, and Chehalis Rivers each winter. Last year we saw 300+ which was exciting. This year we saw 100. Disappointing in numbers yet exciting in close up encounters with several eagles and trumpeter swans.
The locals told us we were 3 weeks late. Back then 6,000 bald eagles were at the Chehalis River "estuary". The trail starts in the Eagle Point development next to the golf course. Yes, the habitat of one of the largest (if not the largest) concentrations of eagles in North America has been developed. At least they didn't destroy the estuary and left a few trails for people to access the feeding areas. Unfortunately, it seems everyone in the development has a dog, many of them small, which means eagle bait. We were told that two cougars had been killed this past year because they were threatening people. I doubt they were threatening people, more likely they ate a small dog and the people who moved into their territory are afraid. Dropping housing developments into the middle of a rural area full of wildlife such as coyotes, bears, and cougars is just plain irresponsible.
Off the soap box. We explored different side roads along the waterways and found one with a number of trumpeter swans and other waterfowl feeding including pied-billed grebes, buffleheads, hooded mergansers, common mergansers, mallards, gadwalls, American wigeons, ring-necked ducks, Canada geese, and some double-crested cormorants. I was pleased with all of the hooded mergansers, although I never did get a great photo of one. I enjoy their feather crests and their antics when competing for females.
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| juvenile |
We saw an exquisite pair of anatum peregrine falcons perched in a large deciduous tree in a field. I'm still working on those photos. The lighting was not the best. Once I get them looking better I'll post them. In the meantime I thought I'd share several eagle photos here.
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| immature |
The end of the trip was spent taking a short hike to Bridal Veil Falls. There was a small amount of snow on the ground and it was definitely chilly out. The hike is a gentle uphill walk (boy am I out of shape) of about 1/4 mile, unless you include walking the road which is probably another 1/4 mile. What a magical waterfall that's so easily accessible! A great finale to a great day with friends.
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| Bridal Veil Falls |
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| Frozen water drops over the stream |
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