Thousands of bald eagles call western Washington home in the winter months, and it is now the prime time to see them on some of the major rivers. They have come to feast on the abundant carcasses of spawned out salmon. Hundreds of eagles can be seen at once from certain vantage points. Some are permanent residents, others come from as far north as Alaska. It is an amazing sight to see. If you haven't witnessed it yet, you should do a little research to find a place nearby and see it for yourself.
The blind I made earlier in the spring is working out well. I have spent a few days in it so far and the eagles haven't seemed to alter their behavior at all. Several have passed by within feet of the top of it! There have been a fair amount of eagles the days I spent in the blind. However, my wife Kate and I stopped by on our way back from a snowshoeing trip near Mt Baker and discovered there has been a huge increase in the number of bald eagles in the area around the blind. Within a couple minutes we counted over 100 and there were definitely more on other parts of the river. I'm hoping to be able to spend more time out there in the next couple weeks. Last year, I photographed eagles up to January 20th, so the next couple weeks will hopefully produce some amazing photo opportunities!
Below are a few photos I've taken in the last few weeks from the area of the blind.
 |
| As rain falls, a bald eagle takes off from the edge of the Nooksack River |
 |
| A plant holds on in the freezing waters of the Nooksack River |
 |
| A salmon surges upstream, soon to spawn and feed hundreds of wintering bald eagles. |
 |
| A juvenile bald eagle poses victoriously after forcing an adult off of a salmon carcass. |
No comments:
Post a Comment