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Season: October to December
The Chilkat Bald Eagle Festival runs November 3 - 11 2005 this year.
Number of Birds: 500–3444
Visible from one location: 50–300
Visible from a rafting trip: 200–1000
Highlights: Very well organized photo workshops, guided
eagle viewing, release of rehabilitated eagles, rafting tours,
Chilkat Indian dancing and many speakers.
General Area: As far back as the 1970s the Chilkat
River became famous for a large concentration of wintering
eagles. This has continued. The downside is that the Chilkat
is in far off Alaska. However, with modern airlines and the
ingenuity and hospitality of the people of nearby Haines,
Alaska, they have developed a well regarded eagle watching
industry.
The Chilkat River is at the northern end of the Inside Passage
and contains several of the earliest spawning salmon runs
of the entire coast. (If you go up there in summer take a
fishing rod and you will still see a few eagles). It is here
and in the other northern rivers that many of the young eagles
of northern British Columbia and the southeastern Alaskan
peninsula find their first easy meals. When the Chilkat and
other northern rivers freeze up, the easy food supply diminishes,
and the eagles begin to move south where the later spawning
salmon are becoming available. At winter’s peak the
birds end up at the Squamish, Harrison and Skagit Rivers.
Heralded as the “Valley of Eagles,” Haines is the
focal point for accessing the 48,000 acres of The Alaska
Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, created in 1982 and encompassing
the bottom land of the Klenhini, Tsirku and Chilkat Rivers.
A unique natural phenomena called the Chilkat alluvial fan
reservoir pushes warmer water to the surface and keeps a
three mile section of the river from freezing.
Summer Nesting: Bald Eagles nest along the entire Inside
Passage and are visible from the cruise ships or from shore
tours—along the entire trip from Vancouver. A few nests
can be seen by driving alongor rafting the Chilkat River.
The official Chilkat Bald Eagle counts are coordinated by
the USF&WS and the Alaska State Parks. These counts are
exclusively aerial surveys covering some 10 - 12 square miles
of the Bald Eagle Preserve along the Chilkat River and are
not open to the public. Ground counts along the river and
from the famous Council Grounds observation stations will
often yield 100 to 1000 eagles–but as with all the counts
it greatly depends on the season and weather. The Festival
activities are numerous and all open to the public.
CONTACTS
American Bald Eagle Foundation
P.O. Box 49, 113 Haines Highway
Haines, AK 99827
Phone: (907) 766-3094
Fax: (907)766-3095
E-Mail: info@baldeagles.org
Haines Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 1449 Haines, AK 99827
Phone: (907) 766-2202
Fax: (907) 766-2271
Email: chamber@haineschamber.org
WEB: http://haineschamber.org/
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WEB: http://baldeagles.org/
Watch for WEBCAM of nesting eagles in summer
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