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Season: Prime time: Mid December to mid February.
The Upper Skagit River Bald Eagle Festival runs the first
weekend of February
Number of Birds: 25–300
Visible from one location: 5–30
Visible from a rafting trip: 20–200
Highlights:
• The Festival is a very well organized event with workshops
& displays, guided eagle viewing and speakers
• Accessible from Vancouver (100 miles) or Seattle (150
miles) on a day’s drive
• Number of Birds: This area features between 50 and
600 Bald Eagles along some 50 miles of the Skagit and Nooksak
Rivers.
General Area:
Concrete to Rockport to Marblemount to Newhalem Washington
State. Located in NW Washington State along Highway 20 east
of Sedro Woolley on I5 at Exit 236. The Skagit and Nooksak
Rivers drain the Coast and Cascade Mountains and host the
largest US wintering eagle populations in the lower 48 states
and are readily visitable on a single day or weekend from
anywhere in the Seattle WA to the Vancouver, British Columbia
areas. Driving time from Seattle, WA or Vancouver, BC to
Concrete is about two hours.
The Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area includes land owned
and managed by the Nature Conservancy and the Washington
Department of Fish & Game. Some sections belong to National
Wild and Scenic River System and are managed by the Mt. Baker
Rangers District, US Forest Service.
Viewing Sites on Weekends: Mid-December through mid-February.Some
specific Skagit viewing sites along Route 20 are at Milepost
99, Milepost 100, the Howard Miller Steelhead County Park
in Rockport and at the Marblemount Fish Hatchery. It is recommended
that visitors use these designated areas, as much of the
river frontage is privately owned and Route 20 is very narrow
and generally without a shoulder for parking. Trained volunteer
Forest Rangers are stationed at these 4 sites with spotting
scopes and informational handouts during the festival.
Rockport Bald Eagle Interpretive Center: On weekends
from mid-December through mid-February Rockport welcomes
visitors at this center where they can see displays, artwork,
enjoy guided walks, photographs, publications and special
programs on eagles. Admission: free.
Special Highlight: Bald Eagle Festival: Concrete WA;
February; first weekend. Bus tours to Marblemount.
This is a very well organized two day event featuring lectures,
educational talks, tours and a very extensive ‘fair’
with displays and stands selling everything on nature and
eagles. A truly great educational event. It is held late
in the ‘eagle year’ to take advantage of the better
weather but the eagle numbers are generally down by that
time. Admission: free—except you will find great things
to buy! Allow time for the lectures and eagle walks. The
nearby motels in Marblemount, Concrete to Sedro Woolley love
eagle watchers.
However, while many eagles can be seen along the Skagit between
Concrete and Marblemount, a few minutes’ drive north
puts you in the Nooksak River drainage (Route 9) where eagles
are even more abundant at this late season around farmer
‘chicken dumps.’ From there you are only 40 miles
from the huge eagle concentrations on the Harrison River
in British Columbia where you will likely see 500 to 1500
eagles from one location. In fact, the eagles at Harrison
can frequently be seen drifting across the valley into Washington
state.
CONTACTS
Bald Eagle Festival
PO Box 571, Concrete, WA 98237
Ph 360-853-7283 / 360-853-7614 (mid-Dec. to mid Feb. only)
Email: mfi@fidalgo.net
Web: www.skagiteagle.org/
Rafting, canoeing & kayaking: get details on conditions
and
regulations from: Mt. Baker Ranger Station, US Forest Service,
Sedro Woolley, WA, Ph 360-856-5700
For Marblemount, Rockport & Newhalem:
P. O. Box 175, 59831 State Route 20,
Marblemount, WA 98267-0175
800-875-2448
Email: chamber@marblemount.com
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