The Skagit River Bald Eagles in Winter

Buy This Allposters.com

The bald eagles begin arriving on the Skagit River in November and their numbers reach a peak in December and January. They travel south from Alaska and Canada to the habitat along the river where they find a warmer climate and a plentiful food supply. The Skagit is the second largest river in the state of Washington and the river and its tributaries are home to several species of salmon. Mature salmon return to the river to spawn after spending 4 years in the Pacific Ocean. After spawning they die and their bodies wash up on the gravel bars along the river. The huge numbers of dead and dying salmon make it an "all you can eat" buffet for the eagles. Along the river banks are tall cottonwood, big leaf maple and western red cedar trees providing habitat where the eagles can perch and roost in between meals.

Buy This Allposters.com


In the 1960s the magnificent bald eagle was in trouble. Their numbers were dwindling from the effects of the pesticide DDT, shrinking habitat and a reduction in the numbers of fish, their primary food source.

DDT (DichloroDiphenylTrichloroethan) was a pesticide used heavily in the US and elsewhere around the world starting in the late 1940s, and was very effective at killing insects, but also had the unintended consequences of causing abnormally thin eggshells in birds. As the DDT moved up the food chain it became more and more concentrated at each level. Since birds of prey are near the top of the food chain their bodies absorbed the highest concentration of DDT and their egg shells were the most effected. To bring the eagle back from possible extinction, the fight began to ban DDT in the US in the 1960s. To protect their profits the chemical industry fought back so it wasn't until 1972 that DDT was finally banned in the US. Even after its ban almost 40 years ago, DDT still persists in the environment. The thickness of bird egg shells collected before the use of DDT have been measured and compared to the thickness of bird shells from recent years and the egg shells of many species of birds today are still 10-12% thinner than before the use of DDT.

Another important event that helped to save the bald eagle from extinction was the enactment of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. It became an important tool to stop habitat destruction and provide funding for habitat protection. Critical areas were identified and protected or purchased by the state and federal government as well as non-profit organizations. The act allowed evaluation and protection of the entire ecosystem upon which the eagle depends including large old trees for roosting and nesting and the salmon spawning streams that provide them with food.

Since 1973 over 8,000 acres along the Skagit River and thousands more acres of upland forests have been protected through the efforts of many organizations and agencies working together including the US Forest Service, US National Park Service, North Cascades Institute, Skagit Audubon Society, Wildcat Steelhead Club, The Nature Conservancy and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Through these efforts, and similar efforts across the US, the numbers of bald eagles have increased. Fortunately they have recovered from the brink of extinction and have now been removed from the endangered species list.

Although I've gone up to the Skagit River during the winter and looked at the wintering bald eagles from viewing areas from the riverbank, I finally realized a long-held wish to take a float trip down the river in a raft in January 2011. I went with Chinook Expeditions, a professional river guide company that specializes in bald eagle float trips. There are several commercial river guides who offer float trips down the river and they all comply with rules established by the US Coast Guard and US Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure the safety of passengers in the rafts and to minimize any adverse impact to the eagles.

(Photo by VickiSims)

The daytime winter high temperatures in the Skagit Eagle Natural Area are usually in the 30s and low 40s and may be even colder. It is also the wettest time of the year so it is not unusual to have rain or snow. To enjoy a float trip in the winter it is important to dress properly to stay warm and dry while sitting in a raft on the river for 3 to 4 hours. Dressing in layers with thermal underwear, polar fleece or down, warm jacket or coat, boots, waterproof rain gear, hats and gloves are recommended. The professional river guides supply life jackets as part of their service. This is our group putting on our life jackets before setting off on our float trip.

(Photo by VickiSims)

After donning our rain gear and life jackets we climbed into our raft. Most of the professional outfitters use inflatable rafts that hold 6 to 8 people. The rafts are steered with oars and are not equipped with motors to allow everyone to enjoy the natural sounds of the river and reduce the possibility of disturbing the eagles. This is a photo of our guide, Andrea, in the bright yellow raft right before we boarded to float down the river. Before departing on our journey we were given several minutes of safety instruction to prevent taking what Andrea called "a swim in the river", and what to do if someone did fall in. Our launch point was just across the bridge from the town of Marblemount, WA where the Cascade River flows into the Skagit.

(Photo by VickiSims)

Due to the large size, our guide told us that the bald eagle in this photo is probably a female. The day before our trip and during the night it had rained heavily, so when the sun came out, she was fluffing her feathers and stretching out her wings to dry.

(Photo by VickiSims)

Although we were busy trying to spot eagles in the trees, there were other scenes to be enjoyed. This is one of many views we saw of beautiful El Dorado Peak (elevation 8,868') in nearby North Cascades National Park.

(Photo by VickiSims)

This is a photo of the "You are Here" map at the end of our journey at Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport, WA. Two and a half hours and 10 miles from our starting point in Marblemount. Because the river was high after several days of heavy rains, the river was running faster than normal. Since the rafts float with the speed of the river, our trip was a bit shorter than normal.

By the time we completed our trip down the river we had counted a total of 42 bald eagles - an average of 4 each mile or one every quarter of a mile.

There were probably more that we didn't spot. Just to underscore the point that how many you see depends on how good your guide and companions are at spotting the birds: we talked to the people in the raft immediately behind us and they said they only saw 8 birds! We could see their raft for nearly the entire trip, so they should have been able to see most, if not all, of the same birds that we saw.

(Photo by VickiSims)

The Skagit River Bald Eagle Festival is held every January. Events include photography workshops, music, arts, crafts, eagle watching bus tours, salmon hatchery tours, cheese and wine tasting, and a pancake breakfast. Naturalists are on hand with binoculars and spotting scopes at popular viewing sites along the river and there are numerous other activities to celebrate the eagles.

In January 2012 Skagit Eagle Festival will be held these 4 weekends in January:
January 7 & 8
January 14 & 15
January 21 & 22
January 28 & 29

One of the most popular educational events is a program presented by the Sardis Raptor Center. The Sardis Raptor Center is a non-profit organization which is authorized to treat and rehabilitate injured eagles and return them to the wild. Unfortunately the injuries of some birds are too severe to allow them to survive if they were released, so those birds are kept permanently at the raptor center and are used in their educational programs.

The Sardis Raptor Center had a class scheduled at the Howard Miller Steelhead Park while we were there and the photo is of one of their bald eagles being transported to the classroom. Seeing an eagle being carried by a person helps give an idea of their size up close. The size of the beak and talons is especially impressive. The bald eagle in the photo is a male. Male bald eagles are smaller than females, so a female eagle would be even larger. For more information about the Eagle Festival, the Sardis Raptor Center and other organizations supporting the eagles, see the links page below.