Squamish - Bald Eagle Count

Icicles form on the sign at the Squamish Adventure Centre water feature.

Every year in January the Squamish eagle count takes place. Recording the numbers of birds congregating along the Squamish and Mamquam rivers and other estuaries in the Squamish valley.
Though we actually have a number of Bald Eagle nest sites within close proximity to us here in Kitislano, and along Point Grey, I really wanted to get to Squamish for the count while the birds were around in large numbers, hoping to catch a few good images, despite only have a 200mm lens.

The primary viewing spot on the walls of the Squamish river was typically bustling with tourists and other interested families and individuals, but there was not a lot to be seen, though a spotting scope set up by volunteers gave us a great close up look at 2 adults roosting in a tree about 400 metres away. I was excited, but hoping we would get more interaction than this.

We relocated to a much quieter location near where the Mamquam river meets the Squamish river, and here we struck gold. There was a significant number of birds hanging out in the trees on either side of the water and occasionally taking flight to find a better vantage point. We pulled out the thermos for some hot soup (temp was -1c) and Tara spotted a bird in the tree right beside where we had parked, so we got a good look at him with the binoculars.

Juvenile birds where present in large numbers

One of our "local" adults cruises across the river

 There were many Juvenile birds amongst the adults present, some of them pestering the adults that were comfortably roosted, which worked for me as it meant for my birds in flight and passing right over or past where we were set up.

We moved on for a walk along the sides of the river and down along the banks, frequently spotting new birds in locations that we hadn't noticed before. Its hard to say exactly because of their movement, but at one point we could count a dozen birds in trees and in the air. I am guessing we may have seen somewhere in the vicinity of 25 individuals during the couple of hours we spent observing.

Its seems the adult Eagles were less prepared to land in lower sections of trees than the juveniles, and I only saw one Eagle down at water level on the banks (juvenile), but it was through thick twiggy trees and by the time I got my camera and attempted to find a better vantage point it took off. We also did not see any birds feeding on the Salmon. So my images were mostly from some distance to stationary birds, but a little closer if they happened to fly past both low and close.

My favourite shot was taken as took off from a tree up ahead on the riverside trail and flew straight over my head. Overall it was still great to get many great looks at these majestic creatures through both the lens and the binoculars. Without crunchy frozen snow on the ground, more time and knowledge of locations, accompanied with a longer lens, it would be possible to get some amazing images here.

6 birds perched in the riverside trees

The first strokes of the wings and the lowered head upon take off give the Eagle a menacing look

We capped off the day with a snack in the car, watching the falling sun and the approaching layer of cloud, gambling on whether the light would drop low enough to illuminate the snow covered peaks of Mount Atwell before going behind the mountains on the other side of Howe Sound. Atwell Peak looms in the background over Squamish as you look to the north east and is a prominent feature of the scenery from many locations in the area. The gamble paid off and as the sunset-orange light progressively rose up the mountain from under the cloud cover, the mountain came alive. This capped off a great day in Squamish, driving home the idea that we really would like to move here.

Atwell Peak at sunset