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Naches River
- WDFW and U.S. Forest Service fish biologists place tons of fall
chinook salmon carcasses in the American, Bumping and Little Naches
rivers. The carcasses provide marine-derived nutrients, which in turn
will produce insects for fish feed. Scavenging bald eagles fly in to
eat the carcasses and provide excellent viewing opportunities in January.
Call the WDFW for salmon dumping dates and locations along highways 12
and 410.
Yakima
- Wintering bald eagles are visible right in Yakima from the Yakima
Greenway Trail along the Yakima River.
- You can also see eagles along the Yakima River from Hwy. 823 in
the Yakima Canyon between Yakima and Ellensburg. Be sure to look
for bighorn sheep and mule deer in the canyon; they are easier to spot
in winter.
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Methow Valley
- In eastern Washington, you can see bald eagles on the Methow
River from Twisp to Mazama, as well as along the east side of the Columbia
River below Brewster and up on the Waterville Plateau (bounded by Highway
17 on the east and north, Highway 2 on the south and the Columbia River
on the west).
- The East Lake Washington Audubon Society spends a weekend
in this area in mid-February each year to watch bald eagles, hawks, kestrels,
falcons, waterfowl (including loons and grebes), snow buntings, rosy finches
and gray partridges.
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Northrup Canyon
The
Audubon guide states that “over 200 wintering eagles gather behind Grand
Coulee Dam and at nearby Banks Lake from November through March.”
- The annual mid-February
Grand Coulee "Balde" Eagle Festival
gives you an opportunity to view these wintering bald eagles. Eagle-viewing
shuttle bus tours depart regularly from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day during
the festival from the Grand Gallery of Arts Theater, 204 Main St.
- The best concentration of eagles
occurs in a night roosting area in Northrup Canyon, part of Steamboat
Rock State Park, seven miles south of Grand Coulee on State Route 155.
In the late afternoon, eagles fly into Northrup Canyon from their daytime
feeding locations all along Banks Lake, with numbers peaking around 4
p.m.
- WDFW and state parks personnel are
on hand at the eagle viewing site with spotting scopes from 2 p.m. until
dusk during the festival to check out the eagles in the pine and fir
trees along the south wall of the canyon. On other weekends, bring your own scopes
or binoculars. Dress for the cold.
- Bald eagles are feeding on fish
and waterfowl throughout the reservoir area and can also be seen more
easily, although in fewer numbers, along Banks Lake from Coulee City to
Soap Lake, below Grand Coulee Dam along the Columbia River, and on Lake
Roosevelt from Grand Coulee to Kettle Falls. Look for them in the trees
or even on the ice in the lakes.
Roosevelt Lake
- To see wintering eagles along Roosevelt Lake, travel by car
along Highway 25 on the east side of the lake from Kettle Falls to Hunters.
Stop periodically to look for eagles perched in waterfront trees where
they're on the lookout for fish or deer carcasses. For an even better
look, bundle up warmly and tour the shoreline by boat.
- Up to 200 bald eagles winter along Roosevelt Lake just in
the section between Hunters and the Colville River alone, but they feed
in small groups of 8 or 10.
- A growing population of resident eagles nests along Lake Roosevelt,
Rufous Woods Lake, and Banks Lake; these can be seen year-around.
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Kettle River
- For a more remote eagle viewing drive, take the lightly traveled
gravel county roads along the Kettle River in Ferry County. WDFW wildlife
biololgist Steve Zender recommends the route from Curlew west and north
toward the Curlew Conservation Corps center and on up Kroupa Road to the
Canadian border.
- You're bound to spot a half dozen to a dozen bald eagles on
that stretch, plus common and possibly Barrow's goldeneye, common mergansers
and other waterfowl.
- Mule deer are also a viewing possibility, Zenders says, as
are bighorn sheep in the area to the east of the river across the valley
from the CCC.
Pend Oreille / Spokane
- The Pend Oreille and Spokane Rivers are also excellent places
to see bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and other raptors in eastern Washington.
Birder's Top Spots tidbits
12/31/09
- Potholes
State Park
In winter, tundra swans fly overhead, while plentiful prey draws bald eagles,
northern harriers and red-tailed hawks.
- Montlake
Park, Moses Lake
Bald eagles hunt ducks when lake is partially frozen.
- Red Top Mountain,
Hwy 97
October is a good time to catch migration of hawks, kestrels, merlins,
falcons, bald and golden eagles
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Fraser River Valley
- Fraser Valley hosts 800-1200 bald eagles every year
- Record 2580 bald eagle seen from Observatory
Point in December 2008
- 516 Trumpeter swans seen in 2008
- Peak viewing is November-December
- Festival is in late November
- Lots of activites along Fraser River valley
- Free camping at park on the river near Agassiz
- don't remember name)
For more information, go to:
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Brackendale
Over the last 10 years the number of eagles
visiting the Squamish River Valley to feed on the spawned out salmon has
varied from 1300 to 3670, with 1600-1800 more likely.
Strangely, the numbers dropped to less than
1000 in 2007 and 2008 (are they heading for the Fraser River Valley instead?)
We have visited Brackendale to photograph
the wintering bald eagles 3 times; peak numbers seem to occur
in early January.
The main viewing area
on the Squamish River is good in the morning.
For more information, go to:
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