Cascades East Slope
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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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Eastern Washington
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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
New URL 9/17!
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.
- etc.
Coeur d’Alene,
Idaho
- Bald eagles may be seen on Lake Coeur d’Alene
- etc
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| British Columbia |
Fraser River Valley
- Fraser Valley hosts 800-1200 bald eagles every year.
- Camp free at the .....
- etc
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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.
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.
- Other good areas to see eagles, swans,
herons, and waterfowl include:
- etc.
For more information, go to:
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