Eagles, eagle-watchers converge on Haines

Every fall, American bald eagles gather by the thousands along the Chilkat River in Haines to feast during late salmon runs. Perched solemnly in trees, with dark jackets and white heads, they look like a collection of elderly gents in a London club.

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On gravel bars in the river, eagles young and old haul big, thrashing salmon from the channels. Adults spar over choice fish and juveniles bob and call to beg from adults. Early snows often lend majesty and a sense of the surreal to the scene.

Bald eagles are no strange sight to Southeast Alaskans, but the gathering at the Chilkat River never fails to awe the beholder. For a brief span of time, more than 3,000 look-alike predators converge on a three-mile stretch of river, with a range of fascinating behaviors on display.

According to wildlife biologists, eagles come to the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve between late October and early January to take advantage of the chum and coho salmon swarming up to the warmer waters near the convergence of the Chikat, Klehini and Tsirku Rivers after food supplies have started to decline in other areas of Southeast.

"There's a large coho run this year, about 100,000," said Randy Ericksen of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "A typical year brings 50,000-60,000, but coho have been big throughout Southeast this year. There was a large number of smolt, with good marine survival, and not as much effort in the commercial fishery."

Historically, according to Ericksen, a run of 500,000 chum salmon on the Chilkat was not unusual.

Haines Bald Eagle Festival highlights:

Nov. 7:

• 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 35mm wildlife photography workshop with Perry Conway

• 1-4 p.m., guided eagle viewing in the preserve

• 6:30 p.m., Eagle Elegance, fund-raiser for the Sheldon Museum, art auction, gourmet desserts

Nov. 8:

• 9 a.m.-noon, guided eagle viewing in the preserve

• 10 a.m.-noon, Critical Habitat - Learning More About Endangered Species, hand-on activities

• 1-4 p.m., guided eagle viewing

• 2-3 p.m. digital bird photography tips and techniques workshop with Bob Armstrong

• 3-4 p.m. Alaskas eagles workshop with Mike Jacobson

• 4-6 p.m., live bird presentations featuring eagles, owls and a falcon

• 7-9:30 p.m., Wildlife After Dark, with live eagle presentation, Perry Conway keynote address and concert.

Nov. 9:

• 9 a.m.-noon, guided eagle viewing

• 9-10 a.m., Forest Hembree art print signing and sales

• 10 a.m.-noon, Critical Habitat - Learning More About Endangered Species, hand-on activities

• 12:30 p.m.-4 p.m.: guided eagle viewing

• 1:30 p.m., eagle release ceremony

• 3-4 p.m., raven wolf studies workshop with Bob Hayes

• 4-5 p.m., birds of the Yukon workshop with Dave Mossup

• 5-6 p.m., bear research workshop with Anthony Crupe

• 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Wildlife After Dark with live owl and falcon presentation, speaker James Scott, Eagles of the World slide show, music

• 9 a.m.-noon, guided eagle viewing

• 11 a.m.-noon, handling injured raptors clinic

• Noon-1 p.m., birds of Alaska workshop with Bob Armstrong

• 1-2 p.m., glacial meltback discoveries - artifacts and culture workshop with Greg Hare and Rick Farnell

• 1-3 p.m., Forest Hembree art print signing and sales

• 2-3 p.m., Chisana caribou herd research workshop with Rick Farnell

For locations, prices, other events and more information, call the American Bald Eagle Foundation at (907) 766-3094 or check the Web at baldeaglefest.org/.

But how do the eagles know where to go - and when? In late October 2000, more than 2,000 bald eagles could be counted along the Chilkat River. This year, the number is closer to the dozens. What tips them off to a feeding orgy at the right time?

"They have a memory for this kind of stuff," says Phil Schempf, a raptor biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It's one of the things that makes adults more successful than juveniles."

Schempf says there are several theories about the way eagles home in on the Chilkat when it's critical for them.

"Local birds fly up and check it out and return home if there aren't any fish. It takes only a couple of hours from Juneau, four from Prince of Wales - eagles can fly at 30 to 40 miles per hour."

Schempf thinks most of the birds can store that information in their heads, or use trial and error, or even a follow-the-leader technique of tagging along where they observe other eagles going.

"Most of the eagles found during the gathering along the Chilkat are breeders from Southeast Alaska - it's not a monumental journey for these birds."

In a warmer year, with available food in other places and not a lot of demand for energy to combat the cold, the eagles aren't drawn to the Chilkat as early. They don't necessarily stay for the entire time, either.

"We radio-tagged an eagle near Barlow Island one year. It flew up to the Chilkat and fed for several days, then returned home, and went back up for about 10 days to feed again," says Schempf.

What he finds striking is the exit of the eagles from the Chilkat Valley.

"When you get a cold snap with a north wind, and the temperatures drop into the minus 20s, you can stand in Haines and watch a bird fly overhead every 15 to 30 seconds. They can all pretty much bail in a matter of days, when you can go from thousands of birds to a few."

This concentration of bald eagles can provide a rich experience for humans, and the Haines Bald Eagle Festival is designed to facilitate that. A range of visits to the preserve, photography and wildlife workshops and live raptor presentations by Anchorage's Bird TLC and the Juneau Raptor Center provide an opportunity to engage with an exciting natural ritual and connect with the world of raptors.

This year's festival is scheduled to run Nov. 7-10, with state ferry connections and daily fast catamaran trips from Juneau. A variety of programs is scheduled throughout the three days, with the highlight the release of several rehabilitated eagles at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, along the Chilkat River.

For more information, visit the Haines Bald Eagle Festival Web site at baldeaglefest.org/schedule.html, or call the American Bald Eagle Foundation at (907) 766-3094.

Sandy Harbanuk is director of the Juneau Raptor Center. Matt Kirchhoff will present a slide program on Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary when the Juneau Audubon Society meets at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School.