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Brackendale Winter Eagle Count logs over 1,000 sightings

The 33rd annual event spots highest number of eagles since 2014
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Eagle eyes Volunteers look for eagles as part of the 33rd annual Brackendale Winter Eagle Count on Jan. 6. Photo by Christopher Di Corrado

Volunteers at this year's Brackendale Winter Eagle Count might have endured rain, hail and snow throughout the day on Jan. 6, but they also saw rainbows, sun and a total of 1,157 eagles.

"The weather was something to remember," said Christopher Di Corrado, count coordinator with the Squamish Environment Society. "People really enjoy getting out and exploring. Sometimes you see lots of eagles and sometimes you don't. The good thing is we live in such a beautiful place; even if you don't see eagles, you probably had a walk in a beautiful area."

This year—the count's 33rd—marked the second time in around a decade that volunteers logged over 1,000 eagles (in 2014, 1,617 eagles were tallied). Last year, volunteers counted just 962 of the birds—though that was still well above the record low of 411 in 2016.

The 33-year average is 1,425 eagles.

"It's a bit of a shock to see that the numbers did add up to get us over 1,000," Di Corrado said. "It's a pleasant surprise."

In total, 73 volunteers set out on foot, skis, snowshoes and rafts to seek out eagles everywhere from the Elaho to Downtown Squamish and from Paradise Valley to the Stawamus River.

Two areas saw the majority of the total birds counted: Upper Squamish and—less encouragingly—at the Squamish landfill.

"Instead of being spread out on the Mamquam or spawning channels in Brackendale, we had the biggest pockets in Upper Squamish, which is good. The second biggest group is the Squamish landfill, which may indicate there isn't a lot of salmon here in town or in the estuary," Di Corrado said.

Next year, the group hopes to recruit some volunteer snowmobilers to help them get further into Upper Squamish, where snow was deep this year.

"It certainly is a snapshot," Di Corrado added. "It could peak earlier, depending on the salmon runs. We do keep it around the same time every year. It's the start of the Brackendale Eagle Festival as well. We have maps with trails showing the areas where people have gone in the past. We're doing our best to replicate the effort year after year."

One of the goals of the ongoing eagle count is to get a sense of the local ecosystem, he added. For example, while earlier salmon runs were strong this year, returning chum runs have been low.

"If the salmon runs were quite low for all species of salmon coming up the river this year, there must've been a good group in the Upper Squamish, because there were lots of eagles up there," he said. "Other areas where people expected more eagles, the numbers had dropped."

While volunteers hailed from as far away as Vancouver and Port Coquitlam this year, there was also a strong contingent from Whistler and Squamish. "It really is quite a nice community event," Di Corrado said. "It's really good at getting people together. There's a core group of people year after year that really care to get out there and do this count because it's helping us keep track of the amount of eagles that we have here in the Squamish area over the winter period."

The count might be over for another year, but the Brackendale Eagle Festival is running throughout the month with music, an art exhibit and films at the Brackendale Art Gallery. For more information, visit brackendaleartgallery.com.