Eagle Stalker...A Day in the Life(A Winter Adventure in Haines, Alaska)

Actually it was more like two days of “stalking” eagles. Two days in the Alaskan wild. I spent two days in Haines, Alaska along the Chilkat River in an effort to capture baldy with my camera and render him as so much silver halide(yes, I still used film at the time). This is my personal account of that adventure. I write this in hopes that my reader can gain some knowledge from my experience and perhaps use that to his/her advantage on a future trip of their own.

There is a section of the Chilkat River to the west of Haines along Haines Highway from mile marker 10 to 28 that is designated the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. The river parallels the highway and the main viewing area at miles 18-24 is called the Bald Eagle Council Grounds. A sizeable parking area also exists at this point.

Bald eagles congregate along the river during the winter. As many as 3,500 to 4,000 bald eagles can be found on the preserve during the peak of the winter gathering around mid-November.

This section of the river from approximately mile post 18-24 is a reservoir which remains 10-20 degrees warmer than the surrounding water in the winter. Consequently it remains unfrozen longer than the rest of the river which permits salmon to congregate here.

Salmon spawn in these waters and then die. Availability and the abundance of carcasses is what draws eagles to this area in such high concentrations. The whole show begins about mid-October and lasts through February in most years.

I began my trip on a Thanksgiving weekend and after arriving in Anchorage I changed planes for my flight to Juneau. Once in Juneau I was scheduled to catch a 35 minute flight into Haines with L.A.B. Flying Service, one of at least two airline operators with service from Juneau to Haines. The first two flights to Haines were cancelled due to fog. There were two more scheduled that afternoon, but the odds of the fog clearing were looking pretty grim.

As it was I had two full days of shooting planned and not making one of those connections would mean loosing a full day’s shoot. I didn’t know it before departing for my trip, but I learned there was ferry service to Haines as well even though they didn’t do a run everyday. Luckily they ran that day and had not departed for Haines yet.

I had to make a quick decision if I was going to make the ferry ride that afternoon. The idea of loosing a day’s shoot was lots of incentive for not gambling with the fog. I took a taxi to the ferry terminal and purchased a ticket for my four and a half hour ride to Haines. The price was very reasonable and for a few bucks I could have purchased a private cabin. I chose to roam the ferry instead.

Incidentally, L.A.B. Flying Service has been in the business for years and is very understanding of the weather. They have an office in Haines and were not the least bit hesitant in refunding my fare in total. One of the reasons I think they have been in business for so long and will continue to be due to their generous policy.

The ferry was very accommodating with meal service and several lounging areas both inside and outside. Of course there were restroom facilities too. I roamed the ferry for awhile and took a few pictures. So I wouldn’t have to tote my camera equipment around I used the convenient lockers they had available to temporarily store my gear. Incidentally, the ferry service handles your other baggage for you when you board.

There was plenty of seating and some of the chairs even reclined. It had been several hours since I began my journey and one of those reclining seats kept begging me to sit back. I obliged it and took a cozy nap. Movies were being shown in that cabin as well. Two were shown during the 4.5 hour ferry ride. It was a Friday and there were junior high school basketball teams, both boys and girls, who were on their way to a basketball tournament in Haines the following morning.

They were a pretty rowdy bunch, but still fairly civilized. The first movie was “Shrek” and these previously rowdy folks suddenly became tame and almost zombie-like while viewing the movie except for the occasional laugh. I got my best winks in then.

When the next movie, “Hoosiers” a modern day drama film about basketball starring Gene Hackman was announced I figured it would be good for another couple of hours of peaceful slumber. After all basketball was in the audience’s blood. Boy, was I wrong! They could have cared less about the movie and so it was back to rough housing and grab ass for the rest of the ride. OK, I got off on a bit of a tear there, but I found their choices rather amusing and it gave me some insight into the modern day pre-teen mind.

Overall the ferry ride was very enjoyable and relaxing. I’d recommend it as an alternative if you have the time. The ferry does not make the trip from Juneau to Haines everyday so plan your trip accordingly by checking the schedule in advance at The Alaska Marine Highway System website: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

If you are in Skagway there is the “Fast-Ferry” water taxi that takes you between Skagway and Haines in 35 minutes. Check their website at: http://www.hainesskagwayfastferry.com/

I gathered my bags after arriving in Haines and took a shuttle to my motel where I also had my car rental waiting for me. Some motels double as car rental agencies, so that was very convenient. It was close to 6 PM by the time I got to my motel and naturally at the end of November it was dark and had been for a few hours.

The next day after a hearty breakfast at one of the local cafes I began to load my gear into my rental car. As I unwrapped my tripod from its sheath one of the legs literally fell from the tripod to the ground. I went from tripod owner to bipod owner in the flash of an eye.

Fortunately, Houdini and Copperfield have nothing on me. I had a C-clamp in my bag of tricks(a.k.a. camera bag) and Presto Change-O I was the happy and relieved owner of a tripod once again. I recalled accidentally striking the tripod against a seat when I was deplaning in Anchorage.

I headed up the Haines highway hoping that all the preparation thus far was worth the effort. I had read about the eagles and seen pictures of them in the past gathered in the trees by the hordes. I started to see bald eagles long before I got to the Council Grounds.

I proceeded to the Council Grounds where I parked. I was impressed before I got there, but now my jaw was dropping in amazement. Never had I seen so many eagles in one place in my life. Nor, unless I returned here, did I expect to see that many eagles again period even by adding up all sightings I might see over the years ahead.

Soon after I pulled into the parking area at Council Grounds some dope pulled in to the parking area and let his dog out. The dog came scampering out of the car like he had been in some airline pet carrier for several hours. I figured eagle viewing would be severely marred for the day.

I was surprised that the eagles didn’t even budge and wondered if any were tiring of salmon. After all it was the day after Friday and fresh canine was available on the bank. Actually I would have liked to hog tied the dog’s owner and decorated him with an ample supply of salmon carcass and then sat back and watched the feeding frenzy!

The eagles were very accustomed to my presence and the other photographers in the area and not easily spooked. I did most of my shooting near and just a short walking distance in either direction of the Council Grounds. There were plenty of bald eagles both mature and immature to fill my lenses. The immature ones are easily identified for their lack of any white head feathers. The photograph here was taken with a 300mm.

Several eagles were in trees and on the banks in the snow near the waters edge. One tree had nearly a dozen eagles in it. See the next picture below. Salmon carcass was strewn about with ample opportunities to get shots of eagles feeding on the carcasses.

Unfortunately, the year I went was not one of the best years for viewing, but I still considered it incredible. A good portion of the Chilkat River had not frozen over yet, so the eagles were not concentrated over a tighter area. In a typical year most of the river would have been frozen by now. The temperature while I was there during the day was around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It can get as low as minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Haines Highway had been plowed so, the drive was without a problem. It pays to drive slow and carefully however and to watch for icy patches. There can be patches of ice on the asphalt that are hard to see because they blend in and hence these are called “black ice”.

My return the second day was very similar to the first day, although there appeared to be fewer eagles. I do not have an explanation for this. I did not hear what the official bald eagle count was the year I was there. It was overcast on both days and adequate daylight for shooting was from about 9-10 AM to around 2-2:30 PM during my two day visit at the end of November.

I had saved my airline ticket for the return to Haines on L.A.B. Flying Service. I was glad I did because that was a neat experience in itself. The appearance of the Piper Cherokee on the tarmac in the morning light was superb with the clouds in the background. I was the only passenger on the flight back to Juneau and I sat in the co-pilot seat for a “cool” ride back and I was pleased with a trip that had been well worth the taking.

authored by Lon Britton