When they're chased!  When not swimming!

The Pacific Salmon spawn is highly variable, depending upon individual historic timing for a stream, the species and the geographic location.  Still not much help!

In general terms the earliest salmon runs are in the north and as the season progresses the runs are maturing and spawning farther south.  So the earliest runs occur in NW Alaska  -- some of the fish coming into the rivers as early as April and May, immediately after the rivers thaw. Then the peak spawn happens during the summer months and into the early fall.  However, by late fall in the north you are starting to get early freeze-ups, both preventing the salmon accessing the shallows and, more importantly, preventing the hatching fingerlings finding any insects upon which to feed.

So once the freeze ups start putting the dead and dying carcasses out of reach under the ice, the eagles are generally forced south.  This means that in the years of early and strong early freeze ups we get thousands more eagles forced early to our southern waters that are still open.  In most years the rivers around southern BC, and particularly our Harrison River complex, the heavy die-off is not available until late October or early November.  .. read more ..

 

Alternative Bald Eagle Nests - a Plethora in Some Areas - Not in Others- Why?

Here is a good Thesis topic -- but it needs a Sponsor!

In most of nature there are usually multiply reasons why some behavior or action takes place. 

Why do some eaqles  make several nests? In other active territories only one nest is ever found. Obviously some make a new nest to replace one that has been destroyed by the weather. The nest used for several years very successfully, simply rotted out and fell, partially or wholly to the ground.  In other cases the tree blew over.  In many of the urban areas the availability of strong cedar, Sitka spruce or

As David Hancock swings open the gate to his yard, he is greeted by his regular houseguests, including Bahama pintail and blue-billed ruddy ducks.

“Hello guys, how are you?” Hancock says in a melodic voice, as the waterfowl wade through a pond stretched across the lawn.

The South Surrey acreage is home to about 20 bird species, some permanent residents, others just visiting.

A pair of Canada geese come to Hancock’s property annually to raise their young, and this year they have four babies just learning to fly. Hancock, a biologist, says the youngsters will have seven to 10 days to master the skill before the family leaves and returns next February.

Other feathered members of the backyard community are heard long before they are seen. As Hancock navigates his way along the pond’s rock wall, he stops to listen to the cry of a nearby baby pileated woodpecker. It’s the first time he has heard its call.

© 2005 Steve Geer (istockphoto.com)

A subspecies of gray wolf that once ranged wide regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States including Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is today one of North America’s rarest indigenous large mammals, existing precariously in the wild only as a small, intensely managed population in a limited area of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Traditionally inhabiting warmer and drier environs and often relying on smaller prey, “lobos” (as they are also called) are somewhat smaller than their northern cousins, averaging between 50 and 80 lbs (about the size of German shepherd dogs) and they typically form smaller packs. They also have more pointed ears and shorter coats, which are often handsomely patterned with rich colors of gray, gold, rust, black, and white. Although Mexican wolves were extirpated from the wild before their behavior and ecology could be thoroughly studied, it is believed they preferred mountainous forest landscapes and originally preyed mostly on elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, javelina, rabbits, and other small mammals [1].