Notice to the Media:   (also good planning guidelines for the public to book their tours) 

Hi Media;   Photographers / Videographers  -- TV, Radio, Magazines etc. 

We want to promote our incredible bald eagles of the Chehalis -- Harrison Rivers complex, where in the winter of 2010 we had over 7000 bald eagles congregate to feast on the 5 spawning salmon species, and the fact that the Metro Vancouver -- Fraser Valley BC area, with over 360 pairs of nesting bald eagles, is the Bald Eagle Metropolis of the World. 

We are offering the media this complimentary trip up the Harrison River on the Fraser River Safari Tour's beautiful covered tour boat on the basis you will honour the eagles and the joint efforts of the Fraser River Safari Tours and the Hancock Wildlife Foundation in any of your productions.  We further appreciate having copies of any photos or videos to mount on the Hancock Wildlife Foundation & Fraser River Safari Tour web sites.  We will of course give you credits for this -- and we wish to encourage you to post any personal stories you might contribute.  Copies should be sent to our two emails below. You must have a reservation. 

For the 3rd  weekend of November each year we also jointly promote the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival:   

             http://fraservalleybaldeaglefestival.ca/

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

by David Hancock

Quick comment on the diagnosis of Phoenix by the MOE (Ministry of Environment) avian pathologists for the British Columbia Animal Health Laboratory, Dr. Schwantje  and Dr. Vicky Bowes.

Their "preliminary findings from the necropsy performed on Phoenix. Phoenix was a female. She died from acute bilateral mycotic pneumonia."

This is sad but a very common disease of raptors and of young eagles.  Usually the problem organism is the fungus Aspergillosis.  This is a world-wide contaminant found literally everywhere that only becomes toxic when the host is under nourished or stressed.  I have seen sitting birds, in this case a ptarmigan, undergo a slight hormonal shift as the egg laying body hormones changed to incubation hormones and we believe the Aspergillosis in the bird's body took this shift as a threat and the Aspergillosis emitted a sudden toxic bloom of spores to insure it survived. Flowering is the plant's way to insure new life. The ptarmigan died within minutes still sitting on its eggs.