This winter’s bald eagle counts began Monday with 333 eagles spotted in the Chilkat Valley, a high number for this time of year.
Chloe Goodson, American Bald Eagle Foundation volunteer coordinator, is taking over the eagle count duties from Haines resident Pam Randles. Randles has counted eagles every year with Haines High School environmental science and biology classes since 2009.
The eagle counts generally start in September and take place once a week until the middle of December. Goodson said it took from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to visit several sites along the Chilkoot and Chilkat Rivers and out to 30 Mile on Haines Highway. Goodson explained that she and Randles stopped at each site and tallied the bald eagles they saw through binoculars or a scope with a 360-degree view.
They also completed three driving counts, when the driver slows to 20 mph and puts on the flashers to look for eagles from the road. The data collected each week is used to identify trends in local bald eagle populations.
Randles has seen decreases in the numbers of eagles in the last few years, and thinks it is because recent winters have been warmer than usual.
“While we have seen less eagles, that doesn’t mean there are less eagles,” Randles said.
Randles said that because warmer winter weather is causing larger areas of water near the Tsirku River fan to remain unfrozen during the congregation time in November, the eagles haven’t had to compete for food in such a small space. “I know there are people who are concerned,” Randles said. “I just don’t think (the eagles) are being forced into a small area.”
Randles said about only 60 or 70 eagles are normally counted in the first few weeks of data collection. Numbers like 333 aren’t usually seen for another several weeks, when high counts can be around 450. The breakdown of that 333 is: 87 along the Chilkoot River, 209 along the Chilkat River and 37 near the Klehini River. Randles said this is notable because it seems “everything has come early this year,” including spring bird migrations, plants blooming and even eagle fledging.
Alaska State Park ranger Bill Zack collected bald eagle data from 1986 to 2000. Independent biologist Angie Hodgson and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services also conducted intermittent surveys. Randles said there wasn’t a steady observation of eagles until she started it with the high school classes. She tried to adopt Hodgson’s protocols and methods to keep the data consistent and comparable to past years, and will pass those on to Goodson for the future.
Randles said she hopes Haines can keep the surveys going because the eagle data can provide information about climate change, eagle populations and fish populations. Also, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game often uses eagle sightings to determine where and when salmon runs take place.
Goodson said she may look for volunteers to help with the eagle counts this winter. She said the counts work nicely with one person to look through the binoculars and another person to tally. In the past, the high school students would analyze the data for class credit and present some of it at the American Bald Eagle Festival. Goodson will now be responsible for keeping and analyzing the data.
This year, Randles said it might take the whole winter to figure out if there are actually more eagles, or if they are just coming to the area early. “The only way we can find out is to wait.”