The Valley of the Eagles will live up to its name this month as more than 2,000 of our national birds congregate on the Chilkat River.
The 22nd annual Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in Haines Monday through Nov. 19 is expected to see the highest turnout of eagles since 2009.
About 2,027 eagles were spotted Monday as part of the American Bald Eagle Foundation’s most recent ground count.
Cheryl McRoberts, the foundation’s executive director, said about 150 people have registered for this year’s festival so far, including 45 from a class at the University of Alaska Southeast. That number is down from previous years.
McRoberts speculated the decrease might be because the festival was delayed a week so people could vote in Tuesday’s presidential election. The highest attendance recorded was 271 people four years ago. McRoberts said people will often show up and buy tickets on the spot.
The Haines Chamber of Commerce started the festival in 1994, and the foundation took it over in the early 2000s, said chamber director Debra Schnabel. Schnabel said tourism for the festival positively impacts the restaurants and hotels in town.
“Any time you have an event that brings people out, even local people, there’s more activity and engagement. I think those things are always positive,” Schnabel said.
This year’s theme “Aquatic Connections: It Flows Through Us All,”…shows “how all living organisms from humans to bald eagles to dragonflies are dependent on the flow of clean water,” according to an event flier.
The festival will feature presentations from wildlife experts from across the country and Canada such as Shannon Donahue on polar bears, John Hudson on dragonflies, Chloe Goodson and Lindsay Caskenette on bald eagles, Jamie Womble on harbor seals and Rich Capitan on the buff-breasted sandpiper.
The festival’s keynote speaker is Jeffery Rich, a wildlife and bird photography specialist with photos published in National Wildlife, National Geographic, Audubon and other publications. Rich will discuss his new book, “Birding Inspirations Through My Lens” and answer audience questions.
McRoberts looks forward to hearing from Capitan, who is a comedian birder, Alaska Master Naturalist and science educator.
The festival also includes daily eagle viewing near the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, painting on feathers with Haines resident Carol Clifton, eagle trivia, Tlingit dancing and culture with Wayne Price, square dancing, a chocolate buffet and winter bazaar, an auction and banquet, and a live release of three rehabilitated eagles from Bird Treatment & Learning Center in Anchorage.
Locals can attend individual events for $7. Otherwise, ticket prices are: $35 for a one-day pass, $70 for a two-day pass, $105 for a three-day pass, and $175 for a five-day pass. Visit https://baldeagles.org/alaska-bald-eagle-festival/festival-schedule/ for a full festival schedule.
According to the foundation’s website, eagles congregate on the preserve to feed on a late run of chum and coho salmon. Thousands of years ago when glaciers were receding from the valley, they left behind a porous bed of gravel where the Chilkat River now sits.
The gravel acts as an aquifer. Water is heated by the sun in the summer and sinks into the bed of gravel. In the winter, the warm water slowly percolates back up, keeping about four square miles of the river from freezing. Historically by mid-November, the majority of the rivers in Southeast Alaska have frozen.
Eagles serve an important ecological purpose in Southeast, said museum curator Samantha Wilson.
The birds clear up carcasses left behind by bears, or break up carcasses so smaller animals like crows can feed on them.
“Eagles are important indicators of environmental health,” Wilson said. Eagles are susceptible to poisoning from lead and other contaminants in the mammals, amphibians and fish that they eat.
However, eagles’ strong stomach acids help them deal with diseases from eating carrion. They also spread nutrients from salmon away from the waterways.
Bald eagles also hold a cultural significance for Tlingit and other Native communities.
“We’re proud to use the eagle as our symbol,” said Lani Hotch, executive director of the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center and Bald Eagle Preserve Visitor Center in Klukwan. “It’s part of who we are.”
The Tlingit people have two main clans, the Eagle and Raven clan, Hotch said. Their ancestors took on the different crest figures because of some kind of historical interaction with the animals.
Hotch said she has developed an affinity and respect for eagles and sees them as kindred spirits: “We’re all part of this valley and part of this ecosystem. We all depend on salmon and the health of the river.”