If you love eagles, like sharing your knowledge with others and don’t mind the cold, consider volunteering for the 21st Skagit River Eagle Watchers program.
One of the best winter eagle-viewing areas in the country is along the Upper Skagit River. Volunteers would love to share what they know about the annual influx of the nation’s bird, salmon, the Skagit River and the North Cascades.
“You don’t have to know anything about eagles. We will teach you. All you need is a friendly attitude and the desire to talk with people,” said Tanya Kitterman, Eagle Watchers coordinator.
The program started before the bald eagle was delisted from the endangererd species list, said Matthew Riggen, a field ranger with the program.
“We were pretty concerned about the eagles and the people going up there to see them, parking on the highway and putting themselves in peril. The program created safe sites to park and watch eagles,” he said. “It helps people get a greater appreciation of the eagles but is also a way for folks to get a greater understanding of the interconnections between eagles, fish, the river system, the ocean and the human dimension.”
Volunteers will be at four sites with information tents, binoculars, spotting scopes, and knowledge about eagles. Volunteers can also give nature walks.
Last winter, 39 volunteers offered their time and knowledge. But as Kitterman said, no experience is required. Send in an application online at skagiteaglewatchers.wordpress.com by Dec. 1 if you can be available for training Dec. 6-7 and commit to three weekend days between Dec. 13 and Jan. 18.
About 4,600 visitors stopped on the weekends to enjoy the show last year at the Marblemount Fish Hatchery (free guided tours), Milepost 100 (Sutter Creek Rest Area), and Rockport’s Howard Miller Steelhead County Park and the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center; www.skagiteagle.org, 360-853-7626.
The sites will have volunteers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Riggen said. A guided walk from the Interpretive Center starts at 11 a.m. The center has a wealth of information and displays on eagles and their environment. The center is open from Dec. 6 to Jan. 31.
Its website has a section that thoroughly describes excellent viewing spots along the Skagit and viewing tips.
Eagles are found in varying numbers at a variety of sights, some seen only by guided raft tours.
The U.S. Forest Service does weekly counts along the Skagit River from Newhalem to Sedro-Wooley. In the Marblemount to Rockport stretch, December 2013 counts were 88, 84 and 39; in January 2014, the counts were 50, 33, 92 and 18.
Counts vary for a number of reasons (aside from good/bad timing on your part). Much depends on the number of wild chum salmon that come up the river to spawn, then die, providing the attraction of easy meals for the eagles.
The last two years, the chum count has been down a little, Riggen said, and so has the eagle count.
From Newhalem to Sedro-Woolley, the count has ranged from 74-410 during the last six years; from Marblemount to Rockport, 18 to 211.
If you go, dress in layers and prepare for rain (or snow). Bring snacks, water, maybe a set of dry clothes. Remember that weather in Western Snohomish County may be very different than in Rockport.
On the bookshelf: Passionate environmentalist Jan “Gramma” Golden’s new book is “Bird Lady Meets Mort and Ort in It’s a Great Day for Pulling Weeds!” In it, Bird Lady is schooled by the avian couple (they do have lips, after all), teaching her that no, it’s really not a great day for pulling “weeds” if it interfers with other creatures food supply or pollinating abilities. It’s the Noah’s Ark/God’s creations approach to better stewardship, and in it, Bird Lady realizes that she knows the lessons, she just hasn’t been living them.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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