Posted in Uncategorized on January 30, 2009|
Volunteers!
Come celebrate our efforts at the annual Eagle Watcher potluck.
Where: Mt.Baker Ranger District Office, Sedro-Woolley
When: Sunday, February 22
Time: 4:00 pm
A-G bring salads
H-M bring appetizers
N-Z bring entrees
We will supply dessert and beverages.
Please RSVP to Lee
Posted in Uncategorized on January 29, 2009|
Saturday in Rockport during Eagle Fest
Many cameras were capturing the scene on the Skagit during eagle fest, and happily the eagles cooperated. I had to laugh when Saturday at 9:30am a bird flew over Howard Miller Park and landed in the tree by the bridge ready for its shift as our “display bird.”
Corrine at Milepost 100
Things were just as smooth down at milepost 100, where there were 475 visitors on Saturday There was a carcass nearby, possibly a calf or deer, providing meat which the eagles were happily eating in trees on both sides of the river. One bird stayed right over the picnic area even when at least 40 people were there with huge cameras and scopes. Eventually things got too crazy and he took his lunch flew across the river where it was quieter. It seemed like festival attendees were all having a great time and getting to see birds up close.
I need practice photgraphing through the scope!
Posted in Uncategorized on January 29, 2009|
Saturday: 
Sunday:
Yep. We’ll be using the canopies this weekend. It is also the Superbowl so there should be plenty of parking at Howard Miller Park on Sunday.
Posted in Uncategorized on January 29, 2009|
Newhalem to Marblemount: 26
Marblemount to Rockport: 32
Rockport to Sedro-Woolley: 46
Total: 104
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bald eagle, eagle festival, golden eagle, marblemount on January 28, 2009|
Photo through scope shows a golden head.
Note that the leg feathers go all the way to the talons. The subadult Golden also has a distinctive white band on the tail.
Posted in Uncategorized on January 28, 2009|
Virginia sent another update today…
Dear Friends and Family,
Many of you have been asking about the eagle that Jerry rescued on January 4th. As you may remember, he found one dead adult and one badly injured four year old. Two fishermen had witnessed the two birds taloning down in a spiral and hitting a double electric line. The older bird died immediately. We took them to the Sarvey Wildlife Rescue center outside of Arlington and they named the survivor Jolt. They found no broken bones when they x-rayed him, but there were electrocution injuries on both wings. Each day, they changed the bandages on his wings and, in spite of antibiotics, the injuries continued to worsen. Evidently, the cellular structure had been severely damaged by the electrocution and daily, the cells broke down. It was possible that amputation of both wings would have been the only way he could have survived. Jolt was euthanized on January 17th. Sarvey sent his body on to the repository in Colorado.
I’m sorry to have such a sad ending to the tale. I had hoped to tell you about his release back into the wild. Sarvey did a beautiful job taking care of him and I encourage folks to support them when possible.
Respectfully,
Virginia Malmquist
Posted in Uncategorized on January 23, 2009|
The National Weather Service has changed their prediction for this weekend since the last time I posted. Now the forecast is for a 30% chance of snow and a high of 40 on Saturday and sunny and 30 on Sunday. The temperature in Rockport is supposed to drop to 7 degrees overnight Sunday night. BRRRR!!!
Dress warm and beware of ice on the roadways in the mornings.
Posted in Uncategorized on January 21, 2009|
The latest from the National Weather Service looks like a chance of rain and snow on Saturday, and snow likely on Sunday. It doesn’t look like a major storm so we are still a “go” for eagle watching stations. We’ll close early on Sunday if we need to, and as always, if you are not prepared to drive in snow, don’t feel obligated.
Conditions have been pretty icy on the roads lately. Cliff Mass has a new article about black ice and the fog we’ve been experiencing. Drive slow!!
Posted in Uncategorized on January 21, 2009| 1 Comment »
Bob Schneider and I just came in from the eagle survey. Here are today’s results:
Newhalem to Marblemount: 25
Marblemount to Rockport: 46
Rockport to Sedro-Woolley: 25
Total: 96 (Last Wednesday there were 175)
Last weekend was marvelous – thank you to everyone for coming out. Special thanks to Don and Wendy Seanor, Karen Tadd and Bob Schneider for assisting the visitor center with walks. The weather was wonderful, which made up for the sparse bird population. Folks disembarking from boats at Rockport were reporting around 25-30 birds along the float route, drastically fewer than 2 weeks ago.
Common sense suggests that the flood events washed the food downstream, and the eagles followed. Large numbers were reported around Samish Island last week. The eagles remaining appear to be hunting. Last Saturday one took a fish out of the river at Howard Miller and another dove at a flock of Goldeneyes near MP 100.
Next weekend is Eagle Festival in Concrete. Bob and I saw 4 adult eagles from the Concrete bridge today, including a nesting pair (There is a nest in a Douglar Fir just downstream from the bridge.) Nice of them to gather for the festival!
We can expect large crowds at the Hatchery and the SFEG folks may need help with tours. In case the eagles are scarce, we should be prepared to talk to folks about all kinds of things we know about this area. Don’t be afraid to share your expertise, whatever it may be. Visitors new to this area might want to learn about waterfowl, mushrooms, fish, bears, the watershed or trees. Many of us have knowledge of trails and other recreation or the history of the area.
Stay tuned for information about the potluck and possibly a rescheduling of the boat trip.
See you on the river!
Posted in Uncategorized on January 18, 2009|
Guest Post from Virginia Malmquist
Dear Friends and Family,
Well, for starters, I got his name wrong. They named him Jolt, rather than Volt. Jerry’s been calling in every other day to check up on his progress. He got an x-ray which showed an old pellet in his chest. He was likely hit with a shot gun and then healed over (yes, I know, unbelievable!) There were no broken bones from the fight, electrocution or subsequent fall. He is still refusing to eat on his own and has to be force fed. He has gained weight and is perching which are both good signs. They have been changing his bandage daily and some birds won’t eat until you stop handling them. The electrical burn is larger than they first thought, but they are still hopeful. Meanwhile, he has not been allowed into the flight center and won’t until the wounds have healed. Sarvey Wildlife Center has done an excellent job. I encourage you to donate if you can. We’ll let you know if there are any changes.
Virginia and Jerry
Skagit Eagle Watchers 