They've been counted and tallied, and the results are in: there were more eagles in the in Brackendale during the 19th annual Brackendale Winter Eagle Festival and Count this year than there was the year before.
Volunteers counted a total of 1,975 eagles (1,045 adults, 840 immature and 90 unclassified) for the 2005 count on Jan. 2. In 2004, 1,709 eagles were counted.
On the morning of the count Thor Froslev, co-coordinator and proprietor of the Brackendale Art Gallery said the event was going like "clockwork."
Many of those braving the cold to count the birds are have been doing it for years. Mike Shaw and Steve Britten from West Vancouver have been doing it for seven and nine years respectively.
"It's the best concentration of eagles anywhere in the Lower Mainland," Britten said. They've been covering the same section of the count, from Judd Slough to IR Bluff since they started. They, along with former Chief editor Al Price, counted 231 eagles in their section.
Eagle counting is something they take very seriously.
"It's quite daunting in the sense it's a big responsibility," Britten said. "We realize we have a role to play in monitoring population dynamics."
"We try to be as accurate as possible."
"That's the challenge really, to make sure we don't miss any," Shaw said.
Britten moved to West Vancouver from South Africa 10 years ago.
"I had heard about the eagles in this part of the world," he said.
He was a bird watcher there, where types of birds are plentiful, but where eagles were regarded as vermin and poisoned.
"You've got to work hard to see eagles in South Africa," he said.
Shaw, who also moved here from South Africa, agreed with him. "It's completely different."
"It's such a regal bird and it's at the top of its food chain," Britten said.
James McArthur from Brackendale has been counting the eagles for more than 10 years. He covers the Pilchuck to Ashlu area.
"This year there is more than double than what we've ever had in that area," McArthur said. The count for the area was 120 eagles. "The biggest we've ever had in the past was 58."
He got involved to help the eagles.
"I just thought it was something that would be scientifically valuable to the eagles," he said. "Besides, it gets me outside."
"They're a very important part of nature."
McArthur wasn't the only one to see more eagles in an area than usual. Jeff Berkley counted 31 eagles in the Upper Cheakamus.
"That's probably the most eagles we've seen in that area," he said, but couldn't speculate to why that was the case.
"The eagles have their own rules," he said. "Something this season is pulling the eagles further north."
The eagle count covers an area approximately 40 kilometres long and one kilometre wide is divided into 20 sections and covered by one head counter with two helpers per section. The count also used three rafting companies and two kayaks to complete the count.
On Jan. 9, 1994, a world record amount of 3,766 bald eagles were counted during the official count.
