Brackendale eagle count celebrates 30th anniversary Sunday

It's an annual fixture for wildlife lovers on the West Coast,but when the Winter Eagle Festival and Count in Brackendale near Squamishkicks off this weekend,founder ThorFroslevis worried the sense of celebration surrounding the 30th edition of the festivalwill be tempered byalow number ofeagles.

"All the salmons are down on the West Coastand the eagles are starving," saidFroslov.

From late November to February, Brackendale usually teems with eagles that feed on the carcasses of Chumsalmon that have finished spawning in local rivers, and the area isregarded asone of the top eagleviewing locations in the world.

• Annual Brackendale eagle count numbers

Froslovexpectsthis year's count to register "about a thousand eagles", although he adds it's problematic trying to forecast numbers.

Last year, a snowstorm limited visibility and only637 eagles were spotted.

The best year ever over thethree decades of the event was 1994 when 3,769 eagles were counted in one day.

On Sunday, teams of volunteers will head outon footand in boats to lookfor the birds in an established search grid inBrackendale Eagles Provincial Park, alonga 40-kilometre stretch of theSquamishRiver

"We divide itinto 20 areas and each area has two counters and a head counter," saidFroslov. "We use a couple of canoes, a kayak and a rubber raft because you can't get into the river at certain points."

The best place for eagle viewingis the area known as "Eagle Run" about a kilometre south of the Brackendale Art Gallery, which Froslov owns and operates.

"We have eagle watch people up there with scopes who can help you and tell youmore about eagles," he says.