The 22nd annual Brackendale Eagle Count on Sunday (Dec. 6) brought in alarmingly low numbers: only 893 eagles - less than half found in the area in 2007 - were back one year later.With a low chum population as the suspected culprit, bald eagles are taking a lesson from bears and scouring the landfill for meals no longer found in the water.
The prime spot for eagle sightings was not along any creek or river but the Squamish landfill where 222 of the 893 eagles were spotted.
"Listen up, we have a problem," said Thor Froslev who hosts the count at the Brackendale Art Gallery each year. The final count was "very, very, very disheartening," he said.
As drenched volunteers piled into the gallery with rosy faces they relayed their numbers to Froslev's niece, 19-year-old Anna Smith from Surrey. Community members filled the building, and watched the numbers make a slow climb on the blackboard. Several volunteers, including Froslev, Smith and Eagle Watch coordinator Bruce Matthews, said they believe the drop in eagles is a result of a low chum run this fall.
Froslev said he thinks it will take another year of reduced chum to get the attention of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.As the dump became an obvious frontrunner for eagle sightings, Smith noted the site was no replacement for salmon the eagles usually rely on.
"Eating fries and leftover things is not the same in terms of nutrients," she said.
Although the count has dipped below 900 eagles three other times in the last 22 years, Froslev said low numbers in the past were largely a result of poor counting technique. With four kayaks and a raft helping inspect about 40 kilometres of confirmed eagle habitat, he said this year's result can be interpreted as the lowest one in the count's history.
The grim figures did not shake the enthusiasm of volunteers, however. Josée Fontaine brought in the last set of results at 1:40 p.m. with a broad smile holding up bright red cheeks. She was part of a kayak crew who had been counting eagles along the Squamish River.
"It was nice. It was very cold out there though," she said.
Some of the volunteers, such as Susan Brant, have been taking part in the count since the 1980s. Brant was accompanied by her son Chris, who she said had been counting eagles "since before he was born."
As Brant and her family dove into bowls of soup at the gallery, she described their two-and-a-half hour walk beginning at Sunwolf Outdoor Centre.
"We start at 8 a.m. It's a pleasure to be out there. We walk along the river and through the forest."
Some children such as Mary Cooke, 8, and Ray Cooke, 5, were transfixed by the sight of Harris' hawks and the great horned owl brought to the gallery by Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey, who were joining the event for the first time.
As she watched her children surround the birds, Barb Cook, who recently moved to the area from Toronto, said the eagles have not lost their power to amaze.
"I've been a birdwatcher all my life, but I've never seen so many it just blows me away."
