Hundreds of bald eagles have been spotted at a South Delta farm and the birds don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.
“They have been here since mid-December and they will (stay) probably until the beginning of May,” Rob Hope, the raptor care manager at Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society.
According to Hope, this is not the first year the eagles has flocked to the farm. “It has happened in years past, there seems to be more this year than previous years.”
A nearby organics transfer station is the reason that the eagles have settled on the farm. Seagulls are gathering the scraps and the eagles have caught on.
“So the eagles are either stealing the meat from the seagulls or killing the seagulls and eating them,” said Hope.
Another factor for the large eagle population is due to the rising river levels in October and November in salmon spawning streams.
“A lot of the salmon weren’t on the banks in easy access for the eagles. So all the fish got blown out without easy access,” said Hope. “This is sort of a high-stress time between now and breeding before the salmon return. So this is an area that now they found to sustain themselves for the next little while.”
The hundreds of eagles have caught the attention of many birdwatchers but Hope stresses that people should stay off the road and respect private property. The best way to view the birds is probably by zooming in on your camera or using binoculars.
Source
“They have been here since mid-December and they will (stay) probably until the beginning of May,” Rob Hope, the raptor care manager at Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society.
According to Hope, this is not the first year the eagles has flocked to the farm. “It has happened in years past, there seems to be more this year than previous years.”
A nearby organics transfer station is the reason that the eagles have settled on the farm. Seagulls are gathering the scraps and the eagles have caught on.
“So the eagles are either stealing the meat from the seagulls or killing the seagulls and eating them,” said Hope.
Another factor for the large eagle population is due to the rising river levels in October and November in salmon spawning streams.
“A lot of the salmon weren’t on the banks in easy access for the eagles. So all the fish got blown out without easy access,” said Hope. “This is sort of a high-stress time between now and breeding before the salmon return. So this is an area that now they found to sustain themselves for the next little while.”
The hundreds of eagles have caught the attention of many birdwatchers but Hope stresses that people should stay off the road and respect private property. The best way to view the birds is probably by zooming in on your camera or using binoculars.
Source
Beautiful photos. It would be helpful to readers if your story mentioned the city and state where the refuge is located.
A reference to spawning salmon suggested somewhere in the west, but aside from Alaska's Delta area, I couldn't figure out the location.
Ah. I see a similar reference from a Canadian avian research site, which means the location is the Fraser Delta area, British Columbia.
Eagles started gathering in the Fraser River Delta area since mid 80's in alignment with the spiritual dispensations of the Gathering of the Eagles, received on the inner planes by myself and many at that time. They gathered just below where I lived in Burn's Bog, and remained there for many years. The ranks thinned with their eating tainted meat from nearby garbage refuge area for the Vancouver region, and a fire in the bog more recently. Eagles gathering in the Delta area are not uncommon, then, but this looks like an exceptionally large number spurred on by ecological reasons.
What is not mentioned here is the food waste recycling facility located on farm land that is in the Agricultural Land Reserve in East Ladner, BC. The operation is run by GFL Environmental Inc. and nearby cities send the residential food waste to this facility which composts it. The birds get lots to eat from the incoming garbage and the nearby residents get the putrid odour from the rotting and curing piles. This new industry has no standards or protection for local residents.
Awesome!