Bald Eagle Gathering - Bald Eagle Festival

by © Paul Dodson 2008

Festival Location: Haines, AK, USA

Festival State: Alaskan Festivals

Festival Type(s): Animal Festivals , Natural Phenomenon Festivals, Environmental Festivals

An unexpected highlight of any visit to North America is to catch a glimpse of the region's iconic Bald Eagle. Whether sitting regally atop a tree surveying the ground for prey or in majestic full flight it's a memory that remains vivid for a long, long time.

A long time that is until you visit Haines, Alaska for their annual Bald Eagle Festival where the mighty American symbol becomes as prevailant as the barnyard chicken. Each year between October and December anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 of these magnificent creatures - and thousands of Golden Eagles to boot - descend upon the Chilkat River Flats in the 48,000 acre Alaksa Chilkat Bald Eagle Reserve below Klukwan for "the gathering". Why? The rich pickings of Coho and Chum Salmon which return annually to this aquatic hot spot to spawn.

To coincide with "the gathering" each November the town of Haines puts on a show - the Bald Eagle Festival. Festival highlights include the release of many previously-injured, rehabilitated Eagles back to the wild, art exhibitions, naturalist-guided tours of the Bald Eagle Reserve and live bird presentations. All in all quite the spectacle and an ornothogolists dream come true.