first visitors from O. today!
My friend I. was visiting Vancouver with her son A. and they took the bus up to Squamish to see the bald eagles. Lucky for them it was a clear, rather chilly, day so they could see the surrounding mountains in all their glory.
Another friend A. was visiting last weekend which was the official bald eagle count in Brackendale. The numbers came in as average (around 1,700 bald eagles were counted that day in the Squamish area) which was below the top count of 3,000 and some in 1994 (I think). But considering the environmental damage in the Squamish area with the train derailment and dumping of tons of caustic soda into the Cheakamus River two years ago and the oil spill this summer I was happy that the numbers of bald eagles were average. This year there were larger numbers of bald eagles in December with the salmon run.
Last weekend was rainy and it snowed. The turnout for the count was disappointing. Today, however, there were tons of people out looking at the eagles. As both I. and A. had never seen a bald eagle they were impressed as they are extremely majestic looking birds. I also wanted them to see some salmon as well so I took them further down the river but alas, only a couple of carcasses were visible.
I was so happy that the day was clear and sunny for their visit! And it was really great to see an old friend. Next weekend another old friend (big T.) arrives in Whistler for a week of skiing so I hope to have a visit with him as well (and maybe even a soak in the hotel hot tub!)
