Eagles, salmon and warm rum

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Mid December was marked by death, birth, feasting and warm rum and cider. A lot for one weekend, huh?

We went to see the bald headed eagles feasting on salmon at Brackendale with Tim and Barb, which was pretty amazing. The bald headed eagle is apparently the only eagle unique to North America. They arrive on mass at the river running through Brackendale (just near Squamish) at this time of year (December/January) to feast on the dying, rotting salmon. The eagles were magnificent and demanding of your respect. They look like judges, in their white caps, perched up above society, casting judgments. You can’t help feeling a little nervous when they peer down on you. It is a fascinating and beautiful but also depressing and macabre scene. The salmon have swam all the way from the ocean to this point in the river to sporn and then rot away and be eaten. The male salmon grow HUGE and develop jaws, just in order to fight each other for the rights to mate, but then they pretty much start rotting before they even make it to this point, which you would think would be a bit of a turn off to the female salmon. Anyhow, as I have said before, what a remarkable world we live in. The eagles and the salmon were apparently both few in numbers this year, due to a bad flood a few years ago (however long the salmon life cycle is - I can’t remember - maybe 4 years?), which is a pretty vivid example of the delicate nature of the food chain. A bad flood one year decimates that year’s population of salmon, which also means the eagles go hungry. Apparently this year the eagles have been seen killing seagulls and even eating their own sick or elderly, which is uncharacteristic.

The day was topped off with cups of warm apple cider and spiced rum, that Tim whipped up on his camp oven in the back of his truck. I have discovered my new winter drink. I can see why the hunters all drink it. It just warms you up from the inside.

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Photos

The eagles
I know you can't see them very well, but they are bald headed eagles - I promise. You will just have to take my word for it.

Not much left on this one
Salmon skeleton

Sloppy eating
salmon tail

Tim and Barb
Looking at the fog

Bellies up
salmon offering themselves

The salmon mating jaws
obviously not too tasty

Me walking across the 'bridge'
and trying not to think about falling into the rotting salmon below me.

A small eagle
but at least you can see it!