Wintering Bald Eagles on the Bow River

Article and Photographs by Ken Crebbin
January 26, 2013

I have always had an interest in nature, especially birds. Growing up in Calgary our family spent a lot of time camping and hiking in the foothills and mountains west of Calgary. In the 1980’s my wife and I moved to De Winton (just south of Calgary). With the Bow River at my doorstep I have had the opportunity to fish, hike and horseback ride through the river valley. I have also had an interest in photography since I was a youth. Recently I made the jump from film photography to digital and found combining my interest with birds and learning my new digital camera a worthwhile challenge.

 

The Bow River has changed in this area from being ice bound years ago during the winter and now is mostly ice free all winter from Calgary to Carsland. This makes excellent wintering grounds for waterfowl that take advantage of the open water and supply of grain left behind in nearby fields after harvest. The Bald Eagles have discovered this resource and now rely on the waterfowl for food to winter in the Bow River valley.

 

 

 

 

There are three main sources of food that are eaten by the eagles in the winter: road kill (usually deer), the odd fish, and mainly ducks. There is definitely a hierarchy among the flock of eagles residing here. The dominant birds always eat first when there is road kill; I suspect it is the mature resident pair that live here year-round, then the juvenile birds, followed by coyotes, ravens, crows and magpies. The carcass rarely lasts more than two days. This hierarchy is maintained with respect among the eagles with no sign of aggression; while each of the eagles has their fill the others wait nearby.

 

 

 

 

There are eleven Bald Eagles and one Golden Eagle residing in the De Winton area this winter that I have seen. Juveniles can be seen occasionally hunting in pairs. One eagle will fly in and spook the ducks, causing them to either fly or dive underwater, and then the second eagle will swoop in and catch a weak duck or one that is just surfacing. The mature birds usually hunt alone.

 

 

 

Bald eagles are hard to approach and difficult to photograph as they seem to be very wary birds. These photographs were taken with a Nikon D7000 with a 300 mm 2.8 lens and a Nikon 2x teleconverter along the Bow River near Policeman’s Flats.