Bald eagles at Brackendale
49°45′ N 123°09′ WSeasonNov to JanSeasonal
Bald eagles gather on the Squamish River at Brackendale from November to January and peak in November and December. The season suits anyone with binoculars and a dry jacket on the drive to Squamish, and you watch from the Eagle Run dyke on Government Road because Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park closes to recreation from 1 October to 31 March.
Photo by Pete Nuij on Unsplash and others, credited in the gallery
BC Parks puts the peak in November and December and says good numbers stay into January. The salmon runs and the weather decide how many come. The Squamish Valley set a world record of 3,769 eagles in the 1994 winter count. Counts since then have averaged about 1,300.
The viewing area on the municipal dyke across from the Easter Seals Camp at 41015 Government Road has a shelter and interpretive signs. EagleWatch volunteers help visitors there through the season. The provincial park across the river has no road access, and it closes to everything except fishing from 1 October to 31 March while the eagles are there.
Worth knowing
- Stay on the dyke and keep your voice low, since BC Parks asks people to watch the eagles from outside the park boundary.
Quick answers about Bald eagles at Brackendale
When is the best time to see eagles in Brackendale?
BC Parks says November and December are the peak for bald eagles at Brackendale, and good numbers stay into January. Watch from the Eagle Run dyke on Government Road in Squamish.
Can you go into Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park in winter?
No. Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park closes to recreation other than fishing from 1 October to 31 March, so visitors watch from the Eagle Run dyke outside the park.
In the journal
