Volunteers see increase in bald eagles at Brackendale, defying 10-year decline

Volunteers in Brackendale, B.C., counted an additional 287 bald eagles during an annual census of the birds this year, countering 10-year lows in their numbers.

The Howe Sound community south of Whistler has one of North America’s largest concentration of wintering bald eagles, which feed off of salmon in the nearby Squamish River.

Volunteers this year counted 698 eagles, compared to 411 last year.

Last year, the eagle numbers were the lowest they have been in the 32-year history of the count. Organizers blamed the lack of salmon