EAGLE WATCHING, HARRISON MILLS: DAY 3

Today turned out to be one of those highlights that I'll never, ever forget. I took a boat safari on the Harrison River to see the Bald Eagles that gather every fall to feed on the salmon carcasses that litter the waterway after spawning.

Eagles were everywhere: on beaches, gravel bars, and atop pilings. They roamed the log booms in Harrison Bay and the wetlands just east of Pretty Estate Resort. They filled the bare trees, soared in the sky, and bickered over one piece of salmon when there were dozens all around them. I heard them mew, whistle, cluck, and shriek, we got so close. I lost count after several hundred!

Earlier I had chipped the ice off my windshield before I drove to Kilby Historic Site where I met the boat from Fraser River Safari, the company leading the safari, and signed my waiver. The boat is ideal: large, with huge windows that open, and it's heated, which was a bonus. I was glad to be in my hiking boats as we crunched across the gravel and sand to reach the beach under the railway bridge where the boat was waiting.

Rob and Jo Anne Chadwick were a great team. Rob piloted the jet boat with skill and understanding of the many photographers aboard. Jo, his wife, did the commentary, and did it well. We learned about the river and its history, the local First Nations, the logging and fishing industries that began in the 1850s and still continue today. But she excelled with her knowledge of eagle habitat, migration south to feed, life cycle, and behaviours.

Fresh snow caked the mountain peaks and the sun highlighted them all morning.  The steel-grey river was higher than usual for December and was running fast, full of the pouring rain of the last few days. The light was not as bright as I hoped and photography was a huge challenge. To prevent camera shake and to stop the motion of the birds, I had to use a high ISO and a wide open aperture of f4.5, the widest I could get my long telephoto lens. Even then the fastest shutter speed was only 1/500th. Still it worked reasonably well, producing one decent shot in about seven, and one in ten that was great.

We saw the confluence of the Mighty Fraser and the Harrison River and then turned around and made our way up the Harrison as far as the rapids. Rob beached the boat on a gravelbar so we could see the remains of the salmon left by the eagles having eaten their fill. Gorged, would be a better word! They don't leave much behind for nature to decompose.

My three-day winter getaway deep in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia gave me a taste for the cycle of nature that has been occurring here from time immemorial, a touch of luxury at Rowena's Inn, and some gourmet food at the River's Edge. Highly recommended!

IMAGES: (c) Photos by Pharos 2012. All rights reserved

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EAGLE WATCHING, HARRISON MILLS: DAY 1

All I can hear is the rain beating a tatoo on the roof of my private cottage and the log fire crackling as I type. The night has fallen on a monochrome landscape of dripping trees, brooding mountains, and a silent, steel-grey river sliding west to join the Mighty Fraser. 

Before dusk I counted fourteen Bald Eagles in a tree close by; twenty soared in the gloomy sky above; and one fed at the river's edge. 

I'm at Rowena's Inn on the River in Harrison Mills in December enjoying the peace and anticipating seeing thousands of eagles who congregate here in the fall. They come when food supplies dwindle and the cold bites in the north to feast on the remains of salmon that have spawned in the Harrison and Chehalis Rivers. Between five and seven thousand put on quite display here - more eagles in the fall than anywhere else in BC. It is only an hour and a half from Vancouver, but feels a world away.

First though, I find a cheese plate and a bottle of good BC wine in the fridge as I put my beer away to cool. The cheeses are local, made by Farmhouse Natural Cheeses in the Agassiz region. I bought some last May at the farm store and they make an excellent snack.

Looking east up Harrison River

Through two wide bay windows, views of the river and Mount Woodside shrouded in mist form the backdrop to the fairways of Sandpiper Golf Course and a small lake. Inside the decor of knotty pine and the floor to ceiling river rock fireplace forecasts cosy and comfortable evenings with a good book. The Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom will come in handy after bird-watching tomorrow in the rain, which the weather office predicts will last for my entire visit. But I'm prepared with good rain gear and a hat.

A gourmet breakfast is delivered to my door every morning to start my day and I look forward to enjoying it tomorrow at my table looking at the eagles before I get a tour of the property with the owner, Betty Anne. After this I shall be interviewing her for articles I'm planning while we have Afternoon Tea in the Inn. More on that tomorrow.

But tonight I brave the weather as I walk to the River's Edge resto for an early Christmas dinner. On my way, I can see only seven lights stretched out on the far river bank reminding me that we are close to the wilderness. I'm glad the bears are denned for the winter….

The resto was warm and cosy with a fun server, who is also the manager, and the Christmas decorations were tasteful and not overdone. My home-made soup was sweet roasted peppers and tomato bisque - so thick I could stand a spoon up in it. Delicious. Turkey was moist and tasty. Nice Pinot Gris to go with it. Loved chatting with the owner's husband originally from London before 1957. He is probably on the other side of 80 and has the most wonderful smile. I spent most of the time trying to make him laugh and grin. We reminisced and both decided we like Canada better, less expensive and less crowded.

Rowena's is a gorgeous place to stay even in the rain:  wildlife in abundance, far away from the madding crowd, unspoiled views, and history to keep me entranced.

Images: Photos by Pharos 2012. All rights reserved

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