The bald eagle recently became the United States’ official national bird. It’s already a celebrated creature in Haines, which boasts the largest congregation of bald eagles in the world. KHNS spoke with visitors from across the country and the globe who travelled thousands of miles and braved frigid cold to photograph the birds.

 

John Rinehart is from Arizona, and this is his eighth trip to Haines. He says he came to shoot bald eagles, but quickly corrects himself.

Rinehart: “Photograph, the bald eagles.” 

Reporter: “To be clear, you’re photographing the bald eagles.”

Rinehart: “Yes, don’t want to get in legal trouble.”

Rinehart originally came to Haines for just one trip, but things snowballed.

“​​I was going to come up once in 2014 and something about this bird, I just fell in love with watching it and photographing it,” he said. “And it does not get old.”

It might come as a surprise that the bald eagle was not the national bird, until President Joe Biden signed legislation this Christmas Eve. 

It all started with Preston Cook, a Minnesota eagle enthusiast. He realized in 2010 that the United States had an official flower, the rose, and an official mammal, the bison – but no official bird. So he made it his mission to change that.

Minnesota is home to the second largest population of bald eagles. Alaska, of course, is first.

And Haines, Alaska has the most of anywhere. During October and November, about 3,000 to 4,000 bald eagles migrate to the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve to feed on a late run of salmon. And photographers from afar follow.

Rinehart says he’s not a professional photographer. His passion is a hobby.

Reporter: “What do you do with your pictures?”

Rinehart: “Enjoy them. Share them with friends. Occasionally I’ll sell one.” 

The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve was created by the state in 1982 and covers 48,000 acres. While the highest concentration of eagles is present in the winter and fall, they can be spotted throughout the year.

That seasonal increase happens because the Chilkat River doesn’t freeze. Warm water from underground surfaces in an area called the “council grounds.” This allows for a late run of chum salmon that attracts brown bears, American Dippers, mink — and a lot of eagles.

But getting to Haines in the fall and winter can be complicated. Just ask Kevin Fry of Alabama. It took him two trips to make it to the eagle viewing. 

He says he has been reading about Haines for a long time, and finally came up last December. But he only got as far as Juneau. Due to flight cancellations, he sat in the airport for 48 hours before giving up and heading home.

“So now, 11 months later, I’m trying it again, and I made it this time,” Fry said.

Fry said it took 29 hours and four flights to get from Alabama to Haines.

For Morten Romild, the journey was even longer — three days from Denmark. But he says he would do it again. Coming from a flat country, he was particularly impressed with the mountains.

“It’s a bucket list trip,” he said.

Visitors to the eagle preserve are asked to park in designated parking spaces, not to stop in the middle of the road and to stay in marked viewing areas to avoid stressing the eagles. 

Haines also hosts the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in November. Visitors can listen to guest lectures, participate in nature trivia at a local bar or take an owl pellet class.