Bald Eagle

Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

Peak

First three weeks of November. Birds build through October. The 2025 road survey peak of over 1,400 birds fell in early November and tracked a chum run counted above 20,000 fish.

Days needed

8 days

Behaviour

Mass aggregation, Hunting / predation, Territorial fighting, Migration / passage

Coat

Juveniles present

Habitat

Fresh snow, Wetland / water, Autumn colour

Crowds

Moderate

Also here

Brown bear (early in the season), moose, coyote, mink, trumpeter swan, gulls, magpie. Northern lights on clear nights at this latitude in November. Chilkoot River and Lake for a different valley if the Chilkat is quiet.

Light

The single best argument for this window. Haines sits at 59.24N. Maximum solar altitude is about 14 degrees on 10 Nov and about 10 degrees by 25 Nov, so the sun never climbs out of golden hour at any point in the day. Mid November daylight is 7.8 hours, sunrise 08:04, sunset 15:52. On top of that the valley is overcast or mostly cloudy about 77 percent of November, and it is walled by the Takshanuk and Chilkat ranges, so even on clear days the sun clears the ridgeline late and drops early. Practical result: effectively 7 to 8 usable soft light hours a day, no midday writeoff, and pullout access is 24 hours with no gate, so being in position for all of it costs nothing. The price is stops, not quality. Reckon on 3 to 5 stops below open sun. On the A1 II with the 600 f/4, fight and flight action at 1/2000 to 1/3200 will sit around ISO 3200 to 12800. The 1.4x costs another stop and is usable; the 2x is not worth it here.

Weather risk

Fog / mist (asset), Snow / blizzard (asset) and High wind

Tides and moon

Not tidal at the Council Grounds. River state is the variable that matters: a hard early freeze closes the side channels, locks the salmon into ice and the birds leave.

Atmosphere

River mist off the open channels at first light against freezing air. Falling snow. Breath vapour and steam off a fresh carcass. Frost on cottonwood snags. Rim light from a sun sitting at 10 degrees behind the birds. Average November highs 22F to 40F with 55 percent chance of precipitation on any given day, so the atmosphere is likely rather than lucky.

Permits

No permit for roadside or riverbank use of the preserve. Federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act applies: USFWS national guidelines recommend a 660 foot no disturbance buffer around nests and 330 feet as a hard floor, though nesting is not the issue in November. Drone rules inside the preserve not confirmed; assume no and check with Alaska State Parks before travelling. The Alaska Bald Eagle Festival runs in early November and puts more people on the pullouts for that weekend.

Getting there

Fly to Juneau, then Alaska Marine Highway ferry to Haines (about 4.5 hours, early morning departure) or Alaska Seaplanes. Overland alternative is driving down from Whitehorse, Yukon. Rent a vehicle in Haines; everything is a 20 to 30 minute drive from town up the Haines Highway. Lodging in Haines town is walkable to shops and about 20 minutes from the flats, which is close enough given the light runs all day. Physically easy: roadside pullouts, then walking gravel riverbank in snow. Bean bag and low legs are worth carrying for eye level work off the bar.

Who runs trips here: Not required. Photographer led options if wanted: Joe Ordonez at Rainbow Glacier Adventures, Haines local guiding since 1986, runs private workshops for one or two people. Expeditions Alaska runs a small private photo tour. Tom Bol, AJ Harrison and Glanzmann Tours all run November group workshops, which means more long lenses on the same pullouts.

Confidence: high · Last verified 20 Sept 2026

Chehalis Flats Bald Eagle and Salmon Preserve at the junction of the Chehalis and Harrison rivers, Harrison Mills, Fraser Valley. Working spots are Morris Valley Road along the flats, the beach at Kilby Provincial Park and Historic Site, the Harrison River bridge pilings on Highway 7, Nicomen Slough at Deroche, and the marked eagle trail at Sandpiper Golf Course. Weaver Creek spawning channel feeds the system., Canada

Peak

Mid November. Hancock Wildlife Foundation estimated around 7,500 birds at the 2023 peak. Birds are present from mid October to late February but numbers fall away sharply after the first week of December.

Days needed

4 days

Behaviour

Mass aggregation, Migration / passage, Hunting / predation

Coat

Juveniles present

Habitat

Wetland / water, Fresh snow, Autumn colour

Crowds

Moderate

Also here

Spawning salmon in the Weaver Creek channel, trumpeter swan, great blue heron, common merganser, harbour seal in the lower Harrison, Fraser Valley landscape work.

Light

Harrison Mills is at 49.25N, so maximum solar altitude in mid November is about 22 degrees and daylight is roughly 9.2 hours. Not as low as Haines but still never harsh, and the Fraser Valley in November is one of the wettest, cloudiest places in North America, which in practice means most days are full day soft light. Verify the exact overcast percentage before committing; I have not sourced a figure. Brighter than Haines by a couple of stops, which makes the 600 plus 1.4x realistic here and matters because the birds are usually further away.

Weather risk

Rainy season, Fog / mist (asset) and Snow / blizzard (asset)

Tides and moon

Not applicable. River level and freeze state drive everything: in a cold snap the shallow channels ice over, dead salmon freeze into the ice and the birds thin out badly. That has been documented by photographers on site.

Atmosphere

Valley fog off the Harrison and Chehalis on cold clear mornings. Rain and low cloud on Mount Cheam behind the flats. The one genuinely different asset here is a huge raptor concentration in temperate rainforest rather than tundra.

Permits

No permit. The Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival was cancelled after 2020 by its own organisers over the environmental impact of crowds, so there is no organised event any more, but roadside photographers still turn up in mid November. Stay on roads and designated viewing spots. Drone rules not checked.

Getting there

Two hours east of Vancouver on Highway 7. Drive in, drive out, no flights, no ferries. This is the cheapest and lowest commitment eagle window on the list by a wide margin, which makes it the right place to test an approach before spending on Alaska. Lodging at Harrison Hot Springs, 15 minutes away.

Who runs trips here: No photography specific operator identified. David Hancock of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation is the local authority on the population and worth contacting for timing. Guided river float options have existed historically but I have not verified any currently running, so treat that as unconfirmed.

Confidence: medium · Last verified 20 Sept 2026

Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands. The birds are in and around the town itself: lamp posts, dock pilings, trawler rigging, the fish plants, the small boat harbour, Summer Bay Road, and the city landfill 2.2 miles out of town. Mount Ballyhoo and Strawberry Hill for elevated and nest views., United States of America

Peak

Late February through March. The Unalaska visitor bureau puts the best in town viewing from February through early July, but April onward the sun gets too high. Birds leave town for the island's salmon streams in late summer and autumn.

Days needed

10 days

Behaviour

Mass aggregation, Nesting, Territorial fighting

Coat

Juveniles present

Habitat

Fresh snow, Wetland / water

Crowds

Quiet

Also here

Emperor goose, whose entire world population winters in the Aleutians, Steller's eider, McKay's bunting in autumn and winter, whiskered auklet, red legged kittiwake, rock sandpiper, black oystercatcher. Over 100 species recorded. WWII ruins and the fishing fleet as a parallel body of work.

Light

53.89N. Maximum solar altitude about 23 degrees in mid February, rising to about 46 degrees by mid April, so February and March are the window and April onward is not. The real asset is Aleutian cloud: this is one of the most persistently overcast and fog bound places in the northern hemisphere, so soft light is close to guaranteed all day rather than at the ends of it. Darker than the number suggests once you add heavy cloud and sea fog. Most of the town work is close range, so the 300 f/2.8 and the 70 to 200 do more here than the 600, and the 35 f/1.4 is the lens for the sodium lit dock frames.

Weather risk

Cyclone / storm season, High wind, Fog / mist (asset) and Snow / blizzard (asset)

Tides and moon

Harbour tide state affects where the birds work the shoreline and the plant outfalls. Sea state matters if you want anything from a boat, and in the Aleutians in winter it often will not be possible.

Atmosphere

Sea fog rolling through the harbour. Snow squalls. Dock lighting in low cloud at dusk. Storm skies are a near constant: the two lowest non tropical air pressures ever recorded in the United States were both measured at Dutch Harbor, 926 mb in October 1977 and 924.8 mb in December 2020.

Permits

A land access permit from the Ounalashka Corporation is required to hike off the road system or to drive Mount Ballyhoo or Strawberry Hill. Available at the Ounalashka Corp office, 400 Salmon Way, during weekday hours, or at the Aleutian WWII National Historic Center near the ferry dock. Federal eagle protections apply: nests appear on buildings in town in spring and parents are aggressive, so the 330 to 660 foot buffer guidance is relevant here in a way it is not at Chilkat. Fish plants and port facilities are private property.

Getting there

Hardest access on this list. Flights from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor are the only practical route and the airport has a long standing reputation for weather cancellations, which is the main reason to over budget days. Alaska Marine Highway serves it seasonally. Lodging is limited and priced for fishing industry crews, not tourists. Rent a vehicle. Confirm current air service and reliability before booking anything; I have not verified the present schedule.

Who runs trips here: None specialised in photography. Unalaska Convention and Visitors Bureau is the practical local contact. This is a self directed trip.

Confidence: medium · Last verified 20 Sept 2026

Same Council Grounds flats, Haines Highway mile 18 to 24, but worked differently. By December the open channels have shrunk and the birds concentrate on whatever water is still moving, plus the Chilkat estuary and the Haines harbour front., United States of America

Peak

First two weeks of December, before a hard freeze shuts the flats. Numbers are falling from the November peak all month.

Days needed

8 days

Behaviour

Mass aggregation, Hunting / predation

Coat

Juveniles present

Habitat

Fresh snow, Wetland / water

Crowds

Quiet

Also here

Trumpeter swan, moose, coyote on snow, harbour and estuary waterfowl, northern lights, winter landscape of the Chilkat valley.

Light

The lowest sun of the year anywhere a bald eagle congregates in numbers. Maximum solar altitude at 59.24N on 21 Dec is about 7.3 degrees. Daylight is 6.1 to 6.3 hours. Overcast or mostly cloudy roughly 78 percent of the time. Every minute of the day is shootable light and there is no such thing as midday here. The flipside is brutal: 6 hours of light, several stops darker than November, and December is the snowiest month with about 21 inches average. Budget more days for fewer usable hours. 600 f/4 wide open on an A1 II is the only sensible combination; leave both teleconverters in the bag.

Weather risk

Snow / blizzard (asset), Fog / mist (asset) and High wind

Tides and moon

Tidal work becomes relevant if you shift to the Chilkat estuary and Haines harbour front once the river closes. Long blue hour and low sun make moonrise compositions viable in a way they are not further south.

Atmosphere

Heaviest snowfall month of the year, so falling snow in frame is a probability rather than a hope. Sea smoke off the estuary on the coldest mornings. Hoar frost on perched birds. Long blue hour at this latitude, which opens up slow shutter and intentional blur work that November does not really offer.

Permits

Same as November. No permit for roadside preserve access. Drone status unconfirmed, assume banned until checked with Alaska State Parks.

Getting there

Same route as November but with more risk. Winter ferry sailings are less frequent, Alaska Seaplanes flights cancel in weather, and the Haines Highway needs winter tyres. Build in buffer days at both ends. Cold is the real cost: NP FZ100 batteries drain fast below freezing, so carry all five warm and rotate.

Who runs trips here: Most workshops finish in November, so guiding is thin. Joe Ordonez at Rainbow Glacier Adventures is Haines based year round and is the person to ask.

Confidence: medium · Last verified 20 Sept 2026

Conowingo Fisherman's Park, 2569 Shures Landing Road, Darlington, Maryland, on the Harford County side of the lower Susquehanna. Shooting is from the wharf and the fenced riverbank in the car park., United States of America

Peak

Last week of November through early January, tied to turbine generation. Numbers build from October.

Days needed

2 days

Behaviour

Mass aggregation, Hunting / predation, Territorial fighting

Coat

Juveniles present

Habitat

Wetland / water

Crowds

Crowded — vehicles in frame

Also here

Great blue heron, double crested cormorant, black and turkey vulture, gulls (numbers reportedly declining), 200 plus bird species recorded at the site.

Light

The disqualifier. At 39.66N the maximum solar altitude in mid November is about 32 degrees and about 29 degrees in late November. On a clear day the light is gone by around 09:30 and the middle of the day is a writeoff, which is the exact failure mode to avoid. The park is open 05:00 to sunset so pre dawn positioning is possible, but that only buys a short window on clear mornings. Overcast days are genuinely good here; clear days are not.

Weather risk

Fog / mist (asset)

Tides and moon

Not tidal. Turbine generation schedule is the variable: more water pushed through means more stunned fish and more birds. Next day schedule available from Exelon on 1 888 457 4076, though it is reportedly not always followed.

Atmosphere

River mist on cold mornings is the one real asset, and it is also the only condition that makes the dam infrastructure disappear.

Permits

No permit. Drones are forbidden. Public access 05:00 to sunset. Stay within designated public areas and follow dam personnel instructions.

Getting there

Trivially easy. About two hours from Philadelphia or Baltimore, free parking, port a potties, picnic tables. Arrive well before sunrise on a weekend or there is no parking and no spot on the fence.

Who runs trips here: Not needed. Several camera shops run group outings here in November, which adds to the crowd rather than helping.

Confidence: high · Last verified 20 Sept 2026

Kachemak Bay off the Homer Spit, Kenai Peninsula. Charter boats and gravel bars outside Homer city limits, where operators chum frozen herring into the water to pull eagles into wide angle range., United States of America

Peak

Late February to early March, when pairs reunite before the breeding season and concentrate on open water in the bay.

Days needed

5 days

Behaviour

Mass aggregation, Courtship / display, Hunting / predation

Coat

Juveniles present

Habitat

Wetland / water, Fresh snow

Crowds

Crowded — vehicles in frame

Also here

Sea otter, harbour seal, Steller sea lion, kittiwake and murre colonies in the bay, Kenai mountain landscape.

Light

Light is not the problem here. Homer is at 59.64N, so maximum solar altitude is about 20 degrees in late February and about 23 degrees by 1 March, with mountains around the bay and frequent cloud. On the light constraint alone this would be a good window.

Weather risk

High wind, Fog / mist (asset) and Snow / blizzard (asset)

Tides and moon

Boat departures work around tide and sea state in the bay.

Atmosphere

Mountain backdrop, calm water reflections, sea smoke on cold mornings. All irrelevant given the verdict below.

Permits

Feeding of eagles, ravens, crows and gulls has been banned inside Homer city limits since the 2006 ordinance took full effect in 2010. The charter operations run outside city limits, which is how the practice survives. Legal status outside the limits not fully verified.

Getting there

Easy. Fly to Anchorage, drive 4.5 hours to Homer, book a charter. Roughly $500 to $700 per boat day. That ease is exactly the problem: the pictures are handed to you.

Who runs trips here: Deliberately not naming any. Multiple Kachemak Bay charters and workshop leaders run baited eagle trips here in late winter.

Confidence: high · Last verified 20 Sept 2026

Same Chilkat valley and preserve, plus the Chilkoot River and Lake and the Haines oceanfront, in summer., United States of America

Peak

None. There is no summer peak. Only the 200 to 400 resident birds are present, scattered.

Days needed

7 days

Behaviour

Nesting, Fledging

Coat

Summer coat

Habitat

Green season / lush

Crowds

Moderate

Also here

Brown bear on the Chilkoot River salmon run, humpback whale and sea lion in Lynn Canal, Chilkat State Park glacier and inlet landscape, wildflowers.

Light

At 59.24N on 1 July the maximum solar altitude is about 54 degrees with 18.5 hours of daylight. The sun climbs fast and sits high for most of the day, so the usable soft light collapses to two short periods at either end of a very long day. July also has the most actual sunshine of the year in Haines, which here is a liability rather than a benefit.

Weather risk

Fog / mist (asset)

Tides and moon

Not relevant.

Atmosphere

Little. Summer here is the least atmospheric season: no snow, no river mist off freezing channels, no breath vapour.

Permits

Nesting and fledging are in progress, so USFWS disturbance guidance genuinely applies: 660 foot recommended no disturbance buffer around nests, 330 feet as a floor. Nest photography at close range is both an ethical and a legal issue in this window.

Getting there

Easiest access of the year, and the only window where getting there is not a risk. That is the whole appeal and it is not enough.

Who runs trips here: Cruise ship port tours run in summer, which is the market the guiding serves, not photography.

Confidence: medium · Last verified 20 Sept 2026