'Incredible sight': Thousands of bald eagles flock to B.C. valley

Birders and biologists are prepping for a mass migration of as many as 35,000 bald eagles into British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

Each year, thousands of bald eagles flock to the area surrounding Harrison River north of Chilliwack, B.C. for the winter. The birds will nest in B.C. for the winter months and mate between February and March before returning north.

David Hancock, a biologist and founder of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation, has been studying the birds for more than 60 years and places salmon along the river for the early migrators to feed.

"Here in southern B.C., we're the snowbird capital of the world for eagles," he joked with CTV Vancouver.

The Hancock Wildlife Foundation has set up dozens of cameras in eagle nests across southwestern British Columbia to offer people a live view of the birds from up-close.

The cameras allow the birds to be viewed around the clock in full-colour. In the early spring, eagle eggs can be seen hatching.

Photographer Christian Sasse has been taking pictures of the majestic birds around Harrison River for nearly a decade.

"It's quite spectacular there, because early in the morning the whole plains -- the whole Chehalis Flats -- would just be flooded with eagles,” he said. “It's quite an incredible sight.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Emad Agahi