Just rocks and water flowing down hill...

We think the rivers of the North Cascades are pretty interesting places, and we are continually trying to learn as much as we can about them. Whether its human history, wildlife or geology, we are always looking for good sources of information about our environment. We each have our favorite topics, and for me, it is geology. From glaciers to volcanoes, there is quite a lot going on around here. In order to learn more about the geology of the Nooksack river and Mt. Baker, I invited volcano researcher and Mt. Baker expert Dave Tucker to join us for a float. Dave has a very interesting and helpful website http://nwgeology.wordpress.com/ that has been great resource for me.

Dave Tucker talks about the geology along the Nooksack River - Credit John Scurlock

Dave brought along his friends Scott, Russ and John and we all had a great trip floating down the section of the Nooksack where we do our scenic float trips. We learned about a Lahars that came off of Mt. Baker and flowed down the Middle Fork of the Nooksack, glacial deposits exposed in the high banks along the river and fossil rich outcrops of Chuckanut Formation rocks.

A beautiful view along the Nooksack - Credit John Scurlock

Dave's friend John Scurlock is a well known photographer and pilot who has recently published a book called Snow & Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range. While John is more known for his aerial photographs, we were lucky he brought his camera along for some great river level photos. More of John's photos can be seen at http://www.pbase.com/nolock

Thanks Dave, Russ, Scott and John for sharing your knowledge and joining us for a scenic float trip on the Nooksack River.  

from the left: John, Dave, me, Russ and Scott

If you would like to learn more about the Geology along the Nooksack river you should read Dave's blog. If you would like to see some really neat geology and have a great, relaxing time doing it, come float the river with us. www.adventurecascades.com

Thanks for reading,

Brian

It's official. The bald eagles have returned to the Nooksack!

Sunset on the Nooksack

I was out on the Nooksack yesterday evening teaching a kayaking lesson, and I am very excited to report that the bald eagles have returned to the Nooksack near Bellingham.

As we were gearing up at the riverside, I soon noticed a familiar smell - dead fish. Every fall as spawned out salmon begin to die and wash ashore, the rivers of Washington get a little stinky. To us the smell is gross, but to the animals of the river corridor, it signals that a feast has begun. The dead fish provide an easy source of nutrients that are essential to the river and forest ecosystem. Many animals come to the river in the fall to share in the feast, but by far the most famous are the bald eagles.

Seeing and smelling dead fish at the put if, I figured we had a good shot to see some eagles. Right off the bat, we saw a loan bird feasting on a freshly dead coho salmon. Traveling on the river allows you to get really close to the birds, and that first encounter alone would have made the evening for me and my guest. Lucky for us, that would not be the only eagle on the river that evening.  Further down river, we spooked an eagle off of his dinner only to have him perch on a branch directly above a small wave we planed on surfing.  The eagle watched us as we took turns surfing the wave. We soon noticed that there were a number of eagles in the trees around this spot. In the 20 or 30 minutes we spent playing at the wave, we saw at least 7 birds. They were very active, flying from tree to tree and fighting over the fish that we had spooked the first eagle off of.

The bald eagle watching season is just getting started, and the numbers are only going to increase over the next few months. To find out more about Adventure Cascades's eagle watching and scenic float trips, check out our website.

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you on the river soon,

Brian

Welcome back Bald Eagles!

Nooksack River Eagle

A beautiful winter day on the Nooksack

As I was driving around Lake Whatcom near Bellingham this week, I was greeted by a visitor who I see often in this area.  I came around a corner to find a huge bald eagle enjoying his fish breakfast about 20 feet up in a tree. I stopped in the middle of the road to watch, and after our staredown, I couldn’t get the awesome encounter off my mind.

My friends at Adventure Cascades and I are lucky to be able to enjoy the company of eagles often on our Nooksack and Skagit scenic river float trips. Bald eagles are found in every state except Hawaii, but Western Washington has the highest concentration of migratory eagles in the contiguous United States. During the winter, as the weather cools in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, eagles return by the hundreds to our river systems, mainly the Nooksack and Skagit Valleys to feast on the salmon that run upstream to spawn. The prime season to view bald eagles in our area is from late November until late January.
The best way to see our winter visitors is by joining a scenic float trip on the Nooksack or Skagit Rivers. The eagles hang out on the trees that line the rivers, and wait for their chance to feed on salmon. The morning is a great time to see eagles, and believe it or not, a cloudy day provides us with a great contrast to spot birds more easily. 

Here are a few interesting Eagle facts to get your excited about seeing them on the river with us!

• Eagle wingspans range from 72-90 inches
• Bald Eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet, and can travel at speeds of about 30-35 MPH
• Bald Eagles weigh from ten to fourteen pounds, and have around 7000 feathers!
• Wild bald eagles can live as long as thirty years
• Bald eagles form life long partnerships, after they are paired, eagles remain together until one dies
• Eagle nest are huge: they can weigh up to 2000 Lbs!

Call Adventure Cascades at (360)393-6815 or (855)723-8738 to book scenic float trip in the Skagit or Nooksack river for your chance to see the majestic bald eagles of washington.

See you on the water,

Sarah