Welcome to the 16th Annual Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in Haines, Alaska!
Celebrating the largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the World!
The American Bald Eagle Foundation and the people of Haines welcome you to the 2010 Alaska Bald Eagle Festival! Most Festival activities are held at the American Bald Eagle Foundation museum, conveniently located at the corner of Second Avenue and the Haines Highway. Here you will attend wildlife workshops, meet for tours, classes and live raptor presentations. Daily busses and/or vans will carry you safely to the Alaska Bald Eagle Preserve to witness the annual "Gathering of the Eagles. " At this time of year, over 3,000 eagles can be found in the Preserve feeding on a late run of salmon. The Festival includes evening entertainment to round out your Festival experience.
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Saturday
afternoon Eagle Release © Herb Van Cleve |
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Plan to attend the Festival highlight - the rehabilitated eagle release at the Preserve at 1:30 on Saturday. Anyone may bid in the annual "Flight For Freedom" auction for the honor of releasing one of these magnificent birds back into the wild!
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Started in 2003, the "Flight For Freedom" auction program raises funds for statewide educational programs having to do with the American Bald Eagle and the preservation of its habitat in Alaska.
Between scheduled events, you will want to visit our many shops and galleries around Haines and in Fort Seward. Haines offers a wide selection of local Alaskan artwork and other special treasures to take home with you.
Thank you for helping us to celebrate our 16th annual Alaska Bald Eagle Festival!
Jikatt Kwann Cultural Tour. A tour of the Campus with dancers, carvers, & salmon cutting demonstrations. A Salmon/Chicken luncheon and transportation are included with a stop at the Eagle Release. (Advanced Registration & Ticket Purchase required.)
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Weldon Lee travels around the globe to the world’s most exotic locations photo-graphing wildlife and capturing the essence of their personalities on film. He has a special way of communicating with animals and his images depict that relationship. His commitment to wildlife brings a fresh perspective to photography. Weldon’s dramatic portrayals of wildlife in their natural surroundings provide viewers an intimate glimpse into their daily lives and is but one reason his images are popular among collectors. His work has been exhibited in the Denver Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. A Uni-versity of Northern Iowa photography professor ranks Weldon among the top five wildlife photographers in North America. Weldon’s early work focused on wildlife in the Rocky Mountains. His first book, Watchable Birds of the Rocky Mountains, initially published in 1992, contains over 50 photographs depicting a cross-section of the avian species found throughout the Rocky Mountains. Erwin and Peggy Bauer, friends and lifelong wildlife photograph-ers, had this to say about his second book, published in 1996, “No region of North America offers so many opportunities for wildlife photographers as the Rocky Mountains. No one has ever described its wildlife and captured their natural beauty so thoroughly as Weldon Lee in A Guide to Photographing Rocky Mountain Wildlife.”
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Weldon’s images have appeared in numerous magazines including Mature Outlook, National Wildlife, Backpacker, National Parks Magazine, Bird Watcher’s Digest, Outdoor Photographer, Petersen’s PHOTOgraphic, and Nature Photographer. In addition, his photos illustrate text and natural history books by Macmillan, Westcliffe, Falcon Press, and Roberts Rinehart to name just a few. Weldon’s work has been featured on all the major television networks including ABC, CBS, and NBC. In January, 1995, Weldon was elected Chair of the Education Committee of the North American Nature Photography (NANPA) and served three years in that capacity. In addition to being a charter NANPA member, he is also a member of Rock Mountain Outdoor Writers & Photographers and in 2007 received that organization’s Selected Works Award for Excellence in Photography. Weldon is actively involved in wildlife preservation and is in the process of launching an environmental organization whose focus is for the protection of wildlife around the world. “Wildlife photography, to me, is so much more than capturing an image,” explains Weldon. “It’s about connecting with my wild brothers and sisters, looking into their eyes, touching their spirit, and listening to what they have to say. It’s about moments like these. “Unless we act now, many wildlife species face extinction during this century," proclaims Weldon. "Hopefully, others will feel the passion I have for our wild brothers and sisters and it will motivate them to become involved in wildlife preservation. Maybe, just maybe, my photography and writing will be the tipping point necessary to make that happen." Henry David Thoreau wrote, "In wildness is the preservation of the world." Let us cherish and protect those wild places and the creatures that inhabit them." TOGETHER, WE can save our wild brothers and sisters. The time to act is NOW! Visit Weldon's Websites at: http://www.weldonlee.com/ and http://www.rockymountainphotoadventures.com/ |
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There is an additional $100 charge per day for these classes.
TO BE ANNOUNCED! |
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• Guided Excursions to the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, twice daily
• A Park Ranger is frequently on-site in the Preserve to answer your questions.
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| Five eagles fight for position on Chilkat River in the preserve. © William G. McRoberts |
Join a naturalist for a narrated 21-mile journey up the Chilkat River to the "Eagle Council Grounds" in the heart of the Bald Eagle Preserve north of Haines. This is a unique area where a special underground reservoir in an alluvial fan keeps a mile-long stretch of the Chilkat River ice-free providing access to the unique winter run of spawning salmon when food supplies are exhausted elsewhere. Your drivers enjoy sharing their knowledge of the area's rich natural and cultural history. Questions are encouraged.
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| © William G. McRoberts |
DURATION: 3 hours including bus ride. Participants who are prepared for the weather can arrange with their guide to stay through lunch in the Preserve for a total of 7 hours, and return on the afternon bus to town. Make sure to arrange this with your guide ahead of time. During the last three festivals the local brown bears were still at large and had not gone to their winter dens yet. Cell phones do not work from the Preserve.
ACTIVITY LEVEL: Moderate. 2 miles of level trails, viewing areas and boardwalks. Participants should be in good health and able to walk for sustained periods outdoors.
DRESS: Dress for the weather, with warm layered clothing, waterproof shell, warm boots, gloves, or mittens.
BRING: Cameras, extra film and batteries, binoculars, and a snack. Heat packs extend battery life on cold days. Will be at the preserve approx 7 hours, so please make sure you take something along to eat and drink.
COST: Included in your festival registration.
WEATHER: It's not nearly as cold as you might think! Just 21 miles from the ocean you can expect everything from 40 F, cloudy and rainy, to 20 F with three feet of snow , to 0 F with clear skies. At this latitude and time of year the sun rises at 8:30 AM and sets around 3:00 PM.
Join us Wednesday evening at 6:00 for a catered dinner celebration inside the American Bald Eagle Museum. Sit down at long tables for a delicious meal among friends. Following dinner there will be a Live Bird demonstration with our new resident birds! There is an additional $35 fee for the Wednesday night festival dinner. This annual event sells out each year. Please register online to attend. The main course will offer an option of Prime rib or local Halibut. We apologize to vegetarians that the meal will not provide a vegetarian option.
PowerPoint Presentation: Trekking Planet Earth in Search of Wildlife Photography with Weldon Lee. From Eagles to Elephants.
Bald Eagle Chocolate Extravaganza Buffet: Presenting our life size Bald Eagle by Rusty Goodin & our Silent Auction of Art, Craft & original items.
Musical Evening: Bluegrass, Swing, Old Time Gospel, & Original Music by " The Alaskan String Band" with Zahasky family.
Please register online to attend the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival. Early registration will both secure you a ticket and help us to plan for buses to transport people to the Preserve. You may purchase one, three or five-day festival passes. There is an additional fee for the professional photography workshops and catered Wednesday night dinner. All proceeds go to covering the cost of the Festival and to running our educational programs. Please register online.
One-Day Festival Pass:
- Adults - $35
- Seniors (65+) - $31.50
- Students (age 12-18) - $30
- Children under 12 are FREE.
- Adults - $75
- Seniors (65+) - $60
- Students (age 12-18) - $55
- Children under 12 are FREE.
- Adults - $125
- Seniors (65+) - $100
- Students (age 12-18) - $75
- Children under 12 are FREE.
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