Here’s why bald eagle sightings have soared across Alberta

At southeast Calgary’s Carburn Park, it took local naturalist Brian Keating practically no time to point out two bald eagles by the river.

“They've been here nesting in this part of Calgary for years and years,” Keating said of this particular pair. “And it's pretty well assured that you're going to see an eagle when you come down to this park.”

Seeing bald eagles in Calgary comes as no surprise to Keating, who says the Bow River offers an ideal habitat for them to stay in the city year-round.

And spotting the iconic birds of prey, with their unmistakable plumage, is becoming more commonplace across the province as eagles expand their habitat and populations soar thanks to conservation efforts.

From along the Bow River to deep in the grasslands, bald eagles can be found practically anywhere in Alberta.

At the Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation wildlife rehabilitation centre in Coaldale, managing director Colin Weir works directly with bald eagles and other raptors that have come in from across the province.

“When I first moved here in the '80s, the only place you'd really see bald eagles in Alberta was closer to the mountain rivers and lakes,” he said.

“But in the last 10 years or so, we've really noticed a big increase in them expanding out mostly along the Prairie rivers.”

Weir said the province’s bald eagle population is made up of year-round residents, like the birds found in Calgary every winter, and migratory birds that nest in places like Banff but overwinter in warmer parts of the continent.

“The rivers in southern Alberta offer extraordinary habitat for these birds to nest,” Weir said. “Big sources of food, with fish and migratory ducks, for example.”

They’re also found in unexpected places, like in fields far from any major bodies of water.

“They basically dwell and stay around some of the agricultural areas,” Weir said, pointing to the potential for there to be dead livestock on farms and feedlots. “Sometimes, the bald eagles being scavengers, they will feed on those.”

When it comes to bald eagles in and around Calgary, Keating pointed to the results of the latest local Christmas Bird Count, a citizen science initiative in which people count how many birds they find in a particular area for conservation and population monitoring purposes. The total: more than 400.

“That's unheard of a few decades ago," said Keating.