Klickitat River Eagles

I had heard that the eagles were feasting on spawned out salmon on the Klickitat River in WA, so Bob and I got up at the wee hours of the morning, and headed up the Columbia River Gorge in search of them.  The drive east gave us beautiful glimpses of the sunrise with Mount Hood in the distance.  When we finally arrived, we decided to hike the Klickitat trail close to the town of Lyle.  We walked for about a mile and did not see any eagles, so turned around and drove down SR 214 which follows the river.

Both of us had eyes scouring the trees and banks, and finally we spotted one.  All together we only saw 5-6 eagles the entire time we explored, but the river was swollen from the recent rains and was full of debris that had been washed off the sandbars upstream.  I'm sure the eagles feeding was disrupted by the flooding.

Nonetheless, the trip was picturesque and the rocks and river were magnificent.  The Klickitat River (named after the Klickitat native American's from the area) cuts deeply into the basalt rock, and forms winding canyons where the tributaries meet.  It is apparent that the native americans in the area still fish at these narrow canyons, as we saw many spears and fishing platforms.

More photos on flickr...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sherriestahl/sets/72157650303127780/