Bald eagles are mobile and opportunistic scavengers that are often viewed as being found everywhere across the coast of British Columbia where spawning salmon occur. Yet, their movements on a finer scale, and the effect that salmon carcass abundance has on this distribution, was previously not well understood. 

Researchers have determined that there are more eagles in river estuaries compared to forested field sites located in upper reaches of rivers. It is possible that the physical characteristics of rivers are important for explaining variation within and among rivers in terms of abundance of eagles relative to salmon. As river estuaries often feature mudflats and sandbars, which act to strand salmon carcasses when they wash downriver, they provide an excellent foraging opportunity for eagles when the sandbars and carcasses are exposed during low tide. ~ The influence of salmon abundance on the movement of bald eagles

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