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Every January, a crew of volunteers in Brackendale, British Columbia (map), fill their thermoses with something nice and warm, bundle up against the elements and put on their eagle eyes. The annual bald eagle count, organized by the Brackendale Art Gallery, the B.C. Wildlife Service and the Squamish Estuary Conservation Society, puts a figure on the number eagles congregating in the cottonwood trees and soaring above the area's rivers.

Volunteers meet at the gallery where they are divided into groups, guided by an experienced eagle counter, and assigned to one of 17 areas. Bushwhacking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing may all come into play as groups spend the day tallying eagles in all corners of their assigned area.

In 1994, the Brackendale Winter Eagle Count established a world record after counting 3,766 eagles. Last count, January 2005, the total of bald eagles in Brackendale was 1,975.

Find out more about the Brackendale Winter Eagle Count