72 Microseasons of the Pacific Northwest

Around the autumn equinox, Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are one of the most impressive species moving through the Pacific Northwest as they migrate southward from breeding territories in the Northern Rockies, British Columbia, and Alaska. These large, dark raptors — wingspan 6–7.5 feet, built for power and soaring — follow the Cascade ridgeline corridor south, exploiting updrafts generated by westerly winds deflecting up the mountain flanks. Their southbound movement runs from mid-September through October. At Chelan Ridge HawkWatch in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (northern Washington Cascades), HawkWatch International monitors daily raptor passage. The site sits at the eastern edge of the Cascades above Lake Chelan, where Golden Eagles funneling south along the crest often concentrate. In high years, dozens of Golden Eagles pass per day during peak migration. The birds move in a distinctive manner: long, flat-winged glides on thermals and updrafts, occasionally pumping heavily then resuming a soaring glide — very different from the rapid flapping of smaller accipiters. Bonney Butte in the Mount Hood National Forest is the other major site, with Golden Eagles passing in smaller numbers than the northern Washington sites but in a more accessible location. The species peaks at Bonney Butte around the first week of October. Beyond hawkwatch sites, Golden Eagles can be seen anywhere along the eastern Cascade crest in late September — watch ridgelines at dawn and dusk from viewpoints along the North Cascades Highway (US 20) or on high-country trails in the Okanogan Highlands. Golden Eagles are also regular in the Columbia Basin and eastern Oregon's high desert in autumn, working the open shrub-steppe for jackrabbits and ground squirrels as they move through. A sighting of this large, commanding eagle against a backdrop of fall larch or open sky is one of autumn's more memorable wildlife encounters.