At least 300 eagles have returned to the Fraser Valley area, and the Fraser Valley Eagle Festival will have events all weekend throughout the region.

On Wednesday morning, OWL and the festival organizers brought a rehabilitated eagle, Sonsie, to Sandpiper Golf Course to meet a group of school children.

On Saturday, the same group will release an eagle named Bandit, from the same location in Harrison Mills, at 3 p.m.

Sonsie is not able to be released into the wild, due to being raised with humans at an early age.

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A bald eagle named Bandit will be released into the wild on Saturday afternoon, as the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival takes place throughout this region.

Bandit was rehabbed at OWL, much the same as Sonsie, who many residents got to meet at last year's festival. But while Sonsie cannot be released into the wild, Bandit can.

The release will take place at 3 p.m. at Sandpiper Golf Resort in Harrison Mills, and is just one part of a full day planned there and in locations around Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs.

Eagle numbers are very high right now, with between 300 and 400 birds visiting the river banks at this time of year.

Festival organizers say the raptors are drawn to the area by the millions of spawning salmon that travel up the Fraser River to tributaries such as the Harrison River. The estuary is also home to incredible wildlife such as trumpeter swans, ducks, seal, bear, coyote, deer and the great white sturgeon.

For thousands of years the First Nation Peoples have lived here in harmony with the land and water and today they work with the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival to welcome visitors to teach and share the knowledge they have gained over the ages.

The festival’s roots go back to 1995, when the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and the Wild Bird Trust, spear headed by April Mol, set out to create the Harrison/Chehalis Bald Eagle Festival.

In 1998, thanks to increased community involvement and new partnerships a small but very enthusiastic committee sprang to life. The committee worked to broaden the scope of the Festival and changed the name to form its new identity – Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival (FVBEF).

The FVBEF is now a registered society and works hard each year to create a celebration that showcases the beauty & biodiversity of the Fraser River Valley by honouring the majestic Bald Eagle & the Cycle of the Salmon.

From Mission to Chilliwack, many exciting venues offer excellent eagle watching opportunities and a range of activities and adventures that include jet boat eco-river tours; a Chehalis River walking tour; a diverse abundance of local wildlife; environmental presentations, naturalists and interpreters; historic and ancient aboriginal sites; displays by local artists; and lots of hands on activities and entertainment.