You’ve still got time to admire the muscular grace of bald eagles, which gather in big numbers this time of the year to feast on spawned-out salmon on the Nooksack and Skagit rivers.

In fact, the best time to se them lasts into late January and you might be able to glimpse plenty of the birds from the North Cascades Highway, also known as Highway 20.

If you go, you might see Bellingham resident Bob Schneider perched there with binoculars and spotting scopes and plenty of information about the majestic birds.

Schneider, a retired firefighter, is in his second year as a volunteer in North Cascades Institute’s Eagle Watchers program. The program, in partnership with Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, trains volunteers to educate the hordes of visitors who come to the Skagit each year to look at the eagles, which have flocked there from Alaska and British Columbia to eat their fill during the winter salmon run.

“I’m an outdoor lover. I enjoy the interaction with the public immensely. I love being able to talk to children and excite them about nature,” the 61-year-old Schneider says.

Through Feb. 3, Eagle Watchers will set up at three outdoor locations along the North Cascades Highway.

“They’re the best viewing places,” says Lee Whitford, a naturalist with North Cascades Institute.

Schneider says it’s worth it to get out into the gray and the cold for a chance to see “amazing gorgeous creatures.”

If you go, Whitford hopes you’ll learn about more than eagles.

“I hope they take away how everything is connected here — the salmon, the eagles, the watershed,” she says.

Plus, the viewing opportunities that have been set up will enable enthusiasts to admire the eagles respectfully and from a distance, so the birds are not disturbed, according to Whitford.

You’ll find the Eagle Watchers volunteers at these locations along North Cascades Highway from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 3:

Howard Miller Steelhead Park, at milepost 98 in Rockport. A big turnoff at milepost 100.

Marblemount Fish Hatchery on Hatchery Road.

Driving directions from Bellingham: Go south on Interstate 5 and take exit 230 at Burlington. Follow signs for Highway 20 east. Continue through the town of Concrete to Rockport, about 38 miles from I-5. Then follow signs to Howard Miller Steelhead Park — take a right on Highway 530 and a right into the park (before the bridge).

To get to the fish hatchery, continue past the 530 turnoff and past milepost 100 and go another six miles to Marblemount, where you’ll drive straight (east) on Cascade River Road instead of continuing east on the highway. Cross the bridge and take the first right onto Rockport-Cascade Road. Turn right on Hatchery Road. The Marblemount Fish Hatchery is on the left.

Eagle Watchers also will be at Miller Steelhead Park and milepost 100 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday.

Viewing costs: Free.

Details: Go to www.ncascades.org and then scroll down to “Eagle Watchers take flight” and click on the link to find information about this site as well as two others for eagle watching. Or call (360) 856- 5700, ext. 209. There are plenty of other options in Whatcom and Skagit counties for watching and learning about bald eagles. They include:

Jan. 17, 10 a.m.-noon — “Eagle Watching on the Nooksack” is a Thursday trip to watch eagles eating spawned-out salmon carcasses on the north fork of the Nooksack River. It’s through Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Department is led by naturalist David Bean. Participants meet at Deming Homestead Eagle Park on Truck Road, off the Mount Baker Highway.

Cost: $2 per person. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Register at the beginning of the event.

Details: 733-2900.

Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. — “Floating the Nooksack: Bald Eagle Adventure” will take eagle enthusiasts down the main fork of the Nooksack River on a 10-mile guided rafting trip that starts at the Highway 9 bridge. The event is organized through Whatcom Community College’s Community Education program and led by guides working for Pacific Northwest Float Trips.

Cost: $65 per person.

Details and to register: 647-3277 or www.whatcomcommunityed.com. Jan. 27, 8:30 a.m. — “Bald Eagles of the Nooksack,” is a halfday trip organized through North Cascades Audubon Society and led by Dave Schmalz. Participants will learn about the birds’ behavior as well as their natural history during this free event. The outing is limited to 10.

Details and to register: 671-1537.

Skagit River Interpretive Center, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Sunday (and holiday Mondays) through Feb. 18, in Rockport. Members lead walks to eagle-watching sites in Howard Miller Steelhead Park at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Guest speakers also will talk about the Skagit River, eagles or salmon at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Cost: Free, but donations are appreciated.

Details: www.skagiteagle.org, (360) 853-7626 and srbeatic@fidalgo.net 10 a.m.-4:40 p.m. on Jan. 26 and 10 a.m.-2:45 p.m. on Jan. 27 — Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival is a weekend of talks, walks and other events celebrating the birds. It includes a bus tour on Highway 20 along the Skagit River to Rockport and Marblemount. The tour starts at 11 a.m. on Jan. 26 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 27.

It’s a good idea to reserve your seat on the bus tour. The cost is $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors.

The main staging area for the entire festival will be Concrete School District complex at South Superior Avenue and Airport Way. Most of the other events are free.

Details: www.skagiteagle.org.