Dock users at Kodiak’s biggest boat harbor are being urged to keep an eye out for bald eagles in the area, as several attacks on people have been reported in the last week.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff say this is a rare occurrence, but residents should still be wary when in the area of St. Herman Harbor.
In a Thursday Facebook post, Kodiak Harbormaster and Port Director Dave Johnson warned visitors to the harbor, also known as Dog Bay, of at least three eagle attacks in a specific area of its dock.
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly member James Turner confirmed the attacks at an Assembly work session Thursday. He said a few people required sutures on their heads. Turner is also the local plant manager for OBI Seafoods.
"Be careful over in Dog Bay, walking on L and M floats. There have been multiple eagle attacks," Turner said. "U.S. Fish and Wildlife is looking into this. But multiple people have been attacked and multiple people have needed stitches."
Steve Lewis, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist with a focus on eagles and raptors, said this type of encounter is "strange" for the Kodiak area.
"I’ve dealt with eagles in lots of places and normally they just aren’t that defensive," Lewis said. "Like I’ve done things, like I’ve climbed nest trees. And most of the nest trees, in fact all of them, the (eagles) don’t dive-bomb you as you’re climbing, like when you get to the nest. They are definitely aggravated. You can see them flying around and they are calling, but they aren’t diving at you or anything aggressive."
This sort of attack is rare in Kodiak, although Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands is considered to have the most eagle attacks of any city in the country. For instance, some nesting eagles are known to attack Unalaska residents as they pick up their mail from the local post office or walk in certain areas of town.
But in Kodiak, Lewis suspects this one aggressive eagle was not protecting a nest. Instead its behavior might be due to the abundance of dead fish and food scraps available around the docks. He adds that it could possibly be a pair protecting a nest, but he is not as convinced of that explanation. Bald eagles’ breeding season goes from March to the end of August, according to Lewis, with the young fledglings starting to fly out of the nest at this point in July or earlier.
“I think they are probably getting fed by people around the harbor," Lewis said. "And I think that in a similar way that it kind of changes how bears are, if they start getting food from people, they become more aggressive towards people. I think that might be similar to what’s going on with these birds.”
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States and has certain protections, although permits can be obtained for special uses like for science or to make Alaska Native handicrafts under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service just updated its permit program for bald and golden eagles earlier this year in April. As such, it is illegal to harm or kill a bald eagle.
Lewis recommends anyone walking in the area of St. Herman Harbor should hold something above their heads to protect themselves, or continue to watch the birds so that they won’t swoop down and attack other people. Lewis said eagles tend to attack the highest point of a person that is visible to them, so holding a hat or umbrella above your head could help protect you from injury.
If you encounter an aggressive eagle at the harbor or elsewhere in Kodiak, you can report that information to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, at 907-487-2600. If you need immediate assistance at the harbor, you can call the harbor officer at 907-486-8080.