- There are so many eagles here.
Bald eagles are our national bird
and, for most people in the US,
they're a rare and magnificent sighting.
But, for us, it's just part of our daily lives.
Everybody in town has an eagle story.
I'm Carlin Enlow.
Born and raised in Unalaska.
And I am the Unalaska Visitor's Bureau executive director.
Even though our island is almost 80 miles long,
there are nearly 600 birds in just a few square miles.
Which is crazy.
There's an unnatural amount of birds here
because we contribute to their food source.
These bald eagles are so amazing.
And we love seeing them.
But, when they're involved in your daily life,
they can make running errands or your work really difficult.
- Doing something as simple as
mailing a letter can be dangerous.
I'm Officer Wood with the
Unalaska Department of Public Safety.
Our department put up these signs
to warn the community about
the dangers of the nesting eagles,
which are right next to the post office.
Eagles have been known to swoop down and attack people.
They're very territorial
and they're just trying to protect their nests.
The eagle's nest is right there.
And here is the post office.
Some people have been hurt during these incidents.
But I've also heard some funny stories.
- I'm Pam Aus and I run Bingo here at the senior center
every other Sunday.
I was carrying this box.
It had some of my Bingo stuff in it.
All of a sudden, a wing hit my head.
The talons came down, grabbed the box,
and flew down the street.
And I never saw my Bingo box again.
But, if you wanna see a whole lotta eagles,
you go to the landfill.
- I'm Steve Bastick.
I work at the City of Unalaska Landfill.
One of my favorite places to be.
Also, one of the eagles' favorite places to be.
I know that eagles are scavengers and predators.
So, they like trash, too.
They'll pick at whatever they think might be food.
- My name is Bob Wilson.
I've been fishing out of the Bering Sea and Dutch Harbor
for 40 years.
Dutch Harbor is one of the
largest fishing ports in the world.
Every time we pull in, we know the eagles are waiting for us
so they can steal our fish as we offload it.
Do I think they're pests?
Oh, absolutely.
But they're cool pests.
So, that's okay.
They make a mess of my boat,
which is kind of the bad part.
But they are our national bird and we love them anyway.
How's that?