Grounded Eagle Rescued

This eagle was grounded near the Baranov Museum for about a week before it was captured by refuge personnel. The eagle even took to walking across the street to forage for food near a Dumpster. Photo by Katie Oliver

Jay Barrett/KMXT

With a long and hard winter still lingering, it’s a tough time to be an eagle in Kodiak. One adult bird that had been hanging around Sargent Park near the waterfront for a week was rescued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel from the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.

— (Eagle 1 13 sec "Yes, we had a person … just to get it cleaned up.")

That’s wildlife biologist Brandon Saito (sigh-toe), who has been working with the rescued eagle.

Some speculated that the eagle had a broken wing, since it had been walking around the grounds of the Baranov Museum, and not flying at all. It was even observed to walk down the hill and across Marine Way to pick at scraps near the Dumpster by the ferry terminal. But Saito (sigh-toe) says the bird was not hurt:

— (Eagle 2 30 sec "It did not seem to be injured … too weak to fly.")

Saito (sigh-toe) says this is a time of year when food is pretty scarce for the eagles:

— (Eagles 3 25 sec "At certain times of year … that before at the dump.")

He said eagles get into this kind of situation, and that it’s not really anything new for refuge staff to deal with.

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