156 



THE OOLOGIST 



Relative to the Bald Eagle in Alaska. 



How many of us have seen a flock of 

 Bald Eagles? Very few I wager. In 

 most sections of the country such a 

 sight is not common. When one 

 speaks of eagles as occurring in flocks 

 he is rather looked upon with suspi- 

 cion. Yet in Alaska, especially south- 

 eastern Alaska, in the spring of the 

 year, such a sight is not uncommon. 

 In fact, at times the Bald Eagle is 

 seldom seen unaccompanied by three 

 or more of its fellows. Of the larger 

 land birds only the raven exceeds it 

 in point of numbers for from the most 

 southerly part of the Alexander Archi- 

 pelago to far out in the Aleutian chain 

 the eagle is ever present. So plenti- 

 ful is the eagle in the territory at pres- 

 ent that it is becoming extremely ob- 

 noxious and several Alaskan enter- 

 prises which are suffering from its 

 depredations are making efforts to 

 bring about a reduction in its num- 

 bers. 



In speaking of eagles in Alaska I 

 do not wish to convey the impression 

 that this bird appears only in flocks. 

 This is not true. More often it is seen 

 singly or in pairs. Only during the 

 spring months does it go about in 

 flocks and then only in certain parts of 

 Alaska. While attached to the U. S. 

 S. Manning the writer spent the spring 

 of the current year in the south-east- 

 ern section of the territory, and here 

 had the opportunity of seeing the Bald 

 Eagles moving about in flocks, and 

 hovering about the bays and inlets in 

 much the same manner as so many 

 gulls. Especially at Sitka on Baranof 

 Island were these flocks exceedingly 

 abundant. Practically throughout the 

 entire day could at least one be seen, 

 each containing a score or more birds. 

 On one occasion a flock of thirty-two 

 were observed from the deck of the 

 vessel, and I was told by a local natur- 

 alist that flocks of forty and fifty 



were frequently seen at one time. At 

 the time of my stay I estimated that 

 there were not less than one hundred 

 birds within a radius of three miles 

 of Sitka. When not in flight the birds 

 would remain perched in the trees on 

 the small islands that surround the 

 village, and not infrequently a score 

 or more were observed occupying the 

 upper branches of a dead white cedar. 



Fish is the great attraction that col- 

 lects the eagles in bodies at this time 

 of the year. In the spring the waters 

 of south-eastern Alaska fairly swarm 

 with the Herring and Salmon coming 

 in to spawn, with the result 

 that these birds come from miles 

 around to engage in the great 

 feast of the season. And feast they do 

 for this food is obtained with the ex- 

 penditure of but little energy. They 

 themselves do but little fishing. Such 

 work is evidently considered menial 

 for when the gulls and cormorants 

 are around they much prefer robbing 

 them who are much more expert at 

 capturing their finny prey. However, 

 at times they are forced to fish them- 

 selves, for not always is an opportun- 

 ity afforded to pilver the waterfowl. 

 When thus engaged the eagles walk 

 about the beach at low tide in much 

 the same manner as gulls and swoop 

 out over the water whenever a school 

 of herring or other fish is in evidence. 



Around the spawning grounds the 

 eagles remain plentiful until the fish 

 leave and only until this occurs do 

 they return to their customary haunts 

 among the mountains and along the 

 streams and inlets further in the in- 

 terior. It is only a few months that 

 they frequent spawning waters in num- 

 bers but even in this short time it is 

 claimed that an enormous quantity of 

 fish is eaten by them. The salmon, 

 Alaska's most valuable fish, suffers 

 the most. This has been shown by the 

 investigations of the fish commission 



