
Visitors to Unalaska are always thrilled by the large numbers of bald eagles to be seen close up throughout the town. From late winter on through early summer, they can be seen adorning nearly every lamp post, crowding onto fishing boats that are delivering to the shore plants, scanning the beaches, or fighting for garbage at the city landfill.
They are also known for building large nests near the Dutch Harbor post office and the Iliuliuk Clinic each spring and numerous people have been attacked by the aggressive parents.
The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, from the Greek hali, "sea", aietos "eagle", leuco "white", cep "head") is both the national bird and the national animal of the United States. These amazing birds mate for life and live for about 20 years in the wild.
Once in danger of extinction due to pollution and hunting in areas of the United States, the population has rebounded and is healthy. These magnificent birds have a wingspan of up to 7.5 feet. Both the male and female have identical plumage but females are 25% larger. The young are a brown color all over and mature in 4-5 years. Although bald eagles eat fish primarily, they are opportunistic feeders who, as residents well know, will quickly take advantage of any groceries or garbage sitting in the bed of a pickup. In late summer and fall the eagles generally leave town and head out to the many salmon streams around the island. The best time of the year to view eagles around the town is from February through early July.

You need only Google "eagles and Unalaska" and you will get numerous new stories, serious and humorous, about the interactions of humans
and eagles on the island.
In the summer of 2017, two CNN filmmakers came out to Unalaska and filmed a piece on living with Unalaska's bald eagles. Check out
https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/the-bald-eagle-next-door
and eagles on the island.
In the summer of 2017, two CNN filmmakers came out to Unalaska and filmed a piece on living with Unalaska's bald eagles. Check out
https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/the-bald-eagle-next-door