Alaska News

Eagles swarm city hall in Unalaska

Eagles surrounded Unalaska City Hall, horrifying two workers who feared for their safety on their way home Monday evening. But both women departed safely while the large birds indulged in a feeding frenzy outside the building, apparently feasting on seagulls.

"I just walked as quickly as I could, and kept my head down," said Human Resources Specialist Kelly Stiles, who said that despite her fears she was not attacked while walking out the back door.

"I was afraid they were going to, because I didn't have a coat with a hood that would cover my head," said Stiles, who first observed the bald eagles swarming outside her office window, with "feathers flying."

The eagles gathered around both doors. At the front door used by the public, a large blood stain covered the concrete, along with feathers and eagle droppings.

"They were everywhere," Stiles said, on the roof and ground around city hall, and on two nearby buildings, the Iliuliuk clinic, and a new home under construction.

"They were just swarming, and they seemed to increase in numbers rather quickly," Stiles said. "They were insane. Super insane," she said Tuesday afternoon.

After Stiles left, she said she received a phone call about an hour later from a co-worker, Marilou Bautista, who also had stayed late and was still in the building around 7:30 p.m., seeking advice on how to safely depart the besieged city hall.

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"It was just creepy," said Administrative Assistant Bautista, who estimated "hundreds" of eagles, though Stiles had a lower figure, of between 30 and 40. "They basically surrounded the building," Stiles said.

This story first appeared in The Bristol Bay Times/Dutch Harbor Fisherman and is republished here with permission.

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