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When you first move to Alaska, most relatives and friends promise to visit since you have now provided an opportunity for them to experience their dream of going north to Alaska, the land of salmon, bears and eagles. Cathy, our family’s outdoor adventurer, first visited us in Petersburg in 1994. While planning her first Alaska adventure she would call us with questions, one of which was would she be able to photograph bald eagles? Chuckling, we told her not to worry because Petersburg has bald eagles. Cathy is somewhat a quiet reserved person, but when she arrived in Petersburg and observed all the eagles perched in the trees around our home, she couldn’t contain her excitement and shot many rolls of film in her quest for the perfect bald eagle picture. Soon, she relaxed and began to enjoy viewing the eagles during their graceful flights in the sky over Petersburg.
For many years in the Continental United States, the number of bald eagles declined rapidly due to habitat loss, illegal shooting, pesticides, and poisoning. The population numbers dropped so low, that the federal government listed them as a species in danger of extinction. When the bald eagle decline threatened their existence in the lower forty-eight, the numbers remained strong in Alaska, including Petersburg. The estimated bald eagle population in Alaska is 35,000 birds, which is about half of the entire world population.
In Petersburg Alaska, the bald eagle population fluctuates with the season since they follow food supplies. A few eagles winter in or around Petersburg, but most migrate to areas where the food supply (fish) is higher. About the first of April, a few eagles are seen at Eagles Roost Park. The park is a block from the Trading Union, a grocery, clothing, and hardware store located downtown and adjacent to the Petersburg Fisheries Incorporated (PFI) processing plant. The bald eagles return to Petersburg in anticipation of herring fish scraps washed from the docks of PFI.
In a few weeks, more and more bald eagles return to southeast Alaska, including Petersburg. By the end of April, Petersburg’s waterfront, located on Wrangell Narrows, becomes a bird watching paradise as trees become decorated with the distinctive white heads of mature bald eagles. At low tide, the beach may have over fifty eagles in a half-mile stretch from Eagles Roost Park north towards Hungry Point (near Alaska Pad Bed & Breakfast). Mature bald eagles intermingle with the brown immature eagles. Immature bald eagles don’t develop the distinctive white heads until they are four or five years old. All the bald eagles are looking for a fine fish dinner.
When the tide is high and feeding is difficult, you might see the bald eagles catching an updraft or thermal. Thermals flow in a circular pattern upward. In Petersburg, it’s not unusual to see 15 to 20 bald eagles drifting slowly out of sight as they ride the thermals upward.
By mid-May, the bald eagles have spread out along the shoreline of Wrangell Narrows, Frederick Sound, and the various coves near Petersburg to reproduce. Eagle nests are usually close to water, afford a clear view of the surrounding area, and have some cover. The nests can often be seen from boats or by driving out the highway south along the Wrangell Narrows. Since bald eagles prefer fish to any other food, look around while you’re fishing (Blind Slough king salmon) and see if you can spot them in the trees. They like to nest near water so they can feed their young, fish.
Not all eagles find mates so several hang out around town all summer. They can be seen perched at Eagles Roost Park or looking for fish at low tide near PI, the south harbor boat launch, across from Waterfront Bed & Breakfast, viewed from Northern Lights Restaurant, near the State of Alaska ferry terminal, and the other fish processors in town. Around the beginning of September, the numbers reduce as the bald eagles go in search of winter food sources. Each year, the bald eagles return to Petersburg at the end of March or beginning of April and herald the coming of spring.
Petersburg Alaska offers many fine places to stay and things to do. So visit Petersberg and join the eagles for salmon fishing, flying around, or to just hang out and enjoy the majestic scenery.
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