1. 183 eagles were being fed April 17.
2. 50-70 eagles were on the Spit until May 15.
3. The harbor master said he shut down tour feeders in the harbor. There are eagles eating out of the blue fish waste bin at night.
4. People have been feeding eagles all summer at the Fishing Hole.
5. Counts of eagles on Gull Island through May numbered seven each count with one kill each time.
6. At the Shorebird Festival, people saw eagles killing birds on Gull Island on the boat tours; at the viewing stations, eagles kept the birds flying off the flats.
7. The kittiwakes have failed to produce on Gull Island. When I talked to Bay Excursions, Discovery, Danny Jay and Collin McCarty in the Pratt Marine Room, all said that the eagles gave the birds a hard hit all spring.
Biologists aren't willing to say it's eagles. They say it's a food shortage, but we had 40 humpbacks in Kachemak Bay near Seldovia most of the summer and fin backs, too. The nests are fine at 60-foot rock.
We gave the members of the Homer City Council lots of information in the spring to educate themselves about eagles. Now they need to act.
Rep. Paul Seaton says the state will not act on anything until the cities take some local action.
The feds have made it clear feeding is not a good idea. When contacted, other states said they would ask the people to stop feeding. It is not illegal to feed eagles in most states, but they would ask them to stop.
Eagle experts say human habituation is a major problem with feeding.
Alaska Eagle Watch Network has:
1. Produced brochures endorsed by several organizations; they will be available state wide.
2. Established a Web site at www.alaskaeagles.com.
3. Had a booth at the Shorebird Festival and the Kenai Peninsula State Fair.
4. Talked to state and federal representatives about the problem. All say it's local first.
5. Placed our "Ten Reasons Not to Feed Eagles" in all state parks to the Kasilof, as well as at the harbor and the Fishing Hole.
6. Put petitions out and are collecting signatures asking Homer to ban eagle feeding.
An independent poll by Ivan and Moore showed that a majority of people in the Homer area do not support intentional eagle feeding.
Large number of eagles have a negative effect on wildlife (birds and sea otters). Knowing this, we want to ask all local candidates if they will support a ban on intentional eagle feeding in Homer city limits.
Alaska Eagle Watch Network is working to develop a positive eagle viewing program on the Kenai Peninsula. Members are going to Haines for the Eagle Festival there to network with the Lynn Canal Conservation Society on ideas.
Susan Clardy is a volunteer with Alaska Eagle Watch Network.
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