Swimming in Kodiak

The Kodiak Boat Harbor can get a little crowded. It's the largest commercial fishing community in the U.S. You probably have seen shows on TV about the crabbing and fishing they do there. It's the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. outside of the military.

It can be dangerous for eagles also. This young bald was flying around some fishing boats competing with a few other eagles for food when it got bumped into the harbor. Eagles can swim. In cold water is not recommended anywhere's. Especially Kodiak in March.

It was pulled out of the water by some fishermen that felt sorry for it. Beth from U.S. Fish & Wildlife in Kodiak was called. By the time she got there it was turning into a popsicle. She took it back to her office for an exam. She found it to be cold and with a sharp keel (it was hungry for a while).

She contacted Barbara at Bird TLC to let her know when she was sending us the bird. Barbara passed that off to me. Beth had to reschedule a couple times, but it finally made it here.

Ruth and I gave it a full exam. We couldn't find any injuries. It was tired, stressed, wet and hungry. So we place it in a warm indoor mew with some fresh salmon. As you can see in the top pic, it wouldn't eat while we were there, but it wouldn't let us have it back either. The bottom pic is the next day when it was feeling much better.