Eleven Rehabilitated Bald Eagles Released Back Into Wild Near Sitka

The Alaska Raptor Center's Avian Director Jennifer Cedarleaf had a blunt warning for anyone picturing a serene ceremonial moment when she freed 11 bald eagles outside Sitka on March 29: "Releasing eleven birds at once is kind of an exhausting thing. Eagles, they're just big and strong, and they tire you out real fast."

The annual Spring Eagle Release marked the recovery of 11 birds the Alaska Raptor Center had rehabilitated and returned to the wild. The birds were brought to the center after being found with various injuries, ranging from gunshot wounds to lead poisoning. The center, Alaska's only full-service avian hospital and education facility, treats over 200 birds each year and works with Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage on cases that require additional resources.

Bald eagles, rough-legged hawks, snowy owls, and peregrine falcons are regular seasonal visitors across North Slope tundra and coastal wetlands from Utqiagvik to Kaktovik. The infrastructure to save an injured raptor exists in this state, but getting a bird there from a North Slope community is the hard part.

The first call should go to Bird TLC in Anchorage at 907-562-4852. Their clinic staff can assess whether the bird genuinely needs intervention, since a bird that appears disoriented may not be injured or in need of help at all. Signs that indicate a real emergency: bleeding, a dragging wing, or an inability to bear weight. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also operates a statewide sick and dead bird hotline at 1-866-527-3358 for reports of eagles and protected raptors appearing ill.

Do not attempt to handle or keep a bald eagle or any other raptor. It is illegal to collect live or dead eagles, or their parts, without a federal permit. Violations carry significant fines regardless of intent.

The transport challenge between a North Slope community and a rehab facility in Anchorage or Sitka is substantial. Utqiagvik sits roughly 700 air miles from Anchorage, and every community on the North Slope is accessible only by small aircraft. Alaska Wildlife Rescue's mission is to rescue Alaskan wildlife from life-threatening situations and transport injured animals to veterinary and rehabilitation centers throughout the state. Whether the organization has reliable reach into the North Slope, or whether the borough has formalized partnerships with these groups, is not publicly documented. That gap is worth closing.

Cedarleaf's 11 eagles survived gunshots and lead toxicity and made it back to the sky. Whether the next injured raptor found on the coastal plain outside Nuiqsut or in the Brooks Range foothills above Anaktuvuk Pass gets the same chance depends on how quickly the finder picks up the phone.