Bald Eagle Regurgitation Full of Plastic

Observation by Anna-Katri Kulmala:

During hikes all around the hills in Unalaska, I have noticed these droppings. To me they look like eagles droppings. If my hypothesis is right - this is significant, because there is a landfill on the island and birds feed there and maybe this has negative outcomes for the birds in Unalaska.

Veronica Padula, Biology Graduate Student at UAF, writes:

Thanks for sending this my way, this looks awful - Anna might be on track with thinking it's from an eagle, although there's a chance it was regurgitated and not pooped out because from the photos it looks like pieces of plastic bag, and a bird would have a very difficult time passing that through its GI tract. My other thought is that we can tag team with Melissa Good, the Sea Grant agent out on Unalaska, to check out these items first hand and help in narrowing down the field of what could have eaten this.

Melissa Good, Marine Advisory Program Agent with Alaska SeaGrant, writes:

Plastic pollution is certainly a concern here in Unalaska and bald eagles are often observed eating out of the dumpsters, unfortunately. Eagles produce pellets, or a mass of undigested parts of a bird's food that can be regurgitated, which is what is appears happened here; however, the ingestion of plastic has been known to kill bald eagles.

If an eagle is observed sick or injured, the Alaska State Trooper (907-581-1432), NMFS Enforcement Officer (907-581-2061), or myself (Melissa Good Alaska Sea Grant Agent 907-581-1876) in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor are equipped to handle injured birds to be sent to the Bird Treatment & Learning Center in Anchorage.