Bald Eagles Stay The Winter In Will County Preserves

WILL COUNTY, IL — Visitors to Will County forest preserves this winter may get a glimpse of bald eagles in the area. As the weather gets colder and streams and creeks start to freeze, bald eagles will be flocking to areas with open water, the Forest Preserve District of Will County said in a release.

That means the regal raptors are likely to be hanging around the Forest Preserve's Lake Renwick Preserve in Plainfield, McKinley Woods in Channahon, Rock Run Rookery Preserve in Joliet and Whalon Lake in Naperville.

However, the preserve is reminding visitors, that proper bird-watching etiquette requires humans to give the birds a wide berth.

Before you go eagle watching, you should review the dos and don'ts of viewing or photographing these birds during programs or on your own. Here are some tips to remember, should you venture out this winter to try to spot some eagles:

• Persistence pays off. Looking for eagles in a preserve they’re known to frequent doesn’t guarantee that you’ll see one. They can move quickly over large distances.
• While mature adults are easily identifiable with the naked eye, binoculars dramatically enhance the experience.
• Do not attempt to get close to an eagle. Responsible bird-watching etiquette states that a birder’s presence should not change the behavior of a bird. If a bird is reacting to you, then you are too close. Causing birds to flush causes stress to the birds and puts them in danger.
• Bald eagles don’t get their trademark white heads and tails until between their fourth and fifth years. Immature bald eagles are mostly brown and are sometimes confused with golden eagles, which are uncommon in Illinois.

Because of the sensitivity of bald eagles during various stages of courtship and nesting, nests should be avoided by humans. The National Audubon Society also advises people to shoot photos from a blind and to stay at least 330 feet away from an active nest.

No one should ever use bait to draw eagles closer.

"Baiting bald eagles isn’t just ethically untenable, it’s also arguably illegal, as it could be interpreted as a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act," according to the Audubon society.

Eagles are protected from disturbance and harassment by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. That means bird-watchers cannot do anything to disturb eagles or distract them from what they should be doing to successfully raise their young.

Civil penalties for a single violation of the Eagle Act include a maximum fine of $5,000 or one year imprisonment.

The odds of seeing eagles in Will County has grown through the years as their numbers have rebounded since the pesticide DDT was banned in the 1970s. And while many head north for the summer, some eagles stay in Illinois year-round and many winter here, according to the forest preserve.

Eagles are most sensitive to human activity during the courtship and nest building period, which takes place in the Midwest in late January and early February. Egg laying typically begins at the end of February.