Entangled Battling Bald Eagles 'Fell From Sky' Into Tinley Park Yard

TINLEY PARK, IL — It's something you'd have to see to believe.

Two bald eagles, talons sunk into each other, exhausted after a battle that began in the sky and, surprisingly, didn't end when the two massive birds hit the ground outside a Brookside Glen home in Tinley Park.

Even then, they either wouldn't, or maybe couldn't, let up. They laid entangled in the grass after crashing into the side of a town home. It was a moment of either relentless fight, or hopeless surrender, the birds captured on video apparently winded from their efforts.

"Usually it's a territorial thing," said Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, "but this seemed like it was a little more adversarial."

The nonprofit group's hotline received the call from Tinley Park resident Dave Murphy Saturday afternoon. Murphy and his wife Deb had been in their living room when they heard a bang, and Murphy caught a flash of a wing moving—maybe even falling?—past their window.

He stepped outside and witnessed the scene firsthand.

"They were massive," Murphy said, "and their talons were huge. It was amazing."

Chicago Bird Collision Monitors volunteer John Stoddard got the call and made the 30-minute drive to Tinley.

"We get a fair number of calls on the hotline for 'eagles,'" Stoddard said, "and they're never actually eagles."

People often mistake birds like red-tailed hawks for eagles, he noted, and the call sounded so outlandish on its own. Not one bald eagle, but two?

But there they were—two great birds of prey so locked in battle they lay stunned—completely stuck and vulnerable.

"They were tangled," Stoddard said, "holding onto each other. This is what eagles do when they fight."

Bald eagles commonly start and fight their battles in midair, Prince said.

"Then they hurtled toward the earth," she surmised. "Neither was willing to let go, and they have a lot of power in their talons—they use their feet to grab prey and defend themselves."

Stoddard pulled on gloves to protect himself as he worked to disentangle the birds. Neither seemed injured, which shocked him.

"The fact that they were there so long, I expected massive injuries," Stoddard said.

Both appeared to be adults—the birds don't get the iconic white plumage on their heads until 5 or 6 years of age—but Stoddard was unsure if both were males, though he guessed as much. Each was estimated at 10 pounds.

One of the birds was so strong, it fought from their grasp once freed from the tussle and flew away, he said. The other was brought to DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center to be evaluated. There, it was fully checked out, underwent X-rays and was medically cleared, Stoddard said.

Its wing span was a staggering seven feet, Prince told Patch.

The vet there did find a couple of birdshot pellets in it, he said, though the wounds were clearly old and healed and not connected to Saturday's incident. Stoddard brought the bird back to where it'd been found, hoping its familiarity with the territory would help it reacclimate.

Stoddard, who has volunteered with the organization since 2013, said the call was one for the books.

"The most interesting to date," he noted.

He's only handled one other call with an eagle, which involved removing a deceased one from someone's roof, he said. He wondered if, on this call, one eagle was local to the area and the other was passing through, resulting in a fight for airspace.

Getting birds a second chance

Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM) is a volunteer conservation project dedicated to the protection of migratory birds through rescue, advocacy and outreach.

Prince said the Villa Park-based Chicago Birds Collision Monitors organization fields 100 to 200 calls a day, spanning a five or six-county region. Its calls can range from as far north as Antioch, to as far south as Peotone.

People call the hotline at (773) 988-1867 for help after encountering injured, incapacitated, harmed or deceased birds.

The organization works specifically to protect and recover migratory birds that are killed and injured in the downtown Chicago area each spring and fall migration. Confusing lights and the design of glass buildings cause thousands of birds migrating along the lakefront to collide with downtown structures. The teams of volunteers spend the early morning hours recovering these birds to save the injured and document the fatalities that have occurred, Prince said.

The group and its 300 volunteers picked up 10,000 birds in 2024 alone, Prince said, with a large percentage of them dead. They collaborate with the Field Museum and the University of Illinois to document fatalities and gather data to better understand avian populations, migration and collision hazards.

They also responded to more than 14,000 calls from concerned citizens in the greater Chicago region to the helpline.

"We try to get the birds a second chance," Prince said. "We find that people are grateful there are people who will connect them with the assistance they need to help the birds."

They work with the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center to return thousands of rehabilitated birds back into the wild. The organization's volunteers play a crucial role in getting the birds the help they need.

"The wildlife centers can treat them," Prince said, "but they can't do the rescues."

The organization receives many calls to the Tinley Park area, Prince said, usually involving geese and waterfowl.

It's becoming more common for bald eagles to be spotted in the south suburbs, she noted, likely leading to encounters like that between the two in Tinley.

"A really thriving population of bald eagles, perhaps vying with each other for space and territory," Prince said.

Both eagles from the battle for Tinley Park seemed no worse for the wear (and tear of the talons).

"They both lived to fight another day," Prince said.

Chicago Bird Collision Monitors is always looking for additional volunteers—especially in the Tinley Park area—to rescue and transport birds. They're also seeking donations to help fund the organization. Find out more on their website, and follow them on Facebook. Their hotline can be reached at (773)988-1867.