Welcome back to another round of Ask a Bird Nerd! This time, we’re focusing on a recent birding topic local to Chicago: Why did we have to wait so long for Chicago eaglets?
Much of the excitement earlier this year concerned the astonishing news that Chicago, our big urban city, had not only one nest with Bald Eagle chicks, but two! One nest was in Park No. 597 in the Southeast Side region, and the other was in Oak Woods Cemetery in the Greater Grand Crossing area. Three Bald Eagles have fledged from these two nests. All of the news reports mentioned that these eaglets were the first born within city limits in over 100 years. Why the wait?
Well, it’s not just Chicago with the dearth of eaglets. The entire state of Illinois has had relatively few eagle nests, much less eaglets, until recently. (The history of Bald Eagles, their near-extinction and national comeback is detailed here).
Illinois
A casual search through public records, mostly from the Chicago Tribune, results in a likely undercount. Nests are difficult to find, and observations may not become part of any public record. A 1944 article mentions a nest in Piatt County in 1915. A few nests were reported along the Illinois River, near Henry in Marshall County, during the 1930s. A nest was reported near Horseshoe Lake State Conservation Area, not far from Cairo, in the early 1940s, with two eaglets reported in 1943.
Jumping forward four decades, two nests were found in 1981 in Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge near Shawnee National Forest, with one nest producing two eaglets. A 1986 Chicago Tribune article reports on the “third recorded eagle nest in Illinois history” in Pike County. This might be hyperbole, or inadequate research, but it’s easy to see why that might happen. In 1992, a Chicago Tribune story mentions a record number of Bald Eagle nests - 17 - had been observed in the state. Successful fledglings totaled 16, compared to just two when observations started up in 1987. In 1997, a nest was reported at the Mooseheart campus, in Kane County, believed to contain eggs. The same article states that an ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey said that nests in northeastern Illinois were rare and that the 200 or so Bald Eagle nests currently in the state were mostly along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. There were nests at Mooseheart in 2009 and 2010, with eaglets.
In 2012, there were 13 Bald Eagle nests in the seven-county metropolitan area, but only five were considered active for the 2012 breeding season, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). By 2022, USFWS reported that 35 Bald Eagle nests were found in the six counties surrounding Chicago (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will). Eight eaglets hatched from four nests in Will County Forest Preserves in 2024.
Bald Eagle, Batavia, IL David Bearden/Audubon Photography Awards
Cook County
Twenty-two years ago, in a newspaper story about a Bald Eagle nest along the Little Calumet River, the Chicago Tribune stated that “Chicago-area bird records include two eagle nests in Cook County in 1896, then one in 1897.” A nest with hatchlings was reported in Palos Township, within a Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) property in 2012. These hatchlings were proclaimed “the first observed bald eaglets to hatch in Cook County in more than a century.” The article states that “These eagles aren’t the first modern pair to nest in Cook County. But this newest nest is the first that has been used for incubating eggs and is exceedingly rare in that the public can directly observe.” At least one eaglet fledged. It is believed the adults returned to the same nest the following year. Since then, nests have been increasingly reported in several FPCC locations.
Chicago
The nest found along the Little Calumet River in Chicago in 2004 was proclaimed the first in the city limits in “more than a century.” No eaglets were reported. The next nest in Chicago was found in 2012 along the Calumet River, across from Hegewisch Marsh, which scuttled a planned Chicago Police Department shooting range. This nest, interestingly, was also declared as the first in the city since the 1880’s.
Finally, we come to 2026 in Chicago, with two observed nests, each nest confirmed to contain eaglets, each who fledged – the long-awaited trifecta!
Challenges to nesting in the area
Why is it so difficult to find Bald Eagle nests with eaglets? Overall, not all nests produce eaglets. In recent years, surveys in Ohio found the number of nests with eggs or eaglets to be around 80%. The number of eaglets per active nest was 1.3.
Does Chicago have the right nesting material for successful nests? Bald Eagles construct some of the largest nests of all birds. In a good location – more on that later – the nest tree is generally one of the largest trees around that has accessible limbs capable of withstanding the weight of a large nest. In our area (eastern United States), deciduous trees such as oaks, hickories, cottonwoods, and aspens are likely candidates for Bald Eagles. Nests are usually built at the highest point where large branches join the tree, with the nest usually placed against the trunk. Sometimes the nest is built in a fork of large branches near the trunk and the canopy. Bald Eagle nests are typically 1.5 to 1.8 meters in diameter, and can be 0.7 to 1.2 meters tall, depending upon if the nest is built in a conical or flat shape.
Bald Eagle, Horseshoe Lake State Park, IL Barbara Polahar/Audubon Photography Awards
Nests can be re-used year-after-year, and with added material each year, can become quite large. A nest in Ohio was used for 34 years until the tree supporting it blew down, possibly the result of the estimated weight of the nest: two tons! Remember the Mooseheart eagles? Their original nesting tree was taken down in 2022 by federal officials after it was deemed structurally too weak to support the, at that point, 2,000-pound nest. The pair built a new nest, about 100 yards away from the old nest.
Mooseheart Bald Eagle Nest Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune
Suitable nesting sites in Chicago may be a rarity. Bald Eagles typically dine on fish and thus should live near water, but the distance to water sources may matter less than the foraging quality of the area. Foraging quality is defined by the diversity, abundance, and vulnerability of prey; the structure of the water-environment (a preference for shallow water rather than deep), and an absence of human development and activity.
A 1992 study of potential nesting site suitability along the shores of the Great Lakes found that, not surprisingly, the quality of nesting habitat (measured by tree coverage, types of trees, proximity to human disturbance, and foraging habitat, i.e., proximity to a Great Lake as well as marshes, shallow bays, etc.) along the southern edge of Lake Michigan was deemed “unsuitable.” Indeed, during the study no active nests were found along the Lake Michigan shoreline of Illinois. Lake Erie, with extensive human development on both the Ohio and Ontario shores of the lake, had 93% of its shoreline rated “marginal” or “unsuitable,” yet 54% of its Bald Eagle nests that year were in habitats rated “marginal” and another 17% in “unsuitable” habitats. All other Great Lakes had the majority of Bald Eagle nests in “good” habitats. The researchers posited that Lake Erie was able to support Bald Eagle nests despite the scarcity of “good” habitat was the result of the “aggressive management strategies of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources which include cooperative management plans with private landowners, monitoring nest sites with volunteers, and maintaining 400-meter human exclusionary zones during the nesting season.” Currently, all three counties with the most Bald Eagle nests in Ohio are on the Lake Erie shoreline, with a total of 213 nests.
Bald Eagle, adult and nestlings, Tuscarawas County, Ohio Brian Keenan/Audubon Photography Awards
With these two nests in Chicago, and others in surrounding counties, northeastern Illinois can potentially replicate the increase of Bald Eagle chicks that Ohio has witnessed. Forward-thinking ecological restoration and management by the Chicago Park District, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Forest Preserves of Cook County, other local agencies, non-profit organizations, and innumerable citizen-scientists and volunteers have already improved the potential habitat for flora and fauna, including Bald Eagles, of the Calumet Region. This area, with its network of rivers, lakes, marshes and wetlands, is also notably home to industry, past and present, with a wide variety of stakeholders, private and public. The Calumet Area Land Use Plan intends to modernize the 2002 Calumet Area plan and create a 20-year plan that will incorporate Chicago’s economic development, public health, and environmental sustainability goals, while keeping the natural setting and water resources foremost.
Much of this region is well-known to Chicago-area birders who appreciate the rich opportunity to locate migratory and local birds in a setting that includes city skyline, industry, and a vibrant natural environment; let’s continue to work towards improving the likelihood of Bald Eagles returning to successfully nest again.
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Resources
Illinois
Bellrose, Frank C. Jr. (1944) "Bald Eagles Nesting in Illinois," The Auk: Vol. 61: Iss. 3, Article 24. Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/auk/vol61/iss3/24
Bald Eagle/Osprey Nesting Success in the National Forests of the Eastern Region: 1987 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Bald_eagle-osprey_nesting_success_in_the_national_forests_of_the_eastern_region_-_..._annual_report_-_United_States_Department_of_Agriculture%2C_Forest_Service%2C_Eastern_Region._%28IA_CAT92965874001%29.pdf
State’s 3rd eagle’s nest spotted in Pike County. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/04/27/states-3d-eagles-nest-spotted-in-pike-county/
Husar, John. "Woods and Waters.: [FINAL EDITION, C]." Chicago Tribune (pre-1997 Fulltext), 18 Oct. 1992, p. 13. ProQuest. Web. Retrieved from: https://chipublib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/woods-waters/docview/283415983/se-2?accountid=303 – requires Chicago Public Library account
Bald eagles return to nest near Mooseheart. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/04/14/bald-eagles-return-to-nest-near-mooseheart-2/
Zawislak, Mick. "I Spy with My Eagle Eye ... A Lake County Site has Become a Rare Bald Eagle Nesting Spot." Daily Herald, 23 June 2012, p. 1. ProQuest. Web. Retrieved from: https://chipublib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/i-spy-with-my-eagle-eye-lake-county-site-has/docview/1021836083/se-2?accountid=303-has/docview/1021836083/se-2?accountid=303 – requires Chicago Public Library account
Bald eagles return to Chicago area: A conservation success story. https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/sustain/bald-eagles-return-chicago-area-conservation-success-story
Eaglets that hatched in Will County Forest Preserves are now soaring. https://www.nctv17.org/news/eaglets-that-hatched-in-will-county-forest-preserves-are-now-soaring/?srsltid=AfmBOor_riTng_SC2CCfKHnyPJEQsaFrM1H6u0kiifrZwzCyYCF9pviv
Cook County
Li Fellers Tribune, s. r. (2004, Mar 27). Once-polluted river now where eagles dare to nest. Chicago Tribune (1997-) Retrieved from https://chipublib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/once-polluted-river-now-where-eagles-dare-nest/docview/2346158457/se-2 - requires Chicago public library account
Bald eagles nest in Cook County. https://fpdcc.com/bald-eagles-nest-cook-county/
Eagle young take flight. https://fpdcc.com/bald-eagles/
The eagles have landed—again! https://fpdcc.com/the-eagles-have-landed-again/
Chicago
Li Fellers Tribune, s. r. (2004, Mar 27). Once-polluted river now where eagles dare to nest. Chicago Tribune (1997-) Retrieved from https://chipublib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/once-polluted-river-now-where-eagles-dare-nest/docview/2346158457/se-2 - requires Chicago Public Library account
Bald eagles thwart plan for police gun range in Chicago. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/03/13/bald-eagles-thwart-plan-for-police-gun-range-in-chicago-2/
For the first time In more than a century, baby eaglets hatch In Chicago. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/05/06/baby-eaglets-are-first-born-in-chicago-in-more-than-a-century-park-officials-say/
‘The year bald eagles decided to make history’: 3 eaglets born in Chicago for first time in a century. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/07/bald-eagles-eaglets-chicago/
2026 Chicago eagles. https://birdminded.blogspot.com/p/january-chicago-eagles.html
Nesting challenges
America’s national bird thriving in the Buckeye State. https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/americas-national-bird-thriving-in-the-buckeye-state
The end of an era: Beloved Mooseheart eagles lose highly visible Kane County nest due to safety concerns (but new nest is underway). https://www.chicagotribune.com/2022/11/17/the-end-of-an-era-beloved-mooseheart-eagles-lose-highly-visible-kane-county-nest-due-to-safety-concerns-but-new-nest-is-underway/
https://birdsoftheworld-org.proxy.birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/baleag/cur/breeding
Bowerman, William W.; Grubb, Teryl G.; Bath, Allen J.; Giesy, John P.; Weseloh, D.V. Chip. 2005. A survey of potential bald eagle nesting habitat along the Great Lakes shoreline. Res. Pap. RMRS-RP-56. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 6 p. https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/21308.pdf
Chicago prepares development plan for industrial zone with priority for water and wetland. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/02/chicago-prepares-development-plan-for-industrial-zone-with-priority-for-water-and-wetland/
Bald Eagle Nest Tree Sign, Juneau, AK Gillfoto/Wikimedia Commons
Header photo: Bald Eagle nest tree sign, Juneau, AK Gillfoto/Wikimedia Commons