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Chicago Moves to Buy Eagle Nesting Grounds

A pair of bald eagles has returned for a third year to a nest along the Little Calumet River. They have yet to lay eggs, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes that it will not be long — and they have garnered support from the City of Chicago to help protect the nesting site.

On December 14, the Chicago City Council voted unanimously to purchase a 26-acre property surrounding an active bald eagle nest. The birds were first spotted in March of 2004 with the help of officials from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Their sighting astonished bird experts, as it marked the first known bald eagle nest within city limits in more than a century.

“The fidelity these birds have for this location is a great sign,” said Walter Marcisz, former president of the Chicago Ornithological Society. “Last year I saw them adding sticks to the nest. As long as they are not disturbed, they may establish this place as their permanent home.”

Bald eagles mate for life and build large nests in trees close to water. A federally threatened migratory species, they often return to the same nest during the breeding season. “We attribute the return of a nesting pair to Chicago as a sign that the water quality may be improving,” says Kristopher Lah, of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Lah adds that the best thing to do for this pair is to limit development nearby and sustain the forested buffers around the nest tree.

City officials will seek federal and state grants to buy the wooded acreage from a local steel company. The plan, which will likely take more than a year to implement, will eventually turn the land over to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County for management.

Alderman Anthony A. Beale of the 9th Ward, where the nesting site is located, was pleased to see the motion passed. “Preserving wildlife and providing suitable habitats, particularly for threatened species, is important to many of us in city government. It is evident that Chicago is committed to this effort.”

— Divina Baratta