A mature bald eagle and an immature bald eagle interact over the mostly frozen Illinois River. A group of eagles was fishing behind the dam near Plum Island Sanctuary.
A mature bald eagle and an immature bald eagle interact over the mostly frozen Illinois River.

January in Illinois might be too cold for fishing or paddling, but it is a prime month to visit rivers and streams for eagle viewing. This is also the month that organizations dedicated to protecting the health and sustainability of bald eagle populations rely on volunteers to count eagles. Counting adult and immature bald eagles provides important information on population health; eagle counts for the last two years have recorded declining numbers of immature eagles in the Midwest, which is one indicator that the birds’ reproduction is not as successful as it has been in previous years.

Throughout the month of January, you can help record the status of our national symbol by volunteering to count bald eagles. The Eagle Nature Foundation’s 49th Annual Midwest Bird Count is the weekend of January 24-25. Volunteers from Minnesota to Tennessee will get out their binoculars and scopes to join in this effort. Last year’s total of 4,052 was the highest in the event’s 48-year old history.

Interested volunteers should contact the count coordinator, Terence Ingram, at 815.594.2306 to get count forms. If you are not able to get a form, then be sure to mark your count location and time on a map. Counts should be done earlier in the morning before 11:00 am, and need to include the totals for both adult and immature eagles (heads and tails must be pure white to be counted as adults; dark heads and tails are immature; if the head or tail looks mottled and/or or has a dark stripe, then the eagle is also considered immature).

The ENF offers bald eagle tours on the Upper Mississippi in January and February. For more information about bald eagles, bald eagle tours and the 49th Annual Midwest bird Count, visit the ENF’s website at www.eaglenature.com.

Lt. Governor Pat Quinn’s website also has comprehensive information on bald eagle events, tours and places for eagle watching throughout Illinois at www.standingupforillinois.org/eagles/index.php.