A female bald eagle that endured months of recovery after being injured in a fight in April with a male bald eagle at a Litchfield, Illinois, lake was released back into the wild Saturday.
The release occurred with hundreds of spectators watching at Lake Lou Yaeger, just north of Litchfield. The lake lies about two miles east of the Route 66 corridor.
The female eagle became involved in a territorial fight with the male eagle, which didn’t survive. Friends of Lake Lou Yaeger members last fall spent a day at the Treehouse Wildlife Rescue Center in Dow, Illinois, to help refurbish a flight cage needed to help the injured eagle get back into flying shape.
A video by the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway shows the eagle being freed. The release begins about the 5:20 mark:
More about the eagle from the byway:
The female bald eagle and her nesting partner has called Lake Lou Yaeger their home since late 2004. In November 2004, a group of approximately 70 bald eagles visited the lake, and out of that group, this nesting pair made the lake their home and have had hatchlings each year. Even without the female present in 2017 and the help of some fisherman who would toss fish by the bank near the nest, the male bald eagle was able to successfully raise three hatchlings. Since 2004, the pair has built eight nests around Lake Lou Yaeger, and a majority of these have been in the southern end of the lake. It is understood it is somewhat unusual behavior for bald eagles to construct multiple nests in an area for they typically reuse the same nest for many years. Of the eight nests that have been built, only three have had been used for multiple nesting years. The nest used in 2017 was another new nest and in the proximity of other nesting sites.
Bald eagles typically mate for life and start mating after reaching three years of age. Prior to reaching mating age, bald eagles are void of the distinctive white head and tail feathers. As they move into adulthood. they start to get mottled look of white and brownish-black in the head and tail feathers. Their lifespan in the wild it typically stated as 25 to 30 years.
At this time, it is unknown if the pair will mate and have a brood in 2018; only time will tell. The male has recently been seen on the lake with several other bald eagles. However, at the end of the day, he has been spotted by himself perched in a tree near last year’s nest site.
Bald eagles also may be seen from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge at the Mississippi River near St. Louis, Santa Rosa Lake State Park in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and several other waterways and lakes on the Route 66 corridor.
Bald eagles, an official symbol of the United States, once were on the brink of extinction during the latter half of the 20th century. Populations recovered sufficiently to remove the bird from the endangered-species list in 1995 and the threatened list in 2007.
(Screen-capture image from video of a bald eagle at Lake Lou Yaeger in Litchfield, Illinois)
The Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri is considered a world leader in raptor rehab (raptors being birds of prey like eagles) and elephant reproduction. This zoo is roughly 1/2 off the truck Route 66 in Springfield – and well worth the visit. Glad to hear they were able to get this female eagle well and back out with her mate!