Bald Eagle, Photo by Jeff Bryant.

Champaign County Audubon Society (CCAS) is hosting a field trip to the Illinois River to search for Bald Eagles and any other birds that might be in the area. Every year since 2018, CCAS members Roger and Cathy Digges have spent a day in early January conducting a count of Bald Eagles along the river and its backwaters between Havana and Beardstown, Illinois, for the US Army Corps of Engineers. These counts help ornithologists assess the relative health of the population of these iconic birds.

Roger will be leading our field trip, which will follow the same route and stop at the same sites that he and Cathy will survey earlier in the month. On January 17, participants will meet at the north end of the Anita Purves Nature Center parking lot at 7:30 am, same place and time we leave for Sunday morning bird walks.

If winter weather interferes, we will try again on January 18 or 24. Participants will be notified of any change. To avoid disturbing the eagles and to ensure that all participants can see them, we will limit participant numbers to how many can comfortably fit into no more than three vehicles, including Roger’s (which seats 4, including him).

Two other participants are needed to volunteer to drive. Vehicles should have a higher clearance (SUV height or higher) and all-wheel drive. There may be snowy, icy, or muddy areas and uneven gravel roads although most of the route is paved.

The search for eagles will begin in Havana, Illinois, which is about 100 miles from Urbana, and drivers should plan on driving an additional 110 miles along our route. We will lunch at Beardstown. There will be an opportunity to gas up if necessary before we leave Havana on our way home. We should return to the Anita Purves Nature Center parking lot around 4:30 pm.

Depending on the amount of ice on the river and other factors, based on Roger and Cathy’s counts, we can expect between 8 and 49 bald eagles on the route. The 2024 count was 29. In addition to bald eagles, we may see tundra swans, greater white-fronted and snow geese, northern harriers, owls, ruddy ducks, and even a golden eagle.

If you would like to volunteer to be a driver, please contact Roger at rogerdigges49@gmail.com.

CCAS will post a link to register for the trip on our website. Bring binoculars if you have them- (a spotting scope would be helpful). CCAS will provide binoculars for those who need them.