Eagles and More: A Field Trip to the Illinois River Valley
Snow Geese. Photo by Melissa Records.
By Roger Digges, CCAS Vice President
On a frigid morning at 7:30 am on January 17, 9 intrepid birders gathered in the Anita Purves Nature Center to embark on a Champaign County Audubon Society field trip to the Illinois River Valley to search for Bald Eagles. Roger Digges led the expedition, which was intended to follow the route that he and his wife Cathy had used to conduct their part of the Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey on or near the Illinois River between Havana and Beardstown.
When the group arrived at their starting point at the Havana Nature Center at around 9:30 am, the temperature was 13 with a wind of 16 mph (gusting up to 23) making it feel like 2 below zero. But they didn’t waste time complaining about the weather (well, we did complain some), but bundled up to go see eagles, which they did, about 8 of the iconic birds along the Havana riverfront, a good start. In the course of a long day of observing (ending at Anderson Lake around 4:15 pm), participants would see a total of around 30 eagles.
But they remembered two eagles in particular. Someone had spotted the pair in close proximity to each other. Participants wondered if they might see a courtship flight, when eagles interlock their talons and spin around each other, separating just before hitting the ground. The two birds circled closer and closer until one turned over in flight, suggesting to watchers that the courtship ritual could be about to begin. But it didn’t begin. The eagles slowly separated and flew off in opposite directions. Apparently either the time or the potential partner wasn’t right. Still, an exciting event that none of the participants had ever seen.
Being birders, participants found other birds as well—bluebirds, kestrels, a merlin, two hovering raptors that the group couldn’t agree were rough-legged hawks or northern harriers, pileated woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers, common goldeneye, and many other species. But two species in particular would stand out.
The group detoured when trumpeter swans were sighted and were able to get close enough to the flock of more than a hundred to not really need binoculars. With windows open despite the cold, they could hear the birds’ muted “trumpet.” Although North America’s heaviest and longest bird at 25 pounds and 6 feet, participants were awed by their elegant long necks and graceful flight. Another exciting event none of the participants had experienced previously.
Probably the most memorable sighting of the day was what looked at first like another snow squall off in the distance. But it became obvious as they drew closer that it was a flock of certainly more than a thousand snow geese swirling in a vortex, a vortex that approached the lead car and engulfed it like a snow goose tornado. For several minutes the flock swept around and over the car before the flock began to break up. There were no words, just exclamations from participants who had never seen such a sight.
All in all, a field trip to remember.
