2,000-Pound Bald Eagles Nest Removed In Mooseheart

MOOSEHEART, IL — A bald eagles nest that welcomed eaglets into the world every spring for more than a decade was removed this week for the safety of the local community and the birds who called it home.

The nest, which was located on the grounds of Mooseheart Child City & School and had long been occupied by a bald eagle pair, was in a pine tree that had been dying for years, above an asphalt parking lot and near a football field and busy road, according to South Elgin-based nonprofit Anderson Humane. The nest weighed almost 2,000 pounds, Fox 32 News reported.

“It’s in the best interest of the eagle pair to take the tree down in the non-breeding season,” said Cathy Pollack, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Chicago Ecological Services Office, on a website dedicated to the Mooseheart eagles. “The tree looks like it could come down easily in a storm and the nest looks large and heavy. The worst-case scenario would be the tree coming down with the eagles or their eaglets in the nest.”

The eagles drew birdwatchers, who created traffic issues, and, in 2019, a male eagle who was part of a pair with a nest elsewhere on the school’s property was hit by a car and killed, according to the website. Fans of the eagles gathered Wednesday to watch the nest come down, Fox 32 News reported.

“For over a decade, we have been privileged to have a mated pair of bald eagles choose Mooseheart as a safe place to live and raise their offspring,” Mooseheart Executive Director Gary Urwiler said on the website. “It has been an honor to witness eagle life. We have done our best to maintain the status quo; however, after many discussions, it was determined that it is now time to act.”

The wildlife service and Anderson Humane were involved in resolving the matter of the eagles nest. Moving the nest was considered, but had a less than 50 percent likelihood of success, according to Anderson Humane, which added that with the dying tree and old nest gone, the eagles could start building a new home in a safer location as soon as December.