Community Corner
Up and Away: Mooseheart Eaglets Soar at Starved Rock
Two orphaned eaglets had no problem Saturday figuring out what to do as they were released into the wild along the Illinois River.
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A crowd of several hundred people cheered, applauded and shouted "Go, go, go buddy!" as two eaglets from the Batavia area took off into their new home this weekend.
The two eaglets were released Saturday at Starved Rock State Park near Utica, IL, ending an ordeal that began on a stormy night a few months ago on the Mooseheart campus.
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The birds were taken by boat to Plum Island Eagle Sanctuary on the Illinois River, just across from the park's Visitor's Center, for full viewing of the release.
Dawn Keller, founder of Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Barrington, wore protective leather gloves and took each eaglet out one by one.
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Then she held them up, said her goodbyes and let them go.
Neither eaglet had trouble soaring along the riverbank. They quickly disappeared into the trees.
The Journey
Keller coordinated the eaglets' rescue when at Mooseheart last May.
Patch reported the story of how a new nest was reconstructed and the eaglets were returned. But a well-being check a few days later found the , so they were where they have been ever since.
Flint Creek built a 100' flight chamber for the eagles—both males—as they have grown and learned to hunt for food, often taking it from their roommate or cagemate, whom Keller suggested was happy to see the pair leave.
Keller said the Mooseheart eagles—the parents of those just released—have started construction on a new nest which may be utilized in the next nesting season in the spring.
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