Bird-watchers flock to Elgin’s library

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	Bird-watchers keep an eye on a family of bald eagles from the warm vantage point of the River Room at the Gail Borden Library.   Courtesy of Melissa Ziel
	As many as a dozen bald eagles have been hanging out along the Fox River in Elgin north of the Gail Borden Library.   Rick West | Staff Photographer

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Bird-watchers from near and far have been lining the windows of the Gail Borden Library in Elgin for the past week in order to get a glimpse of as many as a dozen bald eagles that have made the nearby stretch of the Fox River their temporary home.

"It's just been phenomenal here, you guys did it for us," said Denise Raleigh, the library's marketing director, referring to a front page spread on the eagles in Saturday's Daily Herald and on dailyherald.com. "There's no spare glass here."

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The library's sweeping western windows are a perfect (and warm) vantage point. The library has six pairs of binoculars available for checkout — four in the circulation department and two in the youth department.

And library staffers have been very busy answering questions about eagles.

Marketing coordinator Liz Clemmons said visitors have come from as far away as Antioch and Des Plaines.

Reference librarian Melissa Ziel and Middle School Services Librarian Catherine Blair have taken bird-watchers to the River Room to point out the latest spot in which the eagles were hanging out. "Families, couples, individuals — everyone wanted to see the eagles," Ziel said.

But it's not just work for library staffers. Many bring their own binoculars and watch for the birds while on break.