Bald eagle believed to be nesting in Prospect Heights

A bald eagle has been observed frequenting the Hillcrest Lake and Slough areas located between Elmhurst and Wheeling Roads in Prospect Heights and is believed to have taken up residence there, the city said in a news release.

The Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission reports the bald eagle has been hanging out in the area for the last five months and was seen as recently as Sunday feeding on fish caught from Hillcrest Lake.

Though bald eagles may frequent the Starved Rock area near Savanna, Illinois, and are often seen along the Mississippi during winter, this is the first to frequent Prospect Heights in recent history, the city said.

Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commissioner Dana Sievertson attributed the raptor's arrival to the hundreds of hours volunteers spent restoring the area to reflect the biodiversity that existed before development the area was developed. Commission Chairwoman Agnes Wojnarski agreed.

"With the all the changes to the habitat over the last three years, we are seeing ever increasing numbers and diversities of higher quality birds," Wojnarski said in the news release. "We now have nesting black crowned night herons, three broods of wood ducks, cedar waxwings, kingfishers and a variety of shore line birds to name a few. It will be very interesting to see what else shows up as the restoration matures."

Once considered endangered, the bald eagle has staged a comeback and currently is classified as protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.