Resident Bald Eagle Is Majestic Natural Aviator

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience team occasionally takes time to observe and document the activity of natural aviators in our local environment, especially the raptors such as eagles and hawks that appear during the day. We recently discovered two resident bald eagles in the St. Louis and Metro East IL areas, one in Valmeyer, IL and one on the Missouri River near the intersection of the Car of Commerce Chute (we assume these two bald eagles are each one of a separate nesting pair). In the sequence below, we witness an adult bald eagle flying down the chute and landing on a branch while being harassed by another smaller bird, a common annoyance for eagles and hawks. This bald eagle puts up with it for a short time, then departs north to the river bend.