Which birds of prey are in Chicago?

[CrazyBirdChick]

I know we have coppers hawks and peregrine falcons here . Plus of course a few owls.

I've read that bald eagles are not too far from me now too, but have never seen one. Well...I'm not sure if I have actually?

Yesterday, I saw a huuuuge bird soaring in the sky though Blu's window. It must've had a 6-7 feet wingspan! It was too far and too quick for me to get a pic but I'm wondering if it could have been anything other than a bald eagle?

I hope they start becoming more visible around here! Also, Blu did not get scared at all! He's such a trooper! We just calmly watched it together until it flew off into the distance

 

[taxidermynerd]

We get a... Hawk? Falcon? I'm not sure, around here every so often. We used to have feeders up, now the neighbor does, and at least 40 sparrows live in this little spruce tree in the yard. I think the larger bird wants a sparrow-flavored snack.

 

[Ribbit21]

Depends on where you live. I see bald eagles quite frequently. During the winter months they are in Staved Rock which is maybe 40 minutes from me. You might have seen a Red Tailed Hawk. They are fairly large and are quite common around here.

 

[taxidermynerd]

Depends on where you live. I see bald eagles quite frequently. During the winter months they are in Staved Rock which is maybe 40 minutes from me. You might have seen a Red Tailed Hawk. They are fairly large and are quite common around here.

Lucky! I love Starved Rock, it's a shame I've never seen any eagles there. It's an hour and a half from me, but it's always worth the ride. Those gorgeous cliff faces, the splendid fall colors...

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

The more I'm looking up info about birds of prey near Chicago the more I'm convinced it was a juvenile bald eagle. Are there juveniles this time of year? It was too big to be a red tail hawk or falcon.

 

[SandraK]

No eagles but try a red tail hawk - they are bigger than the Cooper's. Here's a sampling for you:

Download 16 Plates from the New Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

Also check out Wild Birds Unlimited, they may have additional info as well as Cornell or Audubon.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

No eagles but try a red tail hawk - they are bigger than the Cooper's. Here's a sampling for you:

Download 16 Plates from the New Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

Also check out Wild Birds Unlimited, they may have additional info as well as Cornell or Audubon.

Thank you so much! I checked it out but I'm still convinced it was an eagle.

It's wings were too straight & rectangular shaped to be a hawk. Maybe it was a golden eagle? I read that Illinois is now the most populated, other than Alaska, in winter for eagles.

Man, I wish I would have took a picture!

 

[Mizzely]

No turkey vultures or anything? Those are pretty common in the midwest.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

No turkey vultures or anything? Those are pretty common in the midwest.

It might have been a turkey vulture! It was huge and dark and just soared for minutes without flapping. Beautiful and majestic.

Just wish I could have got a closer look to properly identify. I can't believe I'm still thinking about it 2 days later. I guess I never see stuff like that around here.

 

[Mizzely]

It might have been a turkey vulture! It was huge and dark and just soared for minutes without flapping. Beautiful and majestic.

Just wish I could have got a closer look to properly identify. I can't believe I'm still thinking about it 2 days later. I guess I never see stuff like that around here.

There is a raptor rehab center along the Mississippi, they do a lot of bald eagles there. One year I kid you not I saw like 60 bald eagles of all ages on an ice floe on the river. Was crazy! Couldn't get a photo of course because I didn't have my phone or camera that day for some reason! Was very memorable! But they make their way around after that dispersal

We see turkey vultures a lot; they are almost always in pairs or more though. They look all dark unless you can get close enough to see the white undersides of the wings. They do slow circles in the air riding the currents. Eagles can too, but they usually seem to be more "i have places to be" when I see them lol

 

[taxidermynerd]

No turkey vultures or anything? Those are pretty common in the midwest.

It might have been a turkey vulture! It was huge and dark and just soared for minutes without flapping. Beautiful and majestic.

Just wish I could have got a closer look to properly identify. I can't believe I'm still thinking about it 2 days later. I guess I never see stuff like that around here.

There is a raptor rehab center along the Mississippi, they do a lot of bald eagles there. One year I kid you not I saw like 60 bald eagles of all ages on an ice floe on the river. Was crazy! Couldn't get a photo of course because I didn't have my phone or camera that day for some reason! Was very memorable! But they make their way around after that dispersal

We see turkey vultures a lot; they are almost always in pairs or more though. They look all dark unless you can get close enough to see the white undersides of the wings. They do slow circles in the air riding the currents. Eagles can too, but they usually seem to be more "i have places to be" when I see them lol

I know down here (near the IL/IN border, closer to Gary than I'd like to be) we will very rarely see vultures. Once we saw a pair in Orland Park, and that was kind of funny because there are all these super fancy houses and subdivisions, and here are two vultures munching on a dead thing! Wish I had my camera.

I know they aren't birds of prey, but we also get sandhill cranes flying over a lot starting this time of year. We usually head out to Jasper-Pulaski fish and wildlife area, You see tons of them there and in the surrounding farmland if you're lucky. Last winter we went and it was 21 degrees, not including the wind chill which literally made my face numb. And I didn't even get any good pictures from the lookout tower!

 

[SandraK]

I know down here (near the IL/IN border, closer to Gary than I'd like to be) we will very rarely see vultures. Once we saw a pair in Orland Park, and that was kind of funny because there are all these super fancy houses and subdivisions, and here are two vultures munching on a dead thing! Wish I had my camera.

I know they aren't birds of prey, but we also get sandhill cranes flying over a lot starting this time of year. We usually head out to Jasper-Pulaski fish and wildlife area, You see tons of them there and in the surrounding farmland if you're lucky. Last winter we went and it was 21 degrees, not including the wind chill which literally made my face numb. And I didn't even get any good pictures from the lookout tower!

We're in part of the sandhill crane migration route to FL I believe. @CrazyBirdChick I haven't seen any vultures around my area but my local WBU guys have spotted a bald eagle occasionally around here. This might be a better site - Search Results | Audubon You can also check out Flint Creek's website as they have pix of some of the birds they've saved or worked with. Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation

They took in a hawk that was injured when a private plane crashed in the woods just short of the Chicago Executive Airport (formerly known as Palwaukee). Plane caught fire and the hawk was apparently roosting for the night when it happened.

 

[Ribbit21]

I see turkey vultures pretty much every day here. The vultures soar around slowly in circles and seem to ride the wind all the time. Every time I've seen a bald eagle they are always "on their way" and flying up high.

 

[SandraK]

I see turkey vultures pretty much every day here. The vultures soar around slowly in circles and seem to ride the wind all the time. Every time I've seen a bald eagle they are always "on their way" and flying up high.

Gorgeous and breathless to watch soaring, aren't they? I think there is a website associated with the Decorah, IA, eagles' aerie that also has cams on nesting vultures, falcons, etc. at the different nesting season - Raptor Resource Project | Raptor conservation, education, and research I know that there is a lot of bald eagle watching near Starved Rock State Park - Eagle Watching - Starved Rock State ParkStarved Rock State Park

I think Fox 32 news also had a live camera (and has it every year) on a Chicago city resident whose 28th floor balcony is home to a pair of breeding peregrine falcons. Shut down right now but this is the link - Peregrine falcons find unusual home atop 28th floor flowerbox - Story | WFLD

 

[melissasparrots]

Bald eagles are in juvenile coloration for a few years. They can be very dark for 1-3 years and appear almost all black at times from a distance. Chicago should have both turkey vultures and bald eagles although I would think most vultures would have moved out for the winter or be in the process of doing so. You also have kestrels, red tails, peregrins, probably red shouldered hawks, coopers hawks, possibly a few rough legged hawks and broadwinged hawks. Maybe a few goshawks too. If it appeared black or brown on the underside, it was likely a migrating vulture or a young eagle.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Thanks so much everyone!

I meant to say thank you sooner but I kept flip flopping between turkey vulture and juvenile eagle and then I got confused myself and kind of finally gave up

I appreciate all of the responses! I always have an eye to the sky so if I ever see one again I'll be quicker to try to snap a picture.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I saw on Facebook that someone took some pictures of bald eagles, less than a mile from my house.



This is so amazing and exciting! I never thought Bald Eagles would be in Chicago! Now I am convinced that what I saw that day was infact an Eagle!

 

[JLcribber]

I know there's at least one. There's this Crazybirdchick. I think her name is Diane.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I know there's at least one. There's this Crazybirdchick. I think her name is Diane.

 

[Ribbit21]

I spotted a few eagles the other day. I'm sure they were headed straight for Starved Rock. I've had a red tailed hawk camping out in my yard the past few days. My chickens are not happy. I feed the wild birds so I'm sure he comes for dinner once in a while.