24 ILLINOIS AUDUBON BULLETIN 
Adults Immatures Not Aged Total 
Golden Eagles 
Illinois Refuges 0 8 0 8 
Kentucky 1 1 0 2 
Tennessee 4 4 0 8 
Indiana 0 1 0 1 
Totals 5 14 0 19 
COMMENTS: Warm weather caused the rivers to open up; as we pro- 
ceeded up the Mississippi River it was about 25 percent open, as we 
returned six hours later, it was nearly ice-free. The next day the river was 
completely open. A 60-mile section of the river produced only three eagles 
where 80-plus were always found on the other counts. A section of the river 
that had 126 eagles seven days earlier only produced 32. We found no 
floating ice as it had disappeared during the warm weather. Tennessee and 
Kentucky as well as most placed reported mostly open water. One spot in 
Indiana surveyed by Steven H. Glass had two Bald and one Golden eagle. 
Mr. Glass intends to survey all of Indiana next year. Our present plans call 
for more complete mid-west coverage. Several reports came in of eagles 
found away from the rivers, these were mostly immatures. 
In the Annual Waterfowl and Eagle Count taken January 5, 1976 on the 
Mississippi and Illinois rivers, a total of 464 adult and 254 immature Bald 
Eagles were found. This count did not include the Mississippi from Dubu- 
que, lowa, to Rock Island, Illinois, on that day. However, on January 9th, 
Steve Breeser of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service counted this latter area. He 
found 134 adults and 43 immatures. These figures tend to agree with the 
limited data that | have for January 5th. At this time of year eagles do not 
move around like they do in mid-February. 
Besides this One Day Count, on February 3rd a count was made at the 
Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge where 19 adults and 16 immatures 
were found. At the Union County Refuge a count taken on February 10 
yielded 9 adults and 9 immatures. A total of 230 eagles were counted in 
lowa. Most spots reporting wintering eagles reported larger numbers of birds 
with a larger percentage of immatures. The sudden warming and lack of ice 
depressed our February count. Next year’s count will be on Saturday, 
February 5, 1977. 
—510 Island Avenue 
E. Moline, IL 61244 
Bald Eagle Killer Put to Work as Part of Sentence 
A Metamora man who illegally shot a bald eagle will have to 
work 80 hours for the Illinois Department of Conservation during 
each of three years of probation, according to a sentence handed 
down by Judge Robert D. Morgan of a U.S. District Court. The 
defendant was also fined $1,000. 
The judge said he assigned the defendant to work with the 
state agency to impress upon him the need to protect endangered 
species such as the bald eagle. 
