Bald eagles, once at the brink of extinction, have steadily rebuilt their numbers and are starting to populate more-urban areas of McHenry County and the rest of Chicago’s suburbs.

While the are is not known for eagle habitat, the trend in migration does not surprise local experts, including Kim Compton, who recently discovered an active nest along the Fox River near Barrington.

Compton, who is the education coordinator at the McHenry County Conservation District, was leading a canoe trip to a heron rookery when she spotted a much larger nest in a nearby tree.