CLERMONT, Ky. — Two rare golden eagles have reunited at Bernheim Forest once again.
Athena returned to Bernheim on Nov. 8, flying 1,500 miles from Canada, a trip she and her partner, Harper, have been doing for several years. Harper took a much different route to Kentucky this time, returning Nov. 23.
Andrew Berry of Bernheim said it's a big compliment that they return year after year.
"They see Bernheim as a safe place," Berry said. "I think it means a lot for what we do to manage the land."
Athena and Harper leave Canada in late summer and fly an amazing route. As they zero in back home, they check out the knobs of Indiana, the Ohio River and West Point Kentucky. Berry said, once at Bernheim, "we have had visitors to the forest see them and take pictures from a distance, but they are called rare for a reason — they are elusive.”
They like the comfort of Bernheim because they can eat unlimited amounts of turkey, rabbits, possum, dead deer, you name it. Plus it keeps them through the winter.
But something else also happened while the two were in Canada, Berry told WHAS11 News they were able to hatch and raise a chick.
"These birds have been a couple for quite a long time now. There’s a chance they have had several chicks by now that are grown and are actually here at Bernheim," Berry said. "They are very hard to distinguish in the air and from far distances. They resemble other large birds."
Who would have guessed it? A rare eagle resort twenty minutes south of the Gene Snyder Freeway. The two are expected to spend their winter hear, leaving some time in the spring.
Bernheim has now lifted its COVID-19 reservation program and is open again to all of the public. A donation of your choosing is suggested at the front entrance.