Illinois has a record number of American Bald Eagles residing in the state. The Audubon Society says nearly 6,000 of the birds were counted between January 1st and 15th. More than 90 percent of them were along the Mississippi River. It’s believed a larger number of them migrated to Illinois because of the extreme cold in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. The highest count previously was a little over 4,000 in 2008. Only 2,324 bald eagles were counted last year.