ST. LOUIS —Two bald eagle chicks were rescued by the World Bird Sanctuary after their nest tree fell into the Big River in St. Francois County, according to the organization.

The chicks were spotted by the property owner, who noticed the tree was down. After inspecting, he found the chicks in the nest, but the nest was dissolving quickly in the river. Sanctuary staff were alerted and used a canoe to rescue them.

“We are so grateful to community members like Ray, who not only care enough to call us about the distressed wildlife they’ve found, but are also willing to go the extra mile to make sure they get help. Mr. Settle not only let us use his canoe, he also loaded it onto his truck, drove us to a drop off point, drove around the river to the pick up point, helped unload, and got us back to our vehicle.” said Kira Klebe, World Bird Sanctuary’s Rehabilitation Director, in a press release. “His willingness to help is what saved these two eaglets. At the rate their nest was breaking up, they likely only had another hour or so before they would have been underwater. At their current stage of muscle development, it is uncertain if they would have been able to make the swim to shore or would have just ended up drowning.”

The 7-week-old chicks will remain at the Sanctuary until they are old enough to fend for themselves.