Birders spot bald eagle hatchlings in Chicago park, first in more than a century
Two bald eagle hatchlings have been spotted in a nest in a Chicago park in what city officials believe is the raptors’ first successful wild breeding in the Windy City in more than a century, the Chicago Park District said.
Park district officials said bird-watchers observed nesting activity beginning in February in Park 597 along the Calumet River on the city’s Southeast Side. The first eaglet was spotted in the nest on April 28, and a second hatchling was confirmed May 7.
Irene Tostado, a park district spokesperson, said the eaglets appear to be two to three weeks old.
Pat Pearson and her husband, Steve Pearson, discovered the first eaglet. Steve Pearson said, “We started looking around, and lo and behold, this little fuzzy head sticks up with a big beak and we were just ecstatic. Patty actually broke into tears. I started crying,” adding, “It was really very touching, because we had this kind of instinct, I think, just the wonder and the awe of seeing these eagles right here in Chicago with a baby. It was really overwhelming.”
Park 597, officials said, has become a renewed wildlife draw since the park district began restoring the property in 2019. Stephen Bell, who oversees the park, said the area previously housed a city water treatment plant and that the park district’s work has included soil improvements, upgraded vegetation and habitat enhancements for animals such as amphibians and reptiles—changes officials said have attracted prey species that can support raptors.
Bell said his staff has not found any record of successful eaglet hatchings in Chicago for more than 100 years, though the park district said bald eagles can be seen in the Chicago area. The park district said it counted a dozen bald eagles in the restored wetlands of Big Marsh Park in one day in 2018.
The Park District also pointed to the broader comeback of bald eagles over the last four decades. Habitat degradation and insecticide contamination of food sources had helped decimate the population in the second half of the 20th century, but the bird has since rebounded, including after being removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007.
Pat Pearson said, “Give Mother Nature a chance and you’d be surprised what she can do with just a little bit of help from like the park district and the city of Chicago,” and added, “Neither one of the organizations could have done it themselves, but between the two of them, it’s shocking what can happen to land in areas that you think are just absolutely unredeemable.”