The Chicago Park District is celebrating the first-in-a-century hatching of eaglets in a park on the far South Side and the naming of the two young raptors.
The names of the eaglets are Migizi, a Native American word for eagles, and Marian, for the late Chicago conservationist Marian Byrnes, who has a park named in her honor.
A naming ceremony was held in the Ford Calumet Environmental Center at Big Marsh Park, near where the nest is located, in what was once a heavily industrial area.
Children who are part of an Adventure Camp gave a presentation that ended with all of them saying “when people care for nature, nature comes back.”
“It’s a powerful reminder that parks are vital to raising families,” said Park District General Superintendent Carlos Ramirez Rosa.
“These are the first documented eaglets in the city of Chicago in 100 years,” he said. “We’re so proud that they took their first flight earlier this month.”
Mike Krauser
The discovery of the eaglets was made by avid birders Steve and Pat Pearson, from Hyde Park.
“I got choked up and my eyes filled with tears,” Pat Pearson told WBBM. Her husband, Steve, said he got choked up, too. “Because we really invested a lot of emotional energy.”
They had spent a lot of time watching the birds before seeing the eaglets.
