(Photo/Michael D. Bourdon)

A pair of bald eagles that have been nesting at Potato Creek State Park in North Liberty have hatched three young eaglets for the first time ever observed in the park’s history.

The pair of adult eagles have made their home in the park for the past three years but have never hatched an egg there. The eagles and their young are nested in a remote corner of Potato Creek.

Visitors to the park wishing to try and catch a glimpse of the family have the best chance doing so from the fishing pier by the Porter Rea Cemetery or the east boat launch where they can watch for them to fly over Worster Lake to look for fish. Officials ask that people watch from a distance with binoculars so as not to disturb the eagles.

(Photo/Michael D. Bourdon)

“The chicks should be ready to fly when they’re about 9-10 weeks old, about the end of June,” stated Tim Cordell, park naturalist. “The chicks will be tended to by the adults well into September. This fall the juveniles will disperse and wander around North America for the next four years. When they are four to five years old, they will return to the same general area where they hatched to find a mate and nest.”

Source: South Bend Tribune