Chicago’s baby bald eagles finally have names, just in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
The newly christened Migizi and Marian are the first documented bald eaglets born in the city in more than 100 years.
Migizi means “bald eagle” in Ojibwa (Anishinabe), one of the Indigenous languages historically spoken in the Chicago region. Marian is a nod to both the South Side’s Marian R. Byrnes Natural Area and its namesake, a lifelong Chicago environmentalist and civil rights activist.
The nest was first photographed on April 28 at Park No. 597 by Hyde Park birders Pat and Steve Pearson. At first, the couple could only see one eaglet’s head poking out. Later, they learned there were actually two chicks.
At a naming ceremony held in the Ford Calumet Environmental Center in Big Marsh Park, the Pearsons passed around printed-out photos they had taken of the raptors, along with a bald eagle stuffed animal they brought.
The couple said they thought the names were “perfect.”
“I voted for Migizi,” Steve Pearson said. “It seemed really appropriate.”
Pat Pearson said she voted for Marian because of the reference to one of her favorite parks.
The Chicago Park District selected the names through a “Name the Eaglets” competition, which received more than 3,000 submissions. The choices were narrowed down to Migizi, Marian and Clawumet — a play on the word Calumet, the Southeast Side region where the nest is located. Chicagoans then voted for their favorite among the three finalists.
Before the final picks were unveiled, children from the Big Marsh Park Adventure Camp donned costumes and held up puppets and signs to tell the story of the marsh’s restoration. They ended the skit saying, in unison, “When people care for nature, nature comes back.”
Two campers later joined Park District General Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa to unveil the names.
Ramirez-Rosa said the birds took their first flight earlier this month.
Park District officials say Migizi and Marian are an indicator that habitat restoration and conservation efforts on the Southeast Side are working. Since acquiring Big Marsh Park in 2011, the Park District has removed invasive species and reintroduced native plants. In recent years, they have seen animals like beavers, muskrats, water snakes, deer, mice and weasels return to the area.
“It’s a powerful reminder that parks are key to raising families, whether that’s human families, mammalian families or bird families,” Ramirez-Rosa said.
“Chicago’s parks are becoming greener and more welcoming to families,” he added.
According to the Park District, bald eagles have been regular visitors to Big Marsh Park since the early 2000s. The highest count was 12 spotted on a single day in 2018. The Park District has temporarily closed the path near the raptors’ nesting site at Park No. 597 to protect the hatchlings. Bald eagles are a federally protected species and it is illegal to disturb their nests. People are advised to stay at least 330 feet from the area.
