SOUTH DEERING — The Park District has taken steps to protect two eaglets that hatched at a Far South Side park this spring.

Park 597 in South Deering is one of two sites in the city to host an eagles’ nest, with three eaglets spotted across the two nests. The eaglets’ hatching mark the first time bald eagles have successfully hatched in the city in more than a century.

News of the two eaglets broke last week, with many Chicagoans celebrating the rare occurrence. Now, the Park District has restricted trails at Park 597, 2690 E. 126th Place, near where the nest containing two eaglets resides, according to the Park District.

“To minimize disturbance and for the protection of the nesting area, we have temporarily closed access to the woodland path for the foreseeable future,” spokesperson Irene Tostado said in a statement.

A sign posted to the trail barrier includes a QR code that links to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a federal law that prohibits tampering with the eagles and their nests. Federal guidelines say people should stay at least 330 feet from nests during breeding season. Anyone who disturbs a nest can face fines and even prison time under federal law.

A bald eagle soars above Park No. 597 in South Deering on May 11, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

A Chicago Park District barricade sits in the middle of the trail at Park No. 597 in South Deering on May 11, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The nest at Park 597 was spotted in February. On April 28, “a chick finally reared its head, confirming this historic first,” the district said in a release announcing the milestone as well as a naming contest. A second eaglet has since been spotted in the nest, the Park District confirmed.

“The eagles’ presence proves the Chicago Park District’s habitat restoration efforts are not only effective but making a profound impact on the city’s species diversity,” the Park District said last week.

The presence of another eaglet in a South Side cemetery was confirmed by a Block Club editor. A cemetery manager said the nest was new this year.

While the presence of the two nests might come as a surprise to some city dwellers, to anyone who is tracking the rebound of the nation’s most revered bird, as well as the general improvement in natural habitats across the city, it’s the logical extension of a decades-long trend.

That trend saw bald eagles not only come off the endangered species list, but now thrive in neighborhoods all over one of the nation’s largest urban areas.

In recent weeks and months, bald eagles have been spotted soaring through skies over the West Side, snatching a squirrel from a side street in Pullman, checking out South Pond near Lincoln Park Zoo, hunting in a Northwest Side park, perching in trees near Bubbly Creek in Bridgeport and hunched on branches along a major West Side thoroughfare.

While there have been documented nests in the city in the past two decades, local birders say there is no documentation that any eggs successfully hatched.

Dave Newbart and Colin Boyle contributed reporting.

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