From eagles courting in Big Marsh Park to the Great Lakes Piping Plovers building a family near the Montrose Dunes, the Chicago Park District’s citywide natural habitat restoration efforts have created ideal environments for endangered species to return to the Midwest, and call Chicago’s newly reclaimed natural areas home. A majestic Bald Eagle has been spotted soaring through the skies and propped stoically on trees above Horner Park in Chicago’s Irving Park community area. But, the recently restored riverfront is not the only place in Chicago that these largest of North American raptors are calling home. Big Marsh Park in particular has been a magnet for these mighty birds since industry was replaced with nature. The northwest section of the park in the Calumet Area Reserve opened to the public in 2016 with new walking trails and a bike park, but Bald Eagles have been appearing regularly since the early 2000s. Their presence has only increased in numbers as restoration work picked up with the highest count being 12 eagles on a single day in 2018. For more information, visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com

Photo Credit: Chicago Park District