Hatching eaglets to be welcomed to Pere Marquette State Park with birthday party

Pere Marquette State Park is throwing a baby shower of sorts for bald eagle chicks that should be hatching soon.

From 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. March 31, a birthday party will be held at the park visitor center.

The first egg was laid Feb. 19 and the last egg was laid Feb. 26.

The first eaglet is due March 25.

A live video feed has been set up to broadcast scenes from an active eagle nest to the visitor center.

There also will be a guided hike to view the nest starting at 11 a.m.

The hike is three miles long and will take about 1.5 hours.

Visitors also can suggest names for the eaglets. A drawing to choose names will be held at 1:45 p.m.

According to Scott Isringhausen, site interpreter at Pere Marquette, eagle chicks can be heard calling inside the egg before they hatch.

After the calling starts, it takes 15 hours to pick the first hole in the egg.

It may take the young birds another 35-40 hours more to completely break out of the egg.

After hatching it takes 72-72 days before the eagles are ready to fly.