In the spring of 2002, Gratiot Lake bald eagles again bred successfully. Two, eight week old eaglets, a male and a female, were banded by Joe Papp in the beginning of July.

The larger of the two was the female weighing in at 9 lbs 13 oz. The smaller male was feisty. He pecked at Joe Papp and was too fidgety to hold. He spent some time in “time out,” standing in some bushes waiting to be returned to the nest.

Jacob and Elijah Mitchell and Rachel McPherson enjoyed holding the more docile female. After weeks of squaking to be fed, the eaglets successfully fledged in the fourth week of July.