Dallas officials are closing a playground and setting a perimeter at White Rock Lake as Nick and Nora’s three eaglets enter branching and prepare to fly.
DALLAS, Texas — Dallas officials are asking visitors to give the famous White Rock Lake bald eagle family some extra space as three eaglets prepare to take flight — and may end up on the ground as they learn to fly.
Nick and Nora, the adult bald eagles who have drawn crowds and photographers since they showed up in 2021, are now raising three young birds entering a stage wildlife experts call branching.
That means the eaglets are getting ready to fly. Brett Johnson, Dallas’ conservation manager, said that process can look a little rough.
“To be blunt, they will probably fall out of the tree,” Johnson said.
That may sound alarming, but Johnson said it is normal. The eaglets are learning, and for a while, they will not have much control.
And the timing is tricky. The birds will be learning to fly as families are expected to crowd the area for Mother’s Day weekend.
The city is closing the playground at White Rock Lake Stone Tables & Playground on E Lawther St, putting up barricades to block nearby car traffic, and setting a perimeter around the tree.
Walkers and cyclists can still get through, but the city is asking them to slow down.
Photographers can still come, too. But officials say everyone needs to give the eaglets space.
“One big thing we’ll be asking is, when they are starting to fly and then they’re on the ground, do not approach the eaglets,” Johnson said. “Just stay away from them.”
They may be local celebrities, but they are still wild animals.
Photographer Chris Giblin is one of the people who has followed Nick and Nora from the start.
“A love affair, maybe borderline obsession,” Giblin said.
Giblin said the eagles immediately caught people’s attention when they arrived at White Rock Lake.
“Bald eagles here at White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas? We’ve got to check that out!” he said.
Asked how people and eagles can coexist, Giblin said visitors should remember whose territory they are in.
“Down here, we coexist well,” Giblin said. “This their territory. We take our cues from them.”
As the eaglets take flight, the best way to watch the show may be from a distance.