Peter & Sarah

Just in time for the United States of America’s 250th birthday, Shelby Township is celebrating a major wildlife milestone at Holland Ponds Park with the successful fledging of an American bald eagle chick in Holland Ponds Park at 50385 Ryan Road.
 
The park’s pair of nesting bald eagles, named in honor of Peter and Sarah Lerich who operated the Underground Railroad stop at their Spring Hill Farm, began nesting in Holland Ponds Park in 2023. This year marks the first successful nesting outcome for the pair after several challenging breeding seasons.
 
In 2023, Peter and Sarah laid eggs that never hatched. In 2024, a severe windstorm resulted in the loss of eaglets after they were blown from the nest. In 2025, the pair again experienced tragedy when chicks were lost to a predator. Despite these challenges, the eagles returned each year to rebuild and nest again, demonstrating the strong site fidelity common among bald eagles once a territory is established. Their persistence ultimately resulted in success during their fourth nesting attempt in 2026.
 
“Despite not having any success for the last three years, the young bald eagle pair never gave up,” Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center Coordinator Elizabeth Schultz-Correll said. “Finally, on their fourth attempt, they were successful! Their one and only chick fledged the nest on, Sunday, June 21, 2026.”
 
Fledging is the stage in a young bird’s development when it leaves the nest and can fly for the first time. For bald eagles specifically, fledging typically occurs when the eaglet is large enough and its flight feathers are developed enough to support sustained flight. Once fledged, eaglets continue to rely on their parents for several weeks as it develops essential survival skills.
 
“Bald eagles hatch covered in light-gray down feathers,” Schultz said. “They gain a mottled brown and white appearance as their juvenile plumage grows in. They will grow their iconic white head and tail feather around five years of age.”
 
Once common throughout North America, bald eagles experienced severe population declines in the mid-to-late 20th century because of habitat loss, hunting, and the widespread use of pesticides such as DDT, which caused reproductive failure. By 1978, the species was protected under the Endangered Species Act.
 
Following the banning of DDT and decades of conservation efforts, populations began to recover significantly. By the late 1990s, breeding pairs were once again established across much of North America, and in 2007 the species was removed from the federal Endangered Species List. It remains protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
 
The Holland Ponds bald eagle nest immediately became a point of community pride, with local observers and photographers documenting the pair’s nesting activity over multiple seasons. In 2023, more than 3,500 votes were cast in the poll to name the pair. Local wildlife photographer Dennis LaVergne has been providing the township with regular updates on the nest including the first photos of the new eaglet taking flight.   
 
The noteworthy nesting of Peter and Sarah even helped lead the township to amend the name of its annual Great Blue Heron Festival to Migratory Bird Day to encompass the eagles, herons and the many other migratory birds that call Holland Ponds and Shelby Township home.
 
Holland Ponds Park has a long environmental history that makes the achievement especially significant. Once associated with industrial impacts that included in federal cleanup efforts tied to its designation as a Superfund site, the area has since been restored into a healthy natural habitat.
 
“Among all of the 1,300 acres of public parks in Shelby Township, the success of Holland Ponds is a special point of pride,” Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Director Joe Youngblood said. “Our residents and staff take great pride in all of our parks but knowing that we’ve helped rehabilitate a piece of land where it can sustain nesting American bald eagles says a lot about our commitment to environmental stewardship.”
 
Today, Holland Ponds supports wetlands, woodlands, and a wide range of wildlife species such as the eagles and nesting great blue herons, serving as an important ecological asset within the community. The successful nesting of bald eagles is an indicator of the park’s strong environmental recovery, as the species requires clean water, stable food sources, and undisturbed nesting areas.
 
“As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, conservation success stories like this are a reminder of the hard work we have put into protecting our country’s vital natural resources,” Schultz said.