The eaglet of Jackson and Kindness, a bald eagle pair in Eastlake, has been given the name Erie by community members and members of the American Eagle Foundation.

“It’s a feel good situation,” said Betty Delfosse-Henninger, who is now the Eastlake nest liaison for the nest for the American Eagle Foundation. “It’s getting a big buzz again.”

By being open to the public right from the beginning when cameras were set up in Bruce Yee Park in Eastlake, much interest has been shown toward the eagle pair, Delfosse-Henninger said.

“It’s a feel good situation. It’s getting a big buzz again.”

Betty Delfosse-Henninger, Eastlake nest liaison

“There’s been a community following this all along, so every step of the way, when the eagles decided to move their nest, the community followed that,” she said. “It was a little disheartening, but now we’re able to show them through video and photographs.”

Other names considered from public submissions were Buckeye, Journey, Courage and Elo, Delfosse-Henninger said. From there, the American Eagle Foundation members voted.

“These names really came from our community,” she said. “Buckeye is pretty significant for the state, but there were several entries for Erie.

Those who chose to submit names for the eaglet also had to provide a description in why they chose the name, Delfosse-Henninger said.

“Most of them had the Erie Native American tribe — the first inhabitants of Eastlake, which is significant,” she said. “It’s kind of neat that this eaglet is the first inhabitant eaglet in that nest, so that goes together. There’s so much culture around our city and it’s a really fitting name. I didn’t even think of it, but when we saw the top five, I’m like, that’s a pretty cool name.”

While no gender has been determined, Erie has turned 6 weeks old and is now doing jumps in the nest while flapping its wings, Delfosse-Henninger said.

“It’s all practice toward the day they take off, so he or she is already flapping like crazy. It’s real exciting,” she said.