Bald eagle named Mr. President and mate waiting for egg to hatch at the National Arboretum

Bald eagles living in the National Arboretum are rearing an egg that could hatch into an eaglet this month, according to District of Columbia officials.

Rese Cloyd, associate director of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment’s Fisheries and Wildlife Division, told Washington’s WTOP-FM that “it does seem like there is at least one egg in the nest, and we think that egg was laid around March 21.”

The male named Mr. President has lived at the National Arboretum since 2014 when he and his first mate, named The First Lady, moved in, becoming the first eagles at the D.C. nature park since 1947, according to the American Eagle Foundation. 

The First Lady eventually flew the coop, and Lotus, which stands for Lady of the United States, moved in during the 2021-22 nesting season, the American Eagle Foundation said.

Mr. President and The First Lady successfully produced eaglets from 2014 to 2018, while Mr. President and Lotus did so in 2022, 2023 and 2024, according to WTOP.

Ms. Cloyd told the radio station that the egg should hatch by the end of April if it contains an eaglet. The baby bird could be among Mr. President’s last; Ms. Cloyd said that “he is at least 17 years old, so that is kind of on the older side. Bald eagles typically live to be about 20 in the wild.”