CAMDEN – The eagle has flown.

In Camden this summer, everyone knows which eagle that is.

Curtis Island, which sits at the mouth of busy Camden Harbor, has been home this spring and summer to a pair of bald eagles that produced one offspring. Though plenty of people are pleased to see the once-endangered species thriving, the presence of the nesting eagles meant a little adjusting for the town.

The island is a popular spot for kayakers to stop. In addition to stretching their legs, paddlers can enjoy looking at the island’s lighthouse and views of Penobscot Bay from the bluffs.

But since the nest was discovered, the island has been off-limits to the public. Only the couple who serve as lighthouse caretakers have had access to the island.

And on the Fourth of July, the town’s traditional fireworks display had to be canceled for fear of disturbing the young bird.

Keel Kemper, a wildlife biologist at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said the island once again is open to the public, but stressed that visitors should give the eagle nest a wide berth. The nest is on the southwest side of the island, but not near the shore.

“What we’re trying to do is sort of give the bird more of an opportunity to develop its flight wings,” Kemper said Tuesday.

“There’s two periods that are critical,” he said.

The first is when the female prepares to lay her eggs. The second, more important phase is after the bird hatches.

“A disturbance can cause what we call a ‘jumper,'” Kemper said.

The young bird, believing it is threatened by the presence of people, tries to fly away to safety, but cannot. Instead, it falls to the ground, where it can be injured or killed.

Even without the presence of people, the fledgling took a premature flight, he said.

“This bird did jump. It sort of crashed and burned down into the bushes,” Kemper said, “and it was found hanging upside down.”

The lighthouse caretakers helped right the bird, but then left it on the ground for its parents, which is the recommended course of action.

The immature bald eagle now is flying to the mainland and back regularly, Kemper said, “so the critical time has passed.”

The eagles may return to Curtis Island next spring. Some eagles have four or five alternative nesting sites, he said.

“It would be nice if [the pair] didn’t pick that nest,” Kemper said.