FREEPORT — A sure sign of spring, a male osprey has arrived at the popular Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport. The wild bird seems to be causing a bit of a stir, park officials said Wednesday.

The osprey landed at Googins Island on Tuesday night and made himself at home in his nest, Park Manager Andy Hutchinson said in a news release.

“The neighbors came by to check him out,” Hutchinson said. As Hutchinson watched, three immature bald eagles flew past in formation and checked out the just-arrived osprey.

“I’ve never seen that before,” said Hutchinson, a well-known naturalist. “Perhaps they were siblings from a nearby nest. When they got too close, (the osprey) took off and went right after them.”

The seacoast park has had two nesting pairs of osprey for several years. The birds, which can be easily viewed by park visitors, have been a favorite attraction at the park, which is owned and managed by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

The ospreys return each spring. The birds mate for life and spend the winter separately in more southern climes, such as Brazil. The male’s arrival is right on schedule; he typically shows up the last week of March or the first week of April, Hutchinson said. The female should arrive within a week, he said, to be followed by the other male and female.

One pair always returns to the nest high in a pine on Googins Island, just off the park’s shore. The other pair nests in a tree on the mainland.

The island nest is intact with no winter damage, Hutchinson said. Soon, the male will add twigs to the nest, then the pair will mate and the female will lay two to three eggs.

Both parent ospreys care for the young. The adults rotate the eggs, sit on them, take turns bringing food to the nest and later hunt for food for the newly hatched chicks.

The ospreys’ arrival is just in time for the park’s first “Osprey Watch” interpretive program. A spotting scope will be set up. The event will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 8. For more information, call the park at 207-865-4465.

The second annual “Feathers Over Freeport,” an all-ages birding event featuring numerous activities, will be held April 28-29 at Wolfe’s Neck Woods and Bradbury Mountain state parks. An osprey watch will be part of the activities.

For more information about Maine state parks, Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park and park events, go to www.parksandlands.com.

For more information about “Feathers Over Freeport,” go to www.maine.gov/feathersoverfreeport.