Real eagles attend every home game. They’ll watch the Super Bowl at Elmwood Park zoo

As the Eagles fly off to Super Bowl battle against the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend, two steadfast members of the Birds establishment will be here at home, rooting for the Lombardi Trophy to be brought to its rightful perch.

Meet Noah and Reggie, the Eagles’ official live mascots and education ambassadors of the Elmwood Park Zoo.

If you’re a regular at Eagles games, chances are you know them already. These bald eagles, the heart of the decade-long live mascot program, are a crowd-pleasing presence at Lincoln Financial Field throughout the season.

Their many duties, which they take turns filling, are different from those of Lincoln, the Tennessee bird from the American Eagle Foundation, who is brought to Philly to perform the pregame field fly-overs.

“We attend every home game,” said Laura Soder, the Norristown zoo’s assistant director for education and lead eagle trainer. “We’re always out on the plaza for about three hours before kickoff to be with guests and let people come up nice and close and get photos and talk to us. Our goal is to let people see the eagles in a way they probably wouldn’t get to.”

But that’s not all. Noah and Reggie attend Eagles training camps, too. They also come to a host of other team-sponsored special functions, like events for autism awareness and holidays like Halloween and Christmas.

“It’s pretty much anything that the Eagles are hosting that they want their live mascots for, we’re there,” Soder said. The program began at the request of the Eagles organization.

Usually Noah and Reggie’s duties involve mixing with the public, but Soder said they have met some of the players, too, like the time Jason Kelce stopped by with one of his daughters at a team event.

Last Saturday, Noah, the older of the two eagles, took part in a rousing pep rally at the Elmwood Park Zoo. Joining him in whipping up Super Bowl spirit were former Eagles Brian Dawkins (a.k.a. Weapon X) and Hollis Thomas, fellow mascot Swoop, and, of course, lots and lots of passionate fans.

It takes a special bird do this kind of work. Both of these eagles showed the temperament to deal well with the team’s human fans. And each of them has a history of Cam Jurgens-like fortitude and resilience.

Noah, now 24 years old, was only eight weeks old when he suffered an 80-foot fall from his nest and landed on his head. He spent the first year of his life recovering from brain and eye injuries at Tufts University’s Hospital for Large Animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts.

He lost an eye and was deemed unfit to be released back to the wild.

But during a several-years stint at a rehabilitation facility, he showed a talent for working with humans in educational programs. In 2008, Noah made the trade out of Patriots territory and came to Elmwood, where he joined the zoo’s Education Ambassador program, teaching people about wildlife conservation.

He has been an Eagles official live mascot since 2013.

Reggie, 14, came to Elmwood from the Raptor Education Group Inc., a Wisconsin rehabilitation center, in 2011. Young Reggie was brought to the rehab after he was hit by a truck. Part of his left wing had to be amputated, leaving him unable to fly.

Not yet believed to be a Packers fan, Reggie at first spent several years as part of the eagle flock at Elmwood’s Eagle Canyon. But then the keepers noticed his docile and “nice guy” demeanor and decided that he would be a great fit for their Education Ambassador program. He joined that in 2018 and made his debut as an Eagles mascot in 2019.

For the sake of the birds and the people who come to enjoy their company, the Eagles mascots go through their own version of training camp.

“We want to make sure they’re safe and content, so we spend a lot of time practicing and prepping,” Soder said. “A lot of times, people don’t realize how much training it takes to actually have an animal sit still, especially in a really chaotic situation like the plaza. We do a lot of work making sure those birds are comfortable in those kinds of situations.”

In addition, she said, the handlers who accompanied the eagles are well-trained in bird body language to detect signs of discomfort or the animals getting startled.

Noah and Reggie seem to enjoy their duties as mascots.

“Eagles have incredible eyesight, so they really like to see things and look at different things,” Soder said. “It’s really good enrichment for them to have a new location and different stimulation from what they normally would have.”

And, of course, their appearances always mean lots of treats. In the case of eagles, that is usually frozen bits of rat. Big yum for these guys.

Noah got to pose back in 2018 with the Lombardi Trophy after the Eagles beat the New England Patriots in that year’s Super Bowl. He looked like he felt like he belonged. Could he and Reggie get that photo op this year?

From their beaks to God’s ears.

While the Big Easy — and history — beckons, it’s time for some well-deserved R&R for the feathered duo.

“They actually get to go on vacation,” Soder said. “As soon as the Super Bowl is over, that next week, they go on a two-month vacation. They get to eat as much food as they want, and they just get to be really lazy and hang out.

“We do want to give them a break, especially this year. It’s been a very long season.”

Go, Birds. And birds.