By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
An annual event in at the Loess Bluffs Wildlife Refuge gives everyone a chance to observe the majesty of the nation's bird, the bald eagle.
Eagle Days returns this weekend, an event that has run for the past 43 years, running tomorrow and Sunday.
Park Ranger Nikki Horne says the event is a outstanding family event that draws large crowds to the refuge every year.
"There's crafts, food for sale, there's videos, all kinds of exhibits related to eagles and other wildlife on the refuge, just a lot of fun packed into one weekend," Horne tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. "We have seen up to 5,000 people visit the refuge on this weekend."
The event will run from 9am to 4pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday at the refuge just outside of Mound City.
During the event guided bus tours of the refuge will also be offered. Horne says one other event during Eagle Days will be the return of the eagle show, this year hosted by the World Bird Sanctuary.
"They'll have the eagles out with them, they're handlers, and so they will just go through their script basically, they'll talk about the history, the changes in populations, how we got to be where we are right now, and bring back that bald eagle population," Horne explains.
Eagle shows will be given every hour on the hour starting at 9am tomorrow and at 11am on Sunday.
Horn says this time of year is a popular time to begin seeing eagles migrate and land at the refuge as they move south.
"Our record is, late December (and) early January, we've had over 833 eagles surveyed on the refuge, which is strictly on about 7500 acres," Horne says. "So, it's a great weekend to not only attend the live eagle show, and read the exhibits, and watch the videos and learn about them, but you can get out on the refuge and see them up close and personal as well."
