LAWRENCE, Kan.— Looking for something different to do this winter? Come enjoy our national bird, the bald eagle, at the Kaw Valley Eagles Day in Lawrence on Saturday, January 19, or venture out to the Perry Lake Eagles Day on Saturday, January 26.
The Kaw Valley and Perry Lake Eagles Days are your opportunities to see these birds up close and learn more about them. The Kaw Valley program in Lawrence runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 19. It will be held at the Free State High School at 6th Street and Wakarusa. There will be numerous hands-on activities for kids, as well as presentations on the nesting successes in Kansas, live eagles with other Kansas raptors, and a presentation on the restoration efforts of the black-footed ferret in Kansas. There will be guided bald eagle field trips to Clinton Lake beginning at 10:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., with free bus transportation leaving from the Free State High School.
The Perry Eagles Day will be held at the Perry American Legion at 410 Perry Place in Perry, Kan., beginning at 9 a.m. This program will feature a presentation on the nesting successes in Kansas to include live eagles, along with the black-footed restoration in Kansas presentation, followed by a guided field trip to observe bald eagles at Perry Lake. Both programs are free and open to all ages.
Bald eagles are found only in North America. At one time it is believed there were as many as 50,000 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states when the bird was adopted as our national symbol in 1782, but habitat destruction, contamination of their food source and illegal shooting caused a significant reduction in the bald eagle population. By 1963, their numbers had decreased to about 2,000 with only 417 nesting pairs. Protection efforts over the years have made an incredible improvement in bald eagle numbers. In 2011 there were more than 10,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states.
Historically bald eagles probably nested along rivers in Kansas but no records were ever kept. In 1989 the first successful bald eagle nest in Kansas was documented at Clinton Lake near Lawrence. When one of these young from that first Clinton Lake nest matured, he brought his mate to Perry Lake in 1994 and began nesting in the area every year afterwards. Throughout the years, Perry Lake has had four active nests that have produced 64 eaglets. The Clinton Lake eagles that began nesting in 1989 are still producing young, and in 2012, the number of active nests at Clinton was four with 128 eaglets fledged. Statewide there have been 71 known nesting territories since 1989 with 705 eaglets fledged.
For more information you can contact Perry Lake Corps of Engineers office at (785) 597-5144. See you there!
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