Bald Eagle Days Feature Raptor Viewing

The annual Bald Eagle Days, January 24-26, will feature viewing bald eagles and other wildlife along the Boise River. Bald Eagle Day, the signature event of the annual festivities, runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 26, at the Barber Park Environmental Education and Special Events Center, 4049 Eckert Road, Boise. This free, family-oriented event includes wildlife viewing along the Boise River with Audubon Society volunteers, presentations featuring live bald eagles and other birds of prey, hands-on educational raptor displays and presentations on falconry and Boise River ecology. Thursday and Friday, January 24 and 25, nearly 500 Treasure Valley students will visit Barber Park to learn about the Boise River and its importance to local wildlife. Live raptors and educational activities will foster awareness and a stewardship ethic for the river and its wildlife habitat during this educational event. Bald Eagle Days was organized nearly 10 years ago to celebrate the Barber Pool Conservation Area, which covers 700 acres on the Boise River, six miles east of downtown Boise. Comprising public and private lands, Barber Pool is one of the last remaining intact black cottonwood stands within the rapidly-urbanizing Boise area. The conservation area hosts some 200 species of birds, and more than 60 species of reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Bald eagles can be seen almost daily during the winter in the conservation area. Today, the event celebrates the entire Boise River and the resources it provides for Boise residents. Bald Eagle Days, which has been at the Shakespeare Festival Center for the past 10 years, was moved to Barber Park this year to accommodate a larger event. The event is presented by Boise State University's Idaho Bird Observatory in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Conservation League and the Golden Eagle Audubon Society. Other organizations involved include the Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands, Ada County Parks and Waterways, Idaho Pacific Lumber Co., the Bureau of Land Management, Foothills Learning Center, and the Morrison Knudsen Nature Center. For information about Bald Eagle Days visit http://baldeagledays.blogspot.com.