Bald Eagle Days Feature Raptor Viewing

The 12th annual Bald Eagle Days, January 29, will feature events for all ages, including 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 29, at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, 5657 Warm Springs Ave. 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 27 and 28, Treasure Valley school groups are invited to Barber Pool Conservation Area 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. Viewing stations will be staffed by Audubon Society volunteers and there will be informative presentations featuring bald eagles and other live birds of prey, hands-on educational activities and environmental booths hosted by local organizations. All will take place within the 700-acre natural reserve of public and private land along the Boise River, six miles east of downtown Boise. Barber Pool's black cottonwoods, wetlands and uplands are home to more than 200 bird species and more than 60 species of reptiles, amphibians and mammals. And the area is one of the last remaining intact black cottonwood stands within the rapidly-urbanizing Boise area. It is also ideal habitat for wintering bald eagles, and eagles can be seen almost daily during the winter months. The event is presented by Boise State University's Idaho Bird Observatory in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Golden Eagle Audubon Society. Other organizations involved include the Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands, Idaho Parks and Recreation, Idaho Environmental Education Association and the Morrison Knudsen Nature Center. For information about Bald Eagle Days visit http://baldeagledays.blogspot.com.