Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days

Organizers hope the recent temperature dip will make it easier for people to watch the bald eagles soar above Keokuk’s riverfront this weekend.

Lee County Conservation Director Tom Buckley says the warmer weather this winter has provided more hunting locations for the eagles.

He says they have been able to travel up and down the Mississippi River because of the open water.

Buckley says as the river starts to freeze, the eagles will start to congregate below Keokuk’s Lock & Dam because the moving water keeps that area open for hunting.

He says that is why colder weather makes it easier to see multiple eagles at one time during Bald Eagle Appreciation Days.

Buckley says the best time to look for bald eagles is at sunrise and sunset.

The weekend includes indoor events also.

 

River City Mall – Saturday & Sunday – 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

- Agency Displays

- Iowa and Keokuk Area Archaeology, Fossils, & Flintknapping

- Children Pioneer Activities with Nauvoo on the Road (Saturday Only)

- Native American Cultural Circle Stage

- Seminars

--- Geodes, More than just a Rock (Sat., 11:00 A.M.)

--- Backyard Maple Syrup Making (Sat., 1:00 P.M.)

--- Bald Eagle Night Roost Study / Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve Frog & Toad Survey (Sat., 2:30 P.M.)

--- 4-H, Building Leaders For Life (Sun., 1:00 P.M.)

--- Avian Window Collision / Turtle Mortality (Sun., 2:30 P.M.)

- Raptor & Reptile Awareness Programs (World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis)

 

Holiday Inn Express – Saturday & Sunday – 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

- Woodcarvers Show (coordinated by the Keokuk Woodcarvers Club)

 

A concert will also be held Saturday at 8:00 P.M. at the South Side Boat Club in Keokuk.

Randy Fish says the Rollin on the River committee has moved its annual winter fundraiser to Bald Eagle Appreciation Days to draw in additional support.

He says “Bald Eagle Blues” will also be used to kick-off its new instrument refurbishing program.

“It is not real cheap to rent an instrument,” says Fish, “so if someone has a financial need and we have an instrument that they would be interested in playing in a high school band program, hopefully we would be able to help them with that.”

Fish says the event will cost $12 for an individual or $20 for a couple, which includes chili.

He says people who donate an instrument, Saturday night, that can be refurbished will receive a ticket to the 2012 Rollin on the River Blues Festival.

You can hear more with Tom Buckley and Randy Fish by clicking the audio links connected to this story.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.