DEGRAY LAKE -- From eagle watch cruises on the lake to live falcon hunts to a talk about what caused the massive die-off of bald eagles on DeGray Lake in the 1990s, participants of all ages can enjoy the 44th annual Eagles Etc. at DeGray Lake Resort State Park today through Sunday.
Started as a way to help encourage conservation around the bald eagle, Eagles Etc. has grown to include many birds, and even penguins made an appearance at a past event, said David Armstrong, a park interpreter at the state park.
"When the event started ... the bald eagle was at a different state of things," he said. "It was still very much endangered, and so the event was started as a way to highlight and draw attention to the need for conservation, specifically surrounding the bald eagle. Since that time, the bald eagle has seen some ups and downs, not least of which here on DeGray specifically, where we had the big bald eagle die off in the mid '90s.
"Fast forward to 2007, the bald eagle was taken off the endangered species list as a fully recovered species, which is a really big deal in the animal world. Usually, I like to tell people, 'If something comes off that list, more often than not, it means because that critter is now gone, rather than making a recovery.' So the bald eagle, you could say, is kind of the poster child for conservation."
Rusty Scarborough, a master falconer from Louisiana, will be talking about falconry and taking groups on live hunts with the birds. The first hunt will be from 2-4 p.m. today and from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, and it will cost $20 per participant.
"It always strikes the interest of many learning that there are folks out there and around the world that use birds to hunt their prey," Armstrong said. "It's a pretty neat relationship between man and bird."
Scarborough is scheduled to lead two different hunts, Armstrong said.
"He'll be bringing one or more of his birds, and we will actually take a small group of folks that sign up to go out on one of the islands and hunt. Usually, it's going for squirrels, (but) we've stirred up some swamp rabbits in years past. It's always an exciting experience for those that have never been on something like that," he said.
Rodney Paul, the director of Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas, will give a presentation on what the organization does and release a bird, as well.
"He has a recently rehabilitated bald eagle that he plans to release here at the park, probably at the conclusion of his presentation. We're going to make that final announcement here on site, but that's always really exciting when we can release a recovered bald eagle back into the wild," Armstrong said.
Timo Niedermeyer, a professor at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, will be presenting virtually from Germany Saturday at 1 p.m. on his role in discovering the environmental factors that led to the unknown number of eagle deaths on DeGray Lake and around the country in the 1990s.
"A novel offering will be a presentation by one of the scientists who actually was very much involved with getting to the bottom of the culprit for the big bald eagle die-off here on DeGray Lake as well as some of the deaths that were discovered on Lake Ouachita, Lake Greeson, there were a couple there, too," Armstrong said.
"But it all started here at DeGray, and he will actually be presenting virtually from Germany, Zooming into the conference and presenting a presentation that way. So that'll be pretty neat for the more academic or science-minded folks, as well."
The Birds of Prey Show by the Little Rock Zoo will be returning, and there will be bird-themed games and crafts for children in the Eaglets Activity Room.
The Golf Course Safari, which takes participants via golf carts in search of nocturnal creatures, and the Owl Prowl Hike are both night tours, and eagle watch cruises will be held hourly Saturday and Sunday. There will also be an Owl Prowl Adventure Cruise Saturday at 7 p.m. where participants will be taken to a remote cove to "call up some owls and listen to the other sounds of the night," the resort's website said.
Programs are free of charge except for the boat-based tours and golf course safaris.
Tickets for the eagle watch tours and the Owl Prowl Adventure Tour are $14 for adults, $8 for children ages 6-12 and free for children younger than 6. Golf Course Safari tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for children younger than 6, and cart drivers must be at least 18.
Tickets for the tours can be purchased at the lodge or by calling 501-865-5851. Binoculars and cameras are encouraged, and participants should dress warmly for outdoor tours, especially those on the lake.
A full schedule of events can be found by visiting https://www.degray.com and clicking on Events Calendar.