Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Puxico, Missouri - The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Duck Creek Conservation Area will host the popular “Eagle Days” event for the public on Saturday, February 2nd from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Both areas are located on highway 51, just north of Puxico, Missouri. All activities begin at Mingo’s Maintenance Shop.
Peter Rea of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said, “This “Eagle Days” event is a great way of celebrating the successful recovery of our National Symbol and we hope that many people can come out to enjoy the day.”
Rea said, “The majestic bald eagle is one of our country’s greatest conservation success stories because as recently as the early 1960s, they were an extremely uncommon site in Missouri and the rest of the lower 48 states.”
Pat Holloway, Missouri Department of Conservation Education Consultant said, “Many area schools have signed up to bring 1,160 students to the area on Friday to view the symbolic bird in its natural habitat.”
“We allow schools to bring classes a day early, so school children have the opportunity and also to lessen the crowd on Saturday,” continued Holloway.
The Eagle Days event is packed with learning opportunities such as exhibits at Mingo’s Visitor Center, live eagle presentations and chances to view bald eagles in the wild. The event is held every other year and jointly coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Missouri Department of Conservation.
Due to the cold weather and frozen conditions in more northern areas, bald eagles return to Southeast Missouri in January and February to fish and hunt.
The bald eagle is considered native to Missouri and thanks to restoration efforts, is now observed nearly statewide. Missouri now has more than 120 active eagle’s nests and the birds were removed from the federal government’s endangered species list with over 7,000 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states.
For more information on bald eagles in Missouri, go online to mdc.mo.gov. for more information about the Eagle Days event, contact Mingo National Wildlife Refuge at 573-222-3589.
