Penguins, raptors join Eagles Et Cetera lineup

The eagle may be the title character, but it's not the only star in DeGray Lake Resort State Park's Eagles Et Cetera weekend, Friday-Sunday.

As the park's chief interpreter Dru Edmonds explains, the weekend is "a really neat celebration of our nation's symbol, a really unique opportunity to get up-close and personal with these birds and to learn about their history and the incredible recovery that they've made over the years."

Special tours, guided hikes and programs will look at the habitats, recovery programs and day-to-day lives of bald eagles but the lineup of activities goes well beyond that to include other wintertime Arkansas birds -- and a pair of birds that aren't Arkansas birds so much as they're transplant residents. One of the major focuses for the celebration is on conservation and recovery of endangered species and this year, the park is welcoming penguins.

Two black-footed South African penguins from the Little Rock Zoo will make the trip to DeGray for "Penguins: A Plan for Survival," a special program that will address the threats facing the birds and the breeding efforts to rebuild the population.

Edmonds says, "We thought we'd expand our view a little bit and bring that information to our guests and let them know while the bald eagle is in pretty good shape, there are other birds out there that are endangered that need a little attention as well."

Beyond eagles and penguins, there are nighttime prowls and hikes seeking owls and other nocturnal birds.

The park's convention center will host a series of programs with birds of prey -- hawks, owls, eagles and raptors -- in which people can learn about the birds and the efforts to save them.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Rodney Paul, owner of Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas, will have birds on hand to demonstrate healing injured birds.

Then there's the falconry. Falconry is an ancient art form and sport that has played a major role in falcon rehabilitation over the years. Falconer Rusty Scarborough will demonstrate a real hunt with a hawk at the lake, 2 p.m. Friday. Admission is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required starting at noon today. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Scarborough will give a presentation to a larger audience in the convention center.

"It does speak to the history of using these birds, their relationship with people and cultures over thousands of years," Edmonds says. "It helps you understand that sport."

The eagle lake tours remain a significant part of the weekend, with tours spread out over the three days, and Edmonds says that so far, the season has been on par with previous years.

"We've had great luck with all of our weekend tours being able to find eagles."

The tours do have admission fees ($10, $6 for children ages 6-12) and reservations are required, starting the day before. Edmonds recommends people look at the schedule of events, decide which programs they want to attend, then make reservations for the tour that fits in best. There are package deals for lodging and meals that include first-dibs on tour reservations.

Ultimately, guests will learn more about the various winter birds of Arkansas, how they live and how they can be protected and then the lesson of the bald eagle can be applied to other endangered species.

Edmonds says, "We don't often remember that it was only 40 t0 50 years ago that we had practically zero eagles in the state of Arkansas and now we have several thousand. I think it's a good reminder of what we can do when we're paying attention."

Weekend on 01/28/2016