Kaw Lake Ultimate Eagle Watch Saturday

All programs are subject to change depending on the weather. In case of ice or snow, please phone before heading for the Ultimate Eagle Watch. For additional information, phone: 877-671-6985 or 580-762-9494 or go to www.kawlake.com For Information on the Eagle Watch by Horseback phone Rick Boyd, 580-716-7425.

The Ultimate Eagle Watch is presented by the Kaw Lake Association, Kaw Lake Educational Foundation, City of Kaw City, Kaw Nation, Kaw Enterprise Development Authority, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Phillips 66, Shidler Public Schools, Sutton Avian Research Foundation, and Ponca City Energy.

Synopsis of Ultimate Eagle Watch Programs

Kaw City Community Center

9- 9:45 am -History of the Eagle and Its Habitat, Mark Howery, ODWC

In this presentation, Mark Howery, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation biologist, will discuss the history of the eagle and its habitat. Mark will give great explanations and reasons why eagles choose their habitats, not just opinion, but scientific reasoning!

10 – 10:45 am – Identifying the Bald Eagle, Gene Young

Gene Young, professor at NOC in the Agricultural, Science and Engineering Department is hooked on natural history and birds. He has a fantastic series of pictures that show the bald eagle in its stages of development. They aren’t born with that white head we all look for, but rather develop it over time. Learn to spot the bald eagle, and ways to tell it from other birds such as hawks and golden eagles.

11 am-11:45 pm – Sutton Avian Research Center with live eagle, Ryan VanZant.

Ryan will have with him one of the bald eagles that lives in captivity at the center. This is a highlight of the Eagle Watch for all ages. These eagles for health reasons will never be released back into the wild and are used now for educational programs. Between 1984 and 1992 the Sutton Center in Bartlesville raised and released 275 Southern Bald Eagles in the southeastern U.S. Each year they conduct aerial and ground surveys in the vicinity of Oklahoma release sites to determine nest occupancy rates and productivity. Since 1990, the number of Bald Eagle nests in Oklahoma has increased almost annually to a record 55 nests in 2005. Partially as a result of efforts at the Sutton Avian Research Center, the Bald Eagle population in most areas of the U.S. had increased sufficiently for the U. S. Fish and W ildlife Service to remove the Bald Eagle from the Endangered Species List in June of 2007.

Kaw Nation Learning Center

9-9:45 am – Importance of Eagle to Native Americans, Luther Pepper

Most all Native American Indian Peoples attach special significance to the Eagle and its feathers. Images of eagles and their feathers are used on many tribal logos as symbols of the Native American Indian. To be given an Eagle feather is the highest honor that can be awarded within indigenous cultures. This and other information along with examples will be shown by Kaw Nation elder Luther Pepper.

10-10:45 am – Injured Wildlife, Dr. Joao Brandao and Ian Kanda

Who treats injured wildlife? The Zoological Medicine Service Center for Veterinary Health Science at Oklahoma State University does, and they train veterinarians as well. Learn about common intoxications, diseases, and injuries that have been presented to these veterinarians at their wildlife rehabilitation program.

Kaw City School

Programs at this location have been selected to appeal to our younger guests.

9-9:45 am – Sanctuary Work, Exotics, Ciara Utech, Adansonia Wildlife

Director of the Adansonia Wildlife Center in Nardin, Ciara Utech has worked with animals since she was nine.

"It’s a passion I can’t begin to describe," she says on her Linked In page.

Why do sanctuaries exist? There are so many exotics that we bring into the United States, and when they get too big or bothersome and we no longer want to keep them as our pets, we release them. That action can result in invasive species.

This is the purpose of sanctuary work. She will talk about invasive and non-native species and their impacts on other species and the environment.

10-10:45 am – The Sport of Falconry, Kent Carbaugh

Any person licensed for falconry in the State of Oklahoma must also possess a federal falconry permit, and be in full compliance of federal and state falconry regulations.

Kent will bring his hawk and talk about falconry as a sport. Falconry has been around for centuries and can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Falconers were some of the first raptor (birds of prey) vets. They were also important to the recovery of species like the bald eagle that were nearly made extinct by the actions of humans.