Visitors Learn About Big Birds At Army Corps’ Eagle Days

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — Karla Zeutenhorst, park ranger with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, has organized 11 “Eagle Days” since she became the Lewis & Clark Visitor Center manager. The center is located on Highway 121 west of Yankton above Gavins Point Power Plant. The Corps sponsored the event with help from National Park Service staff.

She organized eight raptor presentations over two days and 856 visitors of all ages attended this year. The annual event is held the last weekend in January. Visitors came from Yankton, Sioux Falls, Tea, Lennox, Amour, Woonsocket, Tyndall, Irene, Vermillion, Elk Point, Lemars, Battle Creek, Correctionville, Hartington, Wausu, Ponca, Crofton and Norfolk.

“People come here to see a bald eagle up close but also to be in this environment,” Zeutenhorst told the Yankton Press and Dakotan ( ). “We’re on a bluff over the Missouri River.”

The center panoramic windows are a perfect design for viewing eagles in flight.

“Nature cooperated this time and we had eagles flying by us, sitting in trees, and fishing below Gavins Point Dam. This year we had a good snow geese migration and eagles follow them,” Zeutenhorst said.

Eagles eat fish from the open water but also geese, ducks, other animals and carrion.

“In winter, eagles want to be close to a food source,” she said.

Now is a great time to observe eagles with the center’s spotting scopes. The center does not charge admission, is handicapped accessible, and open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 406-667-2546.

“Once they nest, you don’t see them as much. They stay on the nest and don’t tolerate other eagles near the nest,” she said. “When spring thaw comes, eagles go.”

Those attending the Eagle Days event enjoyed the experience.

“We come every year,” said Madison Reisner, a fifth grader at Beadle Elementary in Yankton. “We see all the birds — owls and eagles. We see some different birds every year. I like it when they feed the animals.”

She has attended Eagle Days four or five times. Her dad is quite interested in birds and they talk about it later, she said.

Isaac Wunder, a second grader from Armour, said his dad awoke him at 6:27 a.m. that morning to make the trip. His younger brother, the rest of his family, his cousins and his grandparents also came to see bald eagles.

“I’ll be looking for raptors,” Isaac said. “They eat meat and have talons and a sharp beak. I want to know what eagles do through the seasons.”

After the presentation, Isaac said, “I got to see all different kinds of raptors. I saw a bald eagle, peregrine falcon, an owl and a red-tailed hawk.”

Nathan Wunder, Isaac’s dad, explained a part of his son’s interest and the family trip here.

“There’s a kindergarten teacher in Armour, Mrs. Preheim. She’s an avid bird watcher. She teaches and relates it through birds,” Nathan said.

“When Isaac was in kindergarten and (his brother) Grant was in preschool, Grant got interested in it already. Now that Grant is in kindergarten, Isaac is still interested. We go to the dam and bird refuge at Fort Randall where there are eagles, too, with the open water like here.”

Another attendee, Dalton Zeutenhorst, is a freshman at River Valley High School in Correctionville, Iowa, and came to see the presentation with his family. Dalton, who is Karla’s grandson, attended Eagle Days a few years ago and thought he might see how eagles and other raptors live throughout the year.

After the presentation, he said, “I didn’t know the actual name ‘peregrine falcon,’ only the generic name. They talked about the artic owl and its differences. I was surprised they sprayed water in the mouth of the owl because its feathers made it hot.”

He added: “They said not to use lead shot, instead copper or aluminum. People buy lead because it’s cheaper. But eagles (or other raptors) eat leftovers from a killed deer and lead affects their brains.”

In fact, one of the raptors in the presentation had lost its sight due to lead poisoning and couldn’t be returned to the wild. It is now used in educational presentations.

As an interpreter for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Karla Zeutenhorst informs the public about the agency’s environmental mission. Carol Ryan, the former center manager, started Eagle Days and Zeutenhorst has continued it since 2003. She works with raptor rehabilitation centers in Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa to bring in the birds for presentations. Different raptor centers, different presenters or programs, and different birds keep Eagle Days new each year.

“We always have the bald eagle, but also have had American kestrels, rough-legged hawk, every kind of owl you can think of, and turkey vultures. They’re temperamental, by the way,” she said.

Eagles were removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007, but are still protected by Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

“Most animals are protected unless there is a hunting season on them, Zeutenhorst said. “Both laws project eagles from killing, selling or harming eagles or their nest or eggs.”

Zeutenhorst suggests alternatives to learn about eagles in a safe and responsible way. For observing live eagles as they nest this season, search online for the Decorah Eagle Cam. To learn more about eagles she recommends the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks “Eyeing Eagles in South Dakota” brochure at: https://gfp.sd.gov/outdoor-learning/bald-eagle-awareness-days/eagle_brochure2007.pdf.

This year, Saving Our Avian Resources (SOAR) — a raptor rehabilitation, education and research center in Denham, Iowa, east of Sioux City — gave the presentations with their raptors. Zeutenhorst said that audience feedback was positive and the SOAR staff was enthusiastic to be here.

“(SOAR) presenters are proponents of using non-lead shot when hunting,” she said. “SOAR isn’t anti-hunting. It’s about (lead) we are using that has an affect the Bald Eagle and other birds that scavenge.”

As part of her conservation efforts, Zeutenhorst works with conservation officers from Nebraska Game and Parks and South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks who find dead raptors.

“X-rays (sometimes) show they ingested lead shot, and then tests show they had lead poisoning. Raptors are scavengers and a deer carcass is great for them,” she said. Lead fishing weights another source of scavenger lead poisoning.

Baby owls fallen from nests are another raptor problem Zeutenhorst hears about. She suggests leaving them alone. Keep cats and dogs away, and let the mother owl care for the birds.

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Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan,