Feast For The Eyes At Cumberland County's Winter Eagle Festival
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's a conservation success story: the resurgence of the Bald Eagle. The national bird, along with other native birds of prey, will be celebrated and seen Saturday at the 16th annual Cumberland County Winter Eagle Festival.
Thirty years ago, you would've been hard pressed to see a Bald Eagle outside of a zoo. But thanks to federal and state recovery programs, Jane Morton Galetto, with Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, says that's all changed.
"Originally, we had only one nesting pair left in New Jersey in the 1980's, and now we have over 191 nesting sites."
The Winter Eagle Festival is held in and around Mauricetown, New Jersey, a historic village surrounded by the kind of habitat eagles and other raptors love. Galetto says the day starts with a sunrise walk and ends with an owl watch.
"One thing we're sure to see is lots of eagles, so that's exciting. But we'll see lots of other birds, also," Galetto says. "We'll see Great Blue Herons, Marsh Hawks (also known as Northern Harriers), we might see some owls on the owl walk at night. We might see some, because the owl walk starts when it's still light."
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There'll be presentations throughout the day at the Mauricetown Firehall, where you an also get fried oyster sandwiches and crabcakes. Since some of the walks can be muddy, Galetto suggests you choose your footwear wisely.
"Bring boots," she says, "and bring a dry pair of shoes."
And bring binoculars, if you have them. But if you don't, no worries.
"We'll have a number of people at different viewing stations with telescopes," Galetto says, "and they will help people to see and understand what they're looking at."
Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and under.
To find out more, visit the Cumberland County Winter Eagle Festival's Facebook page.