Teatown Lake Reservation Eaglefest is always a good event to catch.
It was packed full of people and full of amazing animal ambassadors. While I got there a bit on the later side, I still got to see 4 shows and browse through the main tent at all the booths. I attempted to see the 12 pm show, Close Encounters with Wintering Eagles and Owls with Bill Streeter, however, the line was so amazingly long I opted to wait for the next show. I was happy I did as I was able to sneak in and see the Hudson Valley Wildlife show put on by Teatown. They had a number of their animal ambassadors there including the black rat snake, snapping turtle, owl, falcon, and opossum. It was a great show and the kids were able to see the animals up close as the presenter brought them all around. Watching the opossum enjoy her afternoon snack was a lot of fun!
It was packed full of people and full of amazing animal ambassadors. While I got there a bit on the later side, I still got to see 4 shows and browse through the main tent at all the booths. I attempted to see the 12 pm show, Close Encounters with Wintering Eagles and Owls with Bill Streeter, however, the line was so amazingly long I opted to wait for the next show. I was happy I did as I was able to sneak in and see the Hudson Valley Wildlife show put on by Teatown. They had a number of their animal ambassadors there including the black rat snake, snapping turtle, owl, falcon, and opossum. It was a great show and the kids were able to see the animals up close as the presenter brought them all around. Watching the opossum enjoy her afternoon snack was a lot of fun!
Once I got out of that show, I ran out to try and make the line to the bird show before it was too long, it was no use. Once again it wrapped around the tents. Oh well, I stood in line and waited my turn. I still got a seat and was able to get some great shots anyway!
The first show was a repeat of Close Encounters with Wintering Eagles and Owls with Bill Streeter, that I had missed before. Bill is the owner of the Delaware Valley Raptor Center in Milford, PA. He was very educational and had some truly magnificent birds to show the audience including the giant golden eagle in one of the photos below. So amazing!
Next show was Birds of Prey with Brian Robinson. I was able to get some really great video of his show with the owl eating a mouse and the huge turkey vulture spreading his wings. Brian’s love of his birds and excitement at educating others about them was genuine and infectious. He gave a young man the opportunity to hold and walk down the aisle with a small falcon on his hand. He believes in educating the young about these animals so they will have a love for them and become environmental stewards, helping to keep them safe and healthy in the wild.
The last show I saw was The Flight of the Raptor with James Eyring who works in the Pace University Environmental Science division. He brought out similar birds that we saw before but was able to do some small flight demonstrations in the tent. Unfortunately, the rain that had started by this time outside prevented us from seeing any further flights for the day. All in all, it was a very enjoyable show and the audience was able to see a lot of beautiful raptors and be educated about them as well.
