Popular EagleFest to Return to Live Programming at Croton Point Park
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For the first time in three years, those who love seeing bald eagles and other birds of prey won’t have to settle for watching them on their computer. Teatown Lake Reservation and Westchester County announced last week that the popular EagleFest at Croton Point Park will be returning live this year on Saturday, Feb. 4 after two years of virtual programming due to the pandemic. This year will be the 19th annual event, which is part celebration of the bald eagle’s return to the Hudson Valley and an opportunity to educate students and the general public who attend.
“It’s a great event because it brings people together and it brings them together in celebration of an environmental success story, which is bringing the eagle back from the brink, really, as little as 30 years ago, and that’s through the efforts of all of you,” said Kevin Carter, executive director at Teatown.
For visitors, the day features bird-of-prey shows, demonstrations, nature workshops and educational programming in addition to looking out over the Hudson River to spot bald eagles in their natural habitat after disappearing from the area for about a century. Their numbers dwindled due largely to the widespread use of the insecticide DDT and other chemicals.
EagleFest is also a boon to Westchester County, since it has attracted 4,000 to 5,000 visitors to Croton Point Park, a county facility, when the weather cooperates. The park also represents a sort of reclamation project for the county, having been the site of a landfill many years ago.
County Executive George Latimer said residents from one end of the county to the other as well as from elsewhere throughout the tristate area help make EagleFest a day to remember.
“This fabulous park, which was once a site to dump garbage, has become now one of the great jewels of Westchester County,” Latimer said. “So for those who preceded me in office who saw the value here, and now we see it realized in something like EagleFest year after year, it’s really a wonderful thing.”
Last week’s announcement at Croton Point Park saw wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath speak to first-graders from Ossining’s Brookside Elementary School about the bald eagle. He brought Montana, a 12-year-old male eagle who was injured when he was young and was nursed back to health by Horvath, although the bird was unable to be released back into the wild because of his injuries.
Horvath will return on Feb. 4 for EagleFest with Montana and will be joined by a roster of experts and presenters on a wide range of bird- and environmental-related topics.
County Parks Commissioner Kathleen O’Connor said to have the event return to its full slate of programming and in person is an added boost this year.
“We are very excited to be doing this live,” O’Connor said. “I know we were trying to keep this going over the last two years through the pandemic. It’s really an awesome program. When the children go into that auditorium or a tent, and they get to see not only Montana but all the other things, I mean I’ve seen it probably about eight times and I’m still in awe.”
EagleFest will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Croton Point Park on Feb. 4. Th snow date is Feb. 5. Anyone attending is encouraged to dress for the weather. Food trucks and some educational activities, including wild eagle spotting and bird walks, will take place outdoors.
Pre-sale tickets are $30 for adults (12 years old and up), $17 for children 3-11 years old and free for children under three. Member tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children. Tickets sold at the venue on the day of the event are $35 for adults and $18 for children. For more information, including tickets and the schedule of events, visit teatown.org/eaglefest.
Croton Point Park is located at 1 Croton Point Ave. in Croton-on-Hudson and is located near the Metro-North train station.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
