Wednesday, July 01, 2020

Rock City Raptors 2020

Hello All:

We are at Rock City www.seerockcity.com/birds for the 2020 Season with a few changes. Due to Covid 19, we will be doing our presentations behind netting. We will still fly the birds, but not over anyone. Entry into Rock City is now timed, so you have to get a ticket to enter at a certain time. Our show is also an add on ticket. So if you come to Rock City and want to see our shows, please sign up for a specific time. Our shows are at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:30, 1:00 and 2:00 EDT. Seating is limited to 36 people per show.
We are happy to be back at Rock City, even if we are behind the net. Come on up to see us! Take care and be safe!

Dale and John

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Hello 2020 and upcoming presentations

Hello,

Sorry it has been so long since the last post! The Peregrine release went well! The male Apollo stayed around for about a week after release while his sister Artemis hung around for three weeks. I hope they survive the trek to South America and if they make it, should return in a few years. We plan to release a couple more birds this year and at least one will be carrying satellite telemetry.

Meanwhile, it is 2020 and we have several upcoming public presentations. The first is at Lake Barkley State Resort Park near Cadiz, Kentucky. We will be there for their Eagle Weekend https://parks.ky.gov/calendar/details/lake--barkley-state-resort-park--eagle-weekend-2020/76738/ Our presentation is at 7:00 CST at the Lodge.

Our next presentations are at Reelfoot Lake State Park On February 1, 2020 https://tnstateparks.com/events/details/#/?event=live-birds-of-prey-with-john-and-dales-stokes1
at their 16th Annual Eagle Festival. We have shows at 2 and 7 p.m. CST. This is one of our longest running yearly programs. With the exception of 2002 and 2003, I (John) have conducted programs there since 1980. One of the most memorable times was on January 20, 1985. I drove up from Memphis in a blizzard, arrived late for the show and did a program for around 100 captive audience members at Airpark Inn. The next morning we awoke to -15 F! The heater core in my car had frozen, so the trip back to Memphis included stops about every twenty minutes or so to warm our feet. It was around -10F when we made it to Memphis. This turned out to be the balmiest temperature in Tennessee that day...across the state in Knoxville it was -24 F! The forecast for next weekend, 2/1/2020,  looks a lot better than this!

For two weekends in a row, we will be at Lake Guntersville State Park in Alabama https://www.alapark.com/parks/lake-guntersville-state-park . The first weekend, 2/8, we will have one presentation at 2 p.m. CST in the Park's Lodge. Come early for a good seat. The second weekend we will have two presentations on 2/15 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. We will be in a smaller room for these shows so also show up early for a good seat.

In between the two Guntersville weekends, we will be in Morgan City, Louisiana  for the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau's 15th Annual Eagle Expo https://www.cajuncoast.com/event/15th-annual-eagle-expo and will have a program on February 13th at Bayou Vista Civic Center. Show time is at 7 p.m. CST.

In March, we will be at Wheeler Refuge Visitor's Center in Decatur, Alabama https://www.fws.gov/wheeler/education/vc.html for two programs on March 7. Showtimes are at 11, and 1 CST.

Next up are two trips to The National Eagle Center in beautiful Wabasha, Minnesota. We will be doing programs on March 14th and 15th and return on March 28th and 29th. This is in conjunction with their annual Soar With The Eagle's Weekends https://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/soar-with-the-eagles/ There will be two program daily on 3/14-15 and 3/28-29/2020. This is one of our favorite places to do programs and if you are ever in SE Minnesota, drop in and see this cool place!

Well, that finally has us caught up through March. If you wish to schedule a program,\e-mail at s.o.a.r.south@hotmail.com or call 423-605-8917. Thanks for checking in!

Dale and John