Soar with Eagles This Winter!
December 2022
Head to Lake Guntersville for Eagle Awareness Weekends. Lake Guntersville is gearing up for its 37th Annual Eagle Awareness Weekends beginning Jan. 20. There are three opportunities to enjoy these majestic birds or prey: Jan. 20, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3.
History of the Event
In 1984, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources started a Bald Eagle Restoration Project because the bird had not successfully nested in the state since 1949. According to AL.com, between 1984 and 1991, state biologists released 91 juvenile eagles in Alabama and documented the first successful nest in 1991. Since then, more than 500 bald eagles have been hatched in the wild in the state. Alabama also provides a winter home to eagles from points north. Eagles living in places where lakes and rivers freeze migrate south each winter, with many overwintering in north Alabama.
The Lake Guntersville State Park website calls the Eagle Awareness Weekends unique due to the tradition of lore and legend that makes them special. Led by some of the best conservationists and birders in the field, these Friday through Sunday Lake Guntersville State Park events bring people, of diverse backgrounds and common interests, together in one of the most beautiful parks in Alabama to observe and learn about one of the most mesmerizing avian species on the planet. Exclusive opportunities are offered each year during Eagle Awareness weekends through the Lake Guntersville State Park packages. These include lodging, two breakfasts, and one dinner, a welcome packet, VIP access to presentations, discounts at the restaurant and gift shop, photo opportunities with birds of prey, activities for children, engagement with featured sponsors and one-on-one access with the naturalists.
We hope you take advantage of these exclusive weekends found only in Alabama.
Itinerary
Friday evening
A social and wine-tasting event followed by an educational session on eagles in Alabama and a presentation by an Alabama State Park Naturalist.
Saturday
Sessions by noted conservation experts and guided field trips to look for eagles, raptors and waterfowl in the wild, and ending with a dinner buffet in the Pinecrest Dining Room.
Sunday
Additional guided field trips, an educational program and a photo opportunity with live birds.
If you choose to stay an extra day, take the opportunity to explore Lake Guntersville’s beauty and new entertainment district, City Harbor. It’s a new $30 million development with trendy restaurants, bars, retail space, a cigar bar, a brewery and City Harbor Suites, short-term rental condos. It also has a pavilion and fishing docks.
