All eyes on eagles: Expo set for Feb. 13-15

Cajun Coast’s Eagle Expo is settling into a different place this year.
The event, scheduled Feb. 13-15, will center on the Cajun Coast Visitors Center in Morgan City.
The Atchafalaya Basin is the favorite home turf for bald eagles in Louisiana, which boasts more than 300 nesting pairs a half-century after the species was near extinction.
The boat tours have become an excellent way to see bald eagles and other species in the wild.
Speakers will be back on the agenda this year, including the author of a book on birding in Louisiana.
And there’s a new boat tour.
Registration is $40 for those who choose a boat tour other than the Bayou Black tour with Capt. Greenwood of Greenwood Gator Farm and Swamp Tours. Registration for that tour is $80.
Here’s a look at the events:
—There will be a Wings to Soar presentation featuring live raptors Feb. 13 at the Patterson Civic Center.
Wings to Soar is a non-profit environmental education organization founded by John and Dale Stokes. Their lively informative presentation features a variety of raptors, including owls, hawks, a falcon, a very funny vulture and a bald eagle.
—A Friday Night Social at Cajun Coast will feature Mary Beth Lima, author of “Adventures of a Louisiana Birder: One Year, Two Wings, Three Hundred Species.”
—Lima will also be among the speakers. She is a professor in biological engineering at LSU and an avid birder (in passion and interest, if not talent).
Somewhere in between viewing red-tailed hawks from above in Letchworth State Park in upstate New York at age 8, and learning the calls of Carolina wrens and red-bellied woodpeckers while running in south Louisiana at age 30, Lima caught the birding bug. She was a casual birder at first, but has managed to become totally hooked and is now a lister.
She will discuss her book.
Also speaking will be Delaina Leblanc, migratory birds coordinator, Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Red Knot Research; Stacy Ortego, outreach coordinator, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, Gardening for Wildlife; and Erik Johnson, director of bird conservation, Audubon, Louisiana-Coastal Louisiana.
—The boat tours:
Boat Tour 1: Atchafalaya Basin Tour with John Burke
Capt. Caviar will tour into the Atchafalaya Basin to view the American bald eagle. The Atchafalaya Basin is the largest overflow swamp in the U.S. covering over 850,000 acres. The basin includes 10 distinct aquatic and terrestrial habitats ranging from large rivers to backwater swamps.
The basin is most noted for its cypress-tupelo gum swamp habitat and its Cajun heritage. The basin is home to over 170 bird species and is an important wintering ground for the birds of the Mississippi Flyway. The tour will be in a flat-bottom boat with a cover. A bathroom will be on board.
The tour maximum is 20 people.
Boat Tour 2: Bayou Black Tour with Billy Gaston (available for Saturday afternoon only)
Billy Gaston, swamp tour operator of Cajun Man’s Tours, will journey into the backwater of Bayou Black, adding his special Cajun touch.
This tour will meander through the old oil and gas canals where you will have the opportunity to see several birds of prey including, of course, bald eagles, ospreys and various species of hawks. Other birds that are likely to be encountered include various species of ducks, wading birds and some song bird species. Great tour for families or groups.
Covered flat-bottom boat. Bathroom on board. Maximum 40 people.
Boat Tour 3: Turtle Bayou Tour with LUMCON
Journey into Turtle Bayou to view bald eagles and get a glimpse of an eagle nest. This tour will also ride through natural bayous that provide for fantastic views and local wildlife.
Other birds likely to be encountered include anhingas, double-crested cormorants, red-shouldered hawks, white ibis, yellow-rumped Warb-lers, Carolina chickadees and various species of terns and gulls. Two boats. Maximum six people on each boat.
Boat Tour 4: Bayou Long Tour with Capt. Ivy
The Bayou Long Tour includes various waterways including Lake Verret, Bayou Magazille, Four Mile Bayou, Grassy Lake, Bayou Cheramie, Bayou Milhomme and Lake Palourde.
On this tour you will be able to view bald eagles and their nests, blue heron, great egret, belted kingfisher, white ibis and various other species of birds. One boat. Maximum seven people
Boat Tour 5: Bayou Black Tour with Captain Greenwood of Green-wood Gator Farm and Swamp Boat Tours will take you deep in the back swamps. The 30-foot boat is covered.
Guests will view a wide selection of local birds including the American bald eagle, the great blue heron, egrets, double-crested cormorants, red shouldered hawks and many more.
One boat. Maximum 19 people. Departs Greenwood Gator Farm, 125 Gator Court, Gibson.
—A photography workshop with CC Lockwood, Feb. 14.
Minimum of 10 students and maximum of 16. Photography workshop with a field trip to Bayou Black. Requires separate registration. 225-245-5008, 227-763-1259, cactusclyd@aol.com.
For more information, 985-380-8224 or info@cajuncoast.com.