Animal attraction – QC Bald Eagle Days brings in big crowd

The animals on display at the 2024 Quad Cities Bald Eagle Days event at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island were the center of attention – and the center of most questions. Taryn Leach, a naturalist with the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis, was on the receiving end of many of those questions. […]

The animals on display at the 2024 Quad Cities Bald Eagle Days event at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island were the center of attention – and the center of most questions. Taryn Leach, a naturalist with the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis, was on the receiving end of many of those questions.

1 of 7

The sanctuary, which displayed eagles and other big birds as well as presented educational seminars during the weekend show, attracted hundreds of people at its table on late Friday, Jan. 5, during the opening night of QC Bald Eagle Days. (That event ran through Sunday, Jan. 7,  attracting thousands of people over the weekend.) Children and their parents came by the sanctuary’s table to look over four big birds on display and ask dozens of questions. One of the main questions was: “Can we touch the birds?” “No, they don’t like to be touched. They’re not little kitty cats,” Ms. Leach told one group of youngsters. She added that she was happy to field the many questions. It showed that many people are curious and want to know more about wildlife, the naturalist said. “Some of the other questions I’ve been getting include ‘Are (the birds) comfortable?’ Yes. And ‘Can they fly?’ Yes, but they won’t. They’re couch potatoes. They’re pretty comfortable where they are,” she added. In addition to the birds on display by the World Bird Sanctuary, the weekend show largely centered on all things to do with wildlife. It had educational displays on animals found around the world. Some of the highlights included:

• Two alpacas were on display by Heartland “Criations” Alpacas LLC of Rio, Illinois.
• Representatives with Arconic in Riverdale had the Arconic Eaglecam on display. (Arconic and Modern Woodmen Fraternal Finance were sponsors of the Quad Cities Bald Eagle Days show.)
• The Snow Leopard Conservatory told about the plight of snow leopards.
• The Big Run Wolf Ranch of Lockport, Illinois, had a British Columbia gray wolf, skunk, North American porcupine and other animals on display.
• The Incredible Bats organization had a big display of bats, reptiles and other animals. Its display featuring a two-toed sloth named Rico was one of the most popular attractions of the show. On Friday night, people lined up to pay $10 to have their picture taken with Rico.

At the Incredible Bats section, Makayla Stronczek was also attracting many questions from the crowd as she displayed another member of the wildlife kingdom – a ball python snake – draped around her neck. “We’re here to educate the public about wildlife, and teach them to respect animals,” she said. A few feet away from Ms. Stronczek and her snake, J. Dave Murcia, director of the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center, located in Scott County, also was fielding questions and showing other snakes and reptiles. One of the questions he faced was: “Why are snakes important?” He said snakes help people in many different ways. “Would you rather have some snakes in your yard or have a house full of mice and rats?” he told a group of children at his table. The displays of snakes, sloths, eagles and other animals attracted thousands of people from the region over the three-day event in Rock Island.  One of the first-time visitors to the show was Chris Gilod of DeWitt, Iowa, who attended the show with his wife and children. “The kids really liked the reptiles and the candy they got at the different tables here,” he added. While many of those tables and vendors at Bald Eagle Days centered on wildlife, not every group focused on animals. There were many businesses and groups on recruiting missions at the show; most of them trying to recruit customers. For instance, The Almond Hut was at the show trying to attract people who love almonds. Others at the show included the Diggity Dawg Bakery, The Licorice Guy, Hiland Toyota, the All Family AR Taekwondo martial arts school, and many others. A first-time organization at the show was the Quad City Rollers women’s roller derby team. Team member Roxi Schlue – who is known as “Roxi Balboa” on the roller rink – was at Bald Eagle Days in hopes of recruiting people to join the team and attend a roller derby boot camp that was held Sunday, Jan. 7, at the Eldridge Skate Rink. “We’re hoping to tell people about us. … Most people don’t even know we’re here,” she said. Ms. Schlue was happy to be at the show because it gave her the chance to connect with thousands of people. “There’s been a steady flow of people coming through here,” she said. Most of the people in that steady flow, though, were at the QCCA Expo Center to see wildlife. One of those people was Thomas Herrman of Moline, who was at the show with his three grandchildren. “This is great. We’re really into seeing the animals,” said Mr. Herrman. “We come here to meet people and see some animals. The kids love that, and they love asking questions about the animals.”