January 6, 2024

The 28th annual Eagle Days at Smithville Lake will be Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 6-7, with activities centered at the Paradise Pointe Golf Course Clubhouse. Activities will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. This event his hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), and the Clay County Parks and Recreation Department.

The event will include a life raptor program with birds rehabilitated from injuries presented by Operation Wildlife. Exhibits and information booths will be set up indoors by the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary, the Friends of Lakeside Nature Center, Wings of Love, and the Clay County Parks and Recreation Department. Some of those exhibits will also include live raptors or terrestrial wildlife such as turtles.

The captive eagle shows by Operation Wildlife will begin at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6. They will begin at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 7. Seating is limited for the live eagle shows.

Eagle viewing stations at the lake will be announced at the event when officials find where waterfowl and eagles are congregating. Eagles catch fish at the lake but also follow and feed on waterfowl using the lake.

The Paradise Point Golf Course Clubhouse is located at 18212 Golf Course Drive, in Smithville, on the west side of the lake. For more information about seeing eagles in Missouri at their winter hangouts or at planned events, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zt6.