GENTRY — After watching the growth of a bald eagle still in the nest each day through a web-cam broadcast, Jamie Johnson, science teacher at Gentry Middle School, took her sixth-grade students on a field trip to the Eagle Watch Trail in Gentry on Feb. 24 in the hope of seeing a bald eagle in the wild, and they were not disappointed.
When the first class came, a bald eagle along the shore of SWEPCO Lake took off in front of the students and flew over to a tree near the water's edge where the students could catch a glimpse of the majestic bird from a distance through binoculars. And both Johnson and her students were excited to be able to see an eagle in the wild.
Johnson explained to her students that the birds were once endangered but now, due to an increase in population numbers, they are no longer considered endangered but are federally protected birds.
She said it was also her first time to see one of the birds in the wild.
The students from each hour's class took a short bus ride from the school to the Eagle Watch parking area and then walked down to the pavilion area to view the eagle and other wildlife.
General News on 03/08/2017