News Release
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January 4, 2006
Bald Eagle Days Features International Wildlife Film Festival
Jan. 25-26 and Raptor Viewing and Displays Jan. 28
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Larry
Ridenhour of the Bureau of Land Management holds a short-eared owl
and talks about the bird with participants at last year�s Bald Eagle
Day celebration. Greg Kaltenecker, director of Boise State�s Idaho
Bird Observatory, is pictured at right. |
The public is invited to view bald eagles and other
wildlife along the Boise River and watch award-winning wildlife films from
around the world as part of the seventh annual Bald Eagle Days presented, in
part, by Boise State University�s Idaho Bird Observatory.
For the second year, Bald Eagle Days will feature the post-festival tour of
the International Wildlife Film Festival on Wednesday, Jan. 25, and
Thursday, Jan. 26, at The Flicks, 646 Fulton St., in downtown Boise. Bald
Eagle Days culminates with a free daylong event Saturday, Jan. 28, at the
Idaho Shakespeare Festival, 5657 Warm Springs Ave., that includes raptor
viewing, educational displays and many other activities.
One of the main objectives of Bald Eagle Days is to support conservation and
education efforts at Barber Pool, a natural area adjacent to the Idaho
Shakespeare Festival that is home to bald eagles and a variety of other
birds and wildlife. Proceeds from the film festival support conservation
efforts by the Idaho Bird Observatory at the Barber Pool site.
INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL
Losing Tomorrow, a film that highlights the loss of biodiversity in
the Indonesian rain forest, Eagle Odyssey, a film about the return of
the white-tailed sea eagle to Britain, and Habitat and Niche, a
children�s film produced by Idaho Department of Fish and Game, are among the
award-winning entries to be screened Jan. 25-26 at The Flicks as part of the
International Wildlife Film Festival�s post-festival tour.
The film festival is the longest running festival of its kind in the world.
It strives to promote knowledge and understanding of wildlife through
excellent and honest films.
The festival includes children�s matinees at 4:30 p.m. that showcase films
especially geared to children. The festival�s main selections will show at 7
p.m. All shows will feature a unique line-up of films. Tickets at the door
are $8 general and $6 for matinees, children, seniors and students. Here�s
the schedule:
Wednesday, Jan. 25:
4:30 p.m. children�s matinee: Ride of the Mergansers; Insect
Defense; Habitat and Niche; and Kratt Brothers� Be the Creature:
Orangutans.
7 p.m.: Losing Tomorrow, Habitat and Niche, Eagle Odyssey
Thursday, Jan. 26:
4:30 p.m. children�s matinee: Kratt Brothers� Be the Creature:
Mexican Free-tailed Bats; Young and Wild
7 p.m.: Hokkaido, Mississippi River Rat
Synopses of the featured films are listed at the end of this release.
BALD EAGLE DAY JAN. 28
The public is invited to learn more about bald eagles and view the birds and
other wildlife at the sixth annual Bald Eagle Day from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on
Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, 5657 Warm Springs Ave.
The free family-oriented event includes a variety of activities designed to
allow the public to get �up close and personal� with America�s national
symbol. Participants can take part in wildlife viewing along the Boise River
with Audubon Society volunteers, see trained eagles, hawks and falcons and
talk with their handlers, watch movies and slide shows about eagles and
other birds of prey, and participate in hands-on educational raptor
displays.
Bald Eagle Day is presented by the Idaho Bird Observatory in cooperation
with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. Other organizations involved in
the event include the Golden Eagle Audubon Society, Peregrine Fund, and the
Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands.
The IBO was founded in 1993 by Greg Kaltenecker, who earned a master�s
degree in raptor biology at Boise State, and Marc Bechard, a Boise State
biology professor, after it was discovered that the Boise Ridge is a major
bird migration flyway. The ridge above the city of Boise supports one of the
largest known concentrations of migrating raptors and migrating neo-tropical
songbirds in the West, according to Kaltenecker, IBO director. The IBO is
funded through donations to the BSU Foundation and other grants and provides
many education, research and volunteer opportunities.
Contact: Greg Kaltenecker, Idaho Bird Observatory (208) 426-4354,
gregorykaltenecker@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, News Services, (208) 426-1790,
jbrown2@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and public service.
INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL FILMS
Here are synopses of films to be shown Jan 25 and 26 at The Flicks as part
of Bald Eagle Days:
Eagle Odyssey, 2005 (50 minutes)
For much of the 20th century, after years of persecution throughout Europe,
the magnificent white-tailed eagle � one of the world�s largest eagles �
became extinct in Britain. Today, there are dozens of pairs of white-tailed
eagles once again breeding successfully along the west coast of Scotland,
drawing many thousands of visitors from around the world to see them. What
brought about this dramatic reversal of fortune? This is the inspiring story
of one of the UK�s most spectacular conservation successes, a groundbreaking
30-year ongoing project to reintroduce and protect white-tailed eagles in
Britain, a project whose success has paved the way for many similar schemes
in Britain and around the world. White-tailed eagles are social birds and
remarkably trusting a people � a character trait that has worked both for
them and against them when measured against humankind�s volatile and often
irrational attitude towards them over the centuries. The film explores the
eagles� evolving relationship with humans as well as their reliance on other
species such as otters and eider ducks, on whom they have learned to depend
in their battle for survival in their traditional Scottish heartland.
Tales of the Mississippi River Rat, 2005 (50 minutes)
Seen and told through the eyes of Kenny Salwey, an old-time hunter and
trapper, this intimate film explores the Upper Mississippi river, its
backwaters, and the surrounding hill country. Kenny has lived most of his
life �a stone�s throw from the water�s edge� in a traditional oak log cabin
built with his own hands. With no electricity and only a wood-burning stove
to take the chill off bitter-cold winter nights, it�s straight out of a
bygone era. Kenny reveals a world of spirituality and seasonal change. He is
our guide to the fascinating plants and animals that share the forests,
swamps, and river. In his rich, storytelling voice he casts a unique light
on the awe-inspiring natural wonders of the Upper Mississippi.
Losing Tomorrow, 2005 (Sequel to Tears of Wood) (30 minutes)
The tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004 shook the world. But in Asia and Indonesia in
particular, other tragedies are in the making: less spectacular, less
immediately devastating, but in time, perhaps more catastrophic. At the
heart of the country, the rainforest is disappearing. This is no consequence
of a tidal wave, but solely the work of man. During the 20th century,
Indonesia saw half of its forest disappear, and today the rate of
deforestation is accelerating relentlessly.
Hokkaido � Garden of the Gods, 2000 (50 minutes)
In the far north of Japan, thrust out into the Pacific, is the remote island
of Hokkaido. Swept by winds from the high Arctic, this land of towering
volcanoes and fairy tale forests is like a window on Siberia. Nowhere else
in Japan do brown bears plunge for salmon in icy streams, Blakiston�s fish
owls wade for frogs or Japanese cranes perform balletic courtship dances in
the snow. And only here do the massive Stellar�s sea eagles plunder the
spoils of the winter fishing fleets and vast flocks of whooper swans seek
refuge from Arctic blizzards. This unique mix of life has long been
worshipped by a remarkable race of hunter-gatherers called the �Ainu,� a few
of whom still survive among the modern Japanese of Hokkaido. To Ainu people,
every animal, plant, rock or river has its own special significance, and
even today they still honor and celebrate the natural world around them
through dance and prayer.
Spirit Mandala (6 minutes)
A fascinating look at the perplexing similarities between human beings and
animals. Without the need for narration, this program reveals with striking
clarity the common root we all share. Behavioral patterns, physical
characteristics, and even emotions regarded as solely human are also
displayed across a wide canvas of species with whom we share the planet
Earth, and ultimately our future. Spirit Mandala is a wordless cry for
self-reflection, a message that highlights the unspoken wonder of life, a
reminder of where we came from and where we might be headed.
CHILDREN�S FILMS
Kratt Brothers� Be the Creature � Mexican Free Tailed Bats, 2005 (47
minutes)
July in Texas, and the Kratt Brothers enter America�s largest bat cave where
a colony of more than 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats have made their
colony. Using breathing apparatus to navigate among the mounds of guano, the
brothers camp inside the cave to observe the birth of babies � called
pinkies � and watch them mature to the point where they can fly, emerging at
sundown in huge swarms to run the gauntlet of snakes who wait at the
entrance to snatch their prey out of the air.
Kratt Brothers� Be the Creature � Orangutans, 2005 (47 minutes)
Chris and Martin travel to the remote Indonesian island of Kalimantan
(formerly Borneo) to experience first hand the life and death struggle of
one of the most endangered primates on the planet � the orangutan. They
watch as humans prey on adult orangutans for food and on baby orangutans to
expand the exotic pet trade. But Chris and Martin also learn that humans can
be helpers when they visit a sanctuary for sick and orphaned orangutans.
They join the baby orangutans at �orangutan school� where they take the role
of teacher. Whether it�s showing the young apes how to find termites in a
rotten log, run from poisonous snakes, or swing in trees, the Kratts try to
introduce their young charges to the skills needed to survive in the
wilderness.
Insect Defense, 2005 (27 minutes)
For insects, danger lurks everywhere. Insects are eaten by many animals, yet
they thrive. Insect Defense explores strategies insects use to keep from
being eaten. Masters of deception, insects use camouflage to disappear into
the environment. They use bright colors and bold patterns to warn enemies
that they are poisonous or sting. Harmless insects are protected by
mimicking harmful insects. Large eyespots fool birds into thinking insects
are larger and more fierce than they really are. Stinging hairs inflict
searing pain. Foul-smelling horns erupt from caterpillar heads to scare away
predators. Insect defense will open your eyes to the life and death struggle
all around us � even in your backyard.
Ride of the Mergansers, 2005 (12 minutes)
The Hooded Merganser is a rare and reclusive duck found only in North
America. Every spring in the Great Lakes region, the wary hen lays and
incubates her eggs in a nest high in the trees. Just 24 hours after
hatching, the tiny ducklings must make the perilous leap to the ground below
to begin life in the wild. This age-old rite is rarely observed by humans.
Ride of the Mergansers brings this hidden drama to the screen.
Young & Wild, 1997 (60 minutes)
The beginning of summer in the bushveld of Southern Africa coincides with
the start of the rainy season. At this time of year many animal species in
this rich ecosystem give birth and raise their young. This film takes a
close look at a number of these species including both predator and prey and
some lesser known animals such as the bat-eared fox and the warthog.
Habitat & Niche, 2005 (11 minutes)
Habitat and niche. What are they? Would you believe it could be as simple as
a business card? This eleven-minute video introduces children to the idea
that if animals had business cards, it would make it easier to understand
them and their role in nature. Wildlife video is mixed with scenes featuring
school age kids to illustrate concepts such as habitat fragmentation,
invasive species, and adaptation. This fast-paced, vibrant video is targeted
at primary classrooms.
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Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007