February 9, 2007
Adel - The Wade Family traveled from Florida for a quiet weekend at Reed Bingham State Park in Adel. "We wanted to go camping close to home. We are not far from here. It's a beautiful park, lots of trails. I like to hike the trails," says Sue Wade of Jasper, Florida.
But there are some other visitors who have also journeyed a great distance to spend some time at the park. "They've tracked some of them as far as Canada and all the extreme northern United States," says Park Manager Chet Powell.
They are buzzards and each winter thousands of of them descend on the park in search of warm stoop to rest in the winter months. "They tend to go where there are lots of trees and water for drinking of course," he adds.
And the folks at Reed Bingham hold an annual buzzard day, where you can get a close look at the guests of honor. "The best time to see the vultures is very early morning from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM or so and then late in the afternoon. Mid-day the boat ride is pleasant but you won't see as many vultures," Powell says.
Most of the birds can only be seen by boat, and park goers won't be disappointed in the tour offered by the rangers. "It was great! I've never seen so many birds and I really enjoyed the boat ride," says Steve Wade.
The park will also be having many other events throughout the day including a 10 K run through the nature trails.
Reed Bingham has been holding Buzzard Day every winter since the early 90's.
The festivities begin 9:00 AM on Saturday and the price of activities range from $2-$18.00.
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