There were all types of critters at Sunday’s Eagles Day celebration at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, but Marty Birrell had a hold of the big ones.

Sort of.

Kansa, a 14-pound bald eagle Birrell’s Prairie Park Nature Center has had since 2003, had apparently had enough with standing around as the captivated audience gazed on.

So, about halfway through Birrell’s presentation, Kansa took a flying leap from her perch and landed near the feet of the startled spectators in the front row.

“I think she just got bored,” Birrell said after Kansa got back on her rope-lined perch. “She’s just a little stressed.”

But stress was rare during the event Sunday, as volunteers from a slew of area animal and environmental organizations exposed parents and kids to an up-close view of the natural world around them.

Jack Lind, 8, of Lenexa, watches as a handler places a tarantula on his arm during Eagles Day. The event was held Sunday at Building 21 of the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The annual event, now in its 10th year, was coordinated by the Jayhawk Audubon Society. Event coordinator Joyce Wolf said preparation for the day wasn’t as easy as the smooth-running event itself.

The Audubon Society member was up until midnight Friday, getting name tags and last minute details in order.

She and seven other planning committee members spent months contacting speakers and members of the nearly 30 vendors handing out bumper stickers and info at the event.

“There’s a lot of nitty-gritty stuff,” Wolf said as she watched kids scramble around the maze of tables and displays.

The Prairie Park Nature Center provided the animals, which all live at the center.

The birds, including Kansa and a golden eagle, were all rescued after sustaining injuries that would have killed them. Jackie Hurst, a naturalist at the center, spent the day behind the center’s display table, letting kids ogle over healthy birds that would otherwise have starved in the wild.

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“The education is important,” Hurst said. “This kind of event helps people learn about the birds.”

Derek Gaul, a 9-year-old from Lenexa who was decked out in K-State gear, spent some time Sunday running around the nature center display around the corner from the eagles.

The tables were stocked with critters, from speckled king snakes and turtles to owls and other birds.

Derek and other kids gave extra attention to the tarantula cage, with each child alternately amazed or freaked out.

“They’re real cool,” Derek said about the animal displays. “Seeing them, that was neat.”

But the best part, he said, was the huge “nest,” a pile of tree branches, leaves and grass piled up in front of a painted lake scene.

Derek crawled onto the pile while his father filmed him with a video camera.

Wolf said that despite the months of work, kids like Derek make it worthwhile. As the kids flow through the displays about animals and nature, Wolf can see them smiling as knowledge seeps in.

“It’s the pleasure of seeing families with small children come through,” Wolf said. “It’s great fun to see them enjoying while they’re learning.”