SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Folks interested in catching more than a glimpse of some of the state’s most majestic feathered inhabitants will get their chance at the Delta Woods and Waters Expo.

From owls to red-tailed hawks, Raptor Trek brings Alabama birds of prey to more than 100 locations statewide each year, and Spanish Fort’s third annual environmental expo at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center has joined the lineup.

“It’s mostly just about being able to get up close and personal with these raptors and to see some of the amazing creatures that people really can find right in their own backyards,” said Becky Collier, program coordinator of environmental education for the Alabama 4-H Environmental Science Center in Columbiana, Ala. The center’s Coosa River Science School houses Raptor Trek.

And while Collier said there tends to be a little something for everyone in a Raptor Trek demonstration, onlookers will get to meet veteran performers such as Leuc, an 11-year-old American bald eagle whose full scientific name is Haliaeetus leucocephalus. Leuc, Collier said, means white.

“He’s part of a free-flighted program at the center and lives in captivity due to a beak misalignment that cannot be fixed,” she said.

5 Rivers Manager Hank Burch said the expo’s steering committee has agreed to spend the money needed to bring the program to Spanish Fort, but he hopes a local business owner might step up to become the demonstration’s title sponsor or at least become a $500 Delta-level sponsor to help offset the costs.

“We’ve approached a few folks, but haven’t landed the big one yet. Still, the birds are coming and will be well worth the cost,” Burch said.

The three-day festival begins April 28, but the first two days are reserved for area fourth-graders. Raptor Trek will be featured as part of Family Day on April 30 when  an expanded slate of 25 activities and demonstrations will cover everything from small-boat handling and turkey calling to yarn spinning and marine safety. John C. Hall, founding curator of the University of West Alabama’s Black Belt Regional Museum, will reprise his role as storied naturalist William Bartram, who traveled through Alabama in 1775, recording firsthand data on the region’s undisturbed natural environment and native inhabitants.

Collier encouraged demonstration attendees to study up on the group’s website www.coosariverscienceschool.org to get a feel for some of the information that will be covered.

The program educates the public about captive-bred, rehabilitated and imprinted birds — providing flight demonstrations when requested — in hopes of “fostering responsibility for Alabama’s natural world.”