WAYNESBORO — The Wildlife Center of Virginia will host a hatchday party for Buddy the Eagle at Sunset Park in Waynesboro at 3 p.m. on April 27. Buddy the Eagle will turn 18 years old on April 27.

Attendees will have the opportunity to see Buddy the Eagle up close during a special presentation. The event will include hatch-day festivities and food, and attendees can support Buddy the Eagle's ongoing care through a hatch-day donation.

"During the event, you'll have the opportunity to see Buddy up close during a special presentation, enjoy hatch-day festivities and food, and support his ongoing care through a hatch-day donation," the Wildlife Center of Virginia said. "This event is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend!"

Buddy the Eagle hatched on April 27, 2008, at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. The hatch of Buddy the Eagle was observed by thousands of people through a live-stream.

Buddy the Eagle lives with the Wildlife Center of Virginia and was admitted as a patient because of a lump on his beak. He was diagnosed with avian pox, which caused his beak to be permanently malformed.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia created a permanent home for Buddy the Eagle because he would have problems surviving on his own. The center trims his beak every six to eight weeks due to the malformation.

Buddy the Eagle has served as an ambassador for the Wildlife Center of Virginia and continues to participate in open houses and tours at the facility. He sometimes appears on the Wildlife Center of Virginia's Critter Cams and suffered a beak break in 2023.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an internationally recognized teaching hospital for wildlife medicine and clinical research that has treated over 100,000 wild animal patients across 200 species, according to the Wildlife Center's website.