Eagle Watching

In Illinois and Missouri Eagle Watching is a popular winter activity. When the temperatures are very cold and the rivers farther up north freeze, then American Bald Eagles keep moving farther and farther south until rivers are open enough for them to fish. One of my favorite memories is of a cold but sunny day in mid-January when John and I had taken a day off from our work in the bronze repair studio and were driving down the Great River Road up near Marquette State Park. We had just been hiking and were on our way home when we noticed at least 30 cars parked along both sides of the road. We had no idea what was going on but knew it was some kind of spectacle. As we got closer we saw people looking up and little did I know I was about to witness a scene that I would remember with excitement for the rest of my life. The sky was full of large birds that I learned from someone in the crowd were Bald Eagles. As I looked through my binoculars I could see the white heads and tails - but only on some of them. It takes several years for the birds to develop this characteristic trait - before that they are all gray-brown.
There were birds soaring alone and birds in small groups. A few of the groups were the younger birds and they were exhibiting behaviors that I describe as "playing". They would start off together all going the same direction then one would intentionally bump into one of the others, that one would veer around in an arc and bump one of the other ones. This would be followed by more bumping, circling and soaring....eagle dancing!

The action in the sky was only half of the show. Out on the partially frozen river, a dozen or so large eagles stood on the ice near the breaks. Several were feasting on large fish that they had retrieved from the icy waters. This was quite a party!

No wonder people love to watch the eagles. We have been back many times and although we do not always see that much activity we usually at least see a few, even if at a distance it is always exciting to discover them perched in their high spots keeping a keen eye on the river. Oh, by the way, here at MasterWorks we have our own eagles....the ones you see in the pictures were made by our friend Lyle, the Neighborhood WoodWorker/Fisherman from Northern Minnesota. He does quite a fine job on his wood creations (he made the birdhouse in the background too) and I am proud to have some of his work. I wonder when he is working on the eagles, if he is thinking about the same thing they are...fishing, fishing and fishing! Oh yah shure! Yu betcha!