Amazing!

Every year bald eagles from the North migrate to the Quad Cities area to hang out for the winter. Due to the locks and dams on the Mississippi River in this area, the water does not freeze solid so the eagles come here to fish.

Yesterday was the first time that we saw them - it was AMAZING!!! In one area alone there had to be at least 100 Bald Eagles sitting in the trees. They are such huge birds, I never realized that they were so large! We got to see them soar over the river and look for fish and then dive and pick one up - truly amazing! We saw some nests but not too many, I'm thinking they were probably deeper in the woods and people are prohibited from walking back into the forest. It was hard not to get teary eyed while watching those beautiful birds.

I grew up only about 45 minutes from the Quad City area and had never heard of the eagles here. I learned that the eagles were on the endangered list and there were not many left. Thankfully, the last 15 years or so they've made a wonderful comeback.

Click on the picture for a better view of the eagles. The picture with the single eagle in it is of a younger eagle, he doesn't have his white head or tail feathers yet. I felt silly with my tiny Sony camera, most people were there with major, professional heavy duty cameras! I have more pictures in Webshots if interested.