Searching of Bald Eagles on the Mississippi River

My wife and I have been out looking for Bald Eagles on the Mississippi River this Winter. With the cold weather most of the river in our area is frozen over. The eagles have been forced to congregate in areas of open water.

We have developed a little road trip that takes most of a day. We start out by driving from Menomonie, Wisconsin to Durand, Wisconsin. In Durand we stop at the River Valley Bakery to pick up some artisan bread and pastries. Unfortunately they are closed until the 13th of February. We can’t wait until they open again. When they do open they have limited hours so call ahead.

Our next stop is Alma, Wisconsin where the eagles gather just below Lock and Dam number 4. The Mississippi River is almost completely frozen in the area so the only open water is found just below the dam. There is an outdoor viewing platform at the lock and dam and Wings over Alma also offers a free viewing deck. The times we have been there we have seen a dozen to over thirty Bald Eagles.

We then head down to Reads Landing, Minnesota for lunch at the Reads Landing Brewing Company. They have limited winter hours so check their website. At Reeds landing there are usually a large number of Bald Eagles searching for food in the open water. The great thing is that you can have lunch at the brewery and watch the eagles at the same time.

If you haven’t been to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota you should stop in. They have five captive eagles that are on display and they do daily presentations. Generally you can see wild eagles from the Center. They also have an eagle count on their home page so it is a good way to see where the eagles are gathering. When we stop in Wabasha we try to visit the Olde Triangle Pub for some fine Irish stew. No the eagle is not dining at the Olde Triangle Pub.

Rabbit for Lunch

Searching for Eagles

We have a Japanese exchange student staying with us over Christmas break and have been attempting to show him what life is like in Wisconsin during the winter. This past weekend we decided to take a road trip to look for Eagles along the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful sunny day but only about five degrees out.

We drove over to Wabasha, Minnesota and then north on highway 61 toward Lake City. There is open water along the river at this point and we started seeing eagles as soon as we reached Reed’s Landing. We also saw some at the bottom of Lake Pepin.

We then headed back to Wabasha to visit the National Eagle Center. They have five injured eagles on display at the Center. They also conduct programs throughout the day using one of the injured eagles. Given the cold weather there were only a couple of dozen people in attendance and the group chose to have an informal program with lots of opportunity to view the bird (Was’aka) and ask questions.

There were also a number of wild eagles fishing along the river outside the Center. The Center provides scopes so there were some good views to be had.

We decided to drive back down to Reed’s Landing Brewing Company for lunch. This is a fantastic place to eat and watch the eagles fishing on the river. There were probably thirty eagles working the river in front of the restaurant. There were also some ducks, Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans feeding along the shore. The restaurant has window seats so you can sit facing out the window and watch the eagles while eating.