Saturday, January 9, 2010

The American Bald Eagle winters in Iowa City


This morning we saw our first (20+) Bald Eagles. Who would have thought that Iowa City is a prime place to view the American Bald Eagle in the wild?

I had heard that these magnificent creatures migrate south for winter feeding down the Mississippi (and up the Iowa River.) A bridge next to the Iowa River Power Restaurant is ideally situated for eagle watching. Having accidentally spent three days with some avid bird watchers in Ecuador last summer, I know how patient one must be to catch a glimpse of a rare bird in its natural habitat. Not so with the Bald Eagle. Simply park at the restaurant, walk a few feet across the well shoveled bridge and you'll be among them. These birds were ENORMOUS with wingspans reaching up to 6 feet in length. They were perched in the trees lining the river, soaring overhead and fishing in the river right in front of our noses.

Astounding.

...and to think these birds were once considered "endangered species."

Happy birding!

~flutterbyblue

Image lifted from www.floridaholidayreview.com.

2 comments:

Sherry said...

SO COOL!!

65465321389 said...

Thanks for posting! I have seen them when I drive to work perched in the trees along Shoreline Dr. I plan on parking in that little park and walking up to take pictures. They are also can be seen behind Hancher on the ped bridge there. I saw about 10 perched in the trees along the river and when there is ice, they are on the river. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pics one of these days!