| Info Board • the river remains icefree near the center |
| 29.10.2013, 05:12 - fenpxsli - Pfeifenkopp - 205 Posts Spring migration brings birds The eagles were everywhere Monday hunkering in trees, scavenging dead fish on gray river ice and soaring high above the rugged Mississippi River Valley in southeastern Minnesota.The spring migration brought eagles and eagle watchers to the forest in what has become a rite of spring. March is prime eagleviewing season, and spotting our national emblem isn't difficult. I counted almost 50 throughout a jaunt down Hwy. 61 from Red Wing to Wabasha and back.Near Reads Landing, I pulled my car over and watched 15-20 eagles fully plumed mature birds in addition to youngsters not yet dolled up in white regalia gather around the ice of Lake Pepin. Soon spectators inside a half dozen cars, equipped with binoculars and cameras, joined me."Oh, my gosh,'' a woman gasped as she researched and spotted another five eagles gliding overhead.How easy could they be to see? Earlier, in Lake City, an eagle rested pensively in a large tree alongside busy Hwy. Chemicals, such as the pesticide DDT, knocked the novelty helmet population to dangerous levels within the 1960s, and just about 50 breeding pairs nested in the state then."That was the reduced point,'' said Carrol Henderson, Department of Natural Resources nongame wildlife program supervisor. Our prime point? Possibly today. Eagles not only have rebounded, they have expanded their traditional range. Officials estimate Minnesota presently has a couple of,300 breeding pairs and many thousand additional immature birds."We probably have 8,000plus eagles in the state,'' Henderson said. Which makes us No. One in the low 48. "It's absolutely incredible how they've adapted. They have scattered to nonforested parts of their state. We considered once them a wilderness species, and now they're nesting at the spine yards, literally.''Some from the eagles I spotted along the Mississippi are nesting there, but others are passing through, following open water to northern Minnesota and Canada. While eagles can be found along the Mississippi yearround, the following few weeks remain prime time for you to see good sized quantities, Henderson said.Eagle Center actionYou're guaranteed to see eagles, close up, at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. I found the center's executive director, Jeff Worrell, outside,canada goose online buy, with Wasaka, a 4yearold bald eagle tethered to his wrist. Wasaka is one of four bald eagles at the center, which also includes a golden eagle.The eagles were either injured or sick,parajumpers, despite the fact that rehabilitated, their maladies prevent them from being returned towards the wild."Wasaka had a tumor in her own left eye when she was found,'' said Worrell.The middle has become a major tourist attraction for Wabasha (population: 2,500) because it opened three years ago. After the tumor was removed, the bird was blind in that eye, making her not able to survive in the wild.Rather than being euthanized, she now helps educate visitors.There's lots of educating to do. This past year, a lot more than 90,000 people found their method to the middle, which sits on the Mississippi overlooking a federal wildlife refuge. Forty active eagle nests are inside a 20mile radius. In the winter, the river remains icefree near the center, keeping eagles there yearround. The birds' spring migration northward,canada goose jacket, and their ready visibility before trees leafout, makes March the center's busiest month. The area was bustling even on the weekday."The displays and education we offer are nice, but it's the eagles they are available for,'' Worrell said. "We give people a chance to really inspect them. It's a lifechanger for a lot of people.''The allure of eaglesSo what is it about bald eagles that so mesmerizes people?They're huge, using more than a 5foot wingspan. They're spectacularly beautiful. They're predators."They're the baddest dudes on the horizon,'' Worrell said. "They represent power, majesty and honor.''And, obviously, America.Worrell speaks of seniors visitor towards the center,canada goose online shopping, a World War II veteran, who stepped into the room in which the live eagles are displayed."Tears streamed down his face,'' Worrell said. After a while, the man composed himself, stood tall and crisply saluted the bird, then walked out."He said the view of that eagle just cut back the memories of his lost comrades,'' Worrell said. |