An American bald eagle

Expanded chances to view eagles
on the Mississippi River

The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming! And St. Louis area kids and their families get more chances this month to see our national bird in its natural Mississippi River habitat.

(For other outdoor information, see sidebar below.)

One of the annual outdoor highlights of the local winter season are Eagle Days on the renovated Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

This year's Eagle Days festival for the public will be Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 19-20. Hours have been expanded to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. That's two hours longer each day than last year.

This event includes special demonstrations by the World Bird Sanctuary and Missouri Department of Conservation. There are warming tents and spotting scopes for better views of the eagles. The scopes are staffed by volunteers to help you see the eagles better.

Volunteer Dick Baumann helps a kid with
the spotting scope last year.

Also, a second eagle-viewing weekend on the bridge has been added a week later, on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26-27. This weekend will be for viewing only. There won't be the informational eagle programs like the first weekend.

But, the expanded 8 a.m.to 4 p.m. hours will be on both days.

Liz Lyons is a Missouri Conservation Department educational consultant.

She said the expanded hours and the extra weekend were added this year because of increased demand. Last year, 3,000 people showed up on Saturday, when weather was sort of stormy. But, on Sunday, under clear skies, 6,000 people took part.

Some school kids in both Missouri and Illinois will get an advance look of eagles from the bridge. On Wednesday, Jan. 16, about 400 kids from a dozen Illinois schools will have the bridge to themselves for eagle viewing.

Randy Holbrook of the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources helps last year

On Thursday and Friday, Jan. 17-18, over 800 kids from 23 Missouri schools have the same advance viewing chance. All these schools have been signed up already, Lyons said.

But, there are plenty of special things for families at the public days Jan. 19-20, she added.

In addition to demonstrations, a group of historic re-enactors will camp out over the weekend. They'll be dressed in costumes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition time period.

The House Springs Lions Club also will have a barbecue stand for food and refreshments.

One unique Missouri Conservation display this year will be the Eagle Talon test of strength. That's where adults and kids grip an object and measure the pressure they can generate.

Lyons said, "Don't feel let down if you can't match the strength of an eagle's talons. Not many humans can."

Crowds like this last year led to extended hours and
an extra weekend this year.

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is an ideal place to watch the eagles. The natural limestone formation across the Mississippi helps to break up ice on the river. This provides open water so eagles can catch fish easily.

Also, tall trees nearby provide ideal nesting for the birds. The nesting areas are close enough to the bridge to provide good views of the eagles. The use of spotting scopes or your own binoculars and stadium glasses bring the view closer.

Lyons said, "Eagles like to sit up high and have open water for fishing."

The colder weather up north in the winter force the eagles to move south to find open water for fishing, she said.

She added that the best time to see eagles fishing is early in the morning. But, they are visible flying or perched in trees all during the daylight hours, she said.

Once in awhile, there are other birds of prey visible. "Last year, a peregrine falcon perched on the bridge all one day," Lyons said.

To get to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, you can use I-270 east or west and get off at Riverview Drive on the Missouri side. It's just a short distance south on Riverview.

There are two satellite lots for parking. You take a free shuttle to the bridge. Parking right near the bridge on the Missouri side is $5 per car.

For information, call Trailnet at (314) 416-9930; Missouri Department of Conservation at (314) 231-3803, or Illinois Department of Natural Resources at (618) 462-1181.

More outdoor information for Illinois and Missouri The organizations cooperating in the Eagle Days festival on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge handle lots of other outdoor activities for kids and families. Here's a rundown on the groups, their websites and telephone numbers are: Illinois Department of Natural Resources telephone: (618) 462-1181 website: www.dnr.state.il.us Missouri Department of Conservation telephone: (314) 231-3803 website: www.conservation.state.mo.us Trailnet, Inc. telephone: (314) 416-9930 website: www.trailnet.org Also, kids who take part in the special Eagle Days program for Missouri and Illinois schools got a special packet of information about eagles. That includes a fine book called "Eagles for Kids," by Charlene Gieck. Photography is by Tom and Pat Leeson. It is a part of a Wildlife for Kids series by Northward Press. For information, you can call 1-800-328-3895.