Places to Go, Things to Do

The Eagles are coming; so are spring events

One of this area's January traditions revolves around eagle-watching along the Mississippi River flyway. But, another popular activity is making maple syrup, which definitely brings thoughts of spring.

Every month, Young Saint Louis.com looks for activities and events that provide fun things for kids and their families to do during current month. Our emphasis is on things that are either free or have a low admission price.

Eagle Days at Chain of Rocks Bridge

The 15th annual Eagle Days at the Old Chain of Rock Bridge event will be Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16 and 17. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The bridge is south of I-270 on Riverside drive.

The Chain of Rocks Bridge is an ideal eagle-watching location because the rapids south of the bridge keep the Mississippi River free of ice. That means eagles can find fish all winter long.

Also, dead trees standing in the waters give the eagles perching space.

At Eagle Days, live eagle programs are held every 20 minutes. And spotting scopes are available, with trained volunteers helping you get a good view.

Also, this year, photographers Danny Brown and Jim Stokes will be available at 9 a.m. each morning. Lewis and Clark re-enactors will have living history camp.

For advance information, you can call Kathi Weilbacher at (314) 416-9930 Ext. 111 or visit www.confluencegreenwday.org.

Other Eagle Watching Events

Also, the Confluence Greenway website is a good source of information on other area eagle-watching activities. They include:

For information on these events, visit www.confluencegreenwday.org.

The Loop Ice Festival

The Loop Neighborhood of University City will host an ice festival on Saturday, Jan. 16. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and admission is free.

There will be ice-carving demonstrations, 5K and 10K "frozen buns" runs, ice slides, a s'mores roast and trolley car rides with Frosty the Snowman.

For information, call (314) 727-8000 or visit www.visittheloop.com.

Celebrate Ground Hog Day

The Columbia Bottoms Conservation Area will celebrate Ground Hog Day on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m.

This event is for young kids, 3 to 6.

For information and reservations, call (314) 877-6014.

Maple sugar-tree tapping

The Rockwoods Reservation Conservation Area in west St. Louis County will host a Maple Sugar Tree Tapping on Wednesday, Jan. 6, from 10-11 a.m.

This is a demonstration of how maple trees are tapped to get the sap to make the delicious maple syrup that goes so well on pancakes and waffles.

Wear warm clothes since much of this demonstration is outdoors.

On Saturday, Feb. 6, the Reservation will hold its Maple Sugar Festival.

This is a free event when the whole story of maple sugar making is explained. This includes not only the tapping of the sap but also the collecting and boiling of the sap to make the delicious syrup.

If you're lucky enough to have maple trees in your own yard, you could find out how to make your own supply of syrup.

For information on tree tapping or the Maple Sugar Festival, call (636) 458-2236.

And, Advance look at a March event

The Butterfly House at Faust Park has an unusual event planned for the whole month of March. The "March Mania Morph" event features release of 3,000 iridescent blue morpho butterflies in free flight.

That's 10 times the number usually there on display.

This is the third year for the event and it has been expanded to meet unusual demand.

The Butterfly House is one of the few places where this butterfly is visible in the U.S. The butterfly is native to Central and South America.

For more information, visit www.butterflyhouse.org.