Eagles Along the Mississippi

We haven't been able to make it out to see the eagles in a few years.  The day started out gray and dreary, but as noon approached, blue sky was beginning to appear.  I was so glad we waited until afternoon to go.  We drove up along the Great River route through Alton.  Along that road, we saw four eagles, one close enough to photograph.  The last one, we spotted down near the conservation area.  He was a bit skittish and every time we or someone else would approach the tree he was in, he'd take off to the next one.  We circled around and tried to find the Trumpeter Swans, which were a bit too far away to see clearly.  When we came back to where the eagle was, he decided to fly back in toward his original perch and that's when I caught him overhead at a full wingspan. 

Eagles in Alton

We've been trying for years to hit Alton on a good day for eagle viewing and until today, we haven't been very successful. We'd get there and it would be dreary and foggy and hard to see anything. This morning was perfect...a little chilly at 34 degrees, but so worth it. We probably saw over 20 eagles, some from quite a distance, but several we stood right under them. We were as close as you could get without actually climbing the tree! They were way up there in those trees and even with my 70-200 zoom, they still appear far away. But I thought these came out really good and with quite a bit of detail. Now I'm drooling for a 400 or 500 zoom. Can you imagine??!!

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