Eagle Days

Oh Missouri what interesting things we have learned about thee over the last five years. Turns out that Missouri is a major winter nesting ground for bald eagles who have headed south to find open waters for fishing. Since the Mississippi is usually not frozen around St Louis, we are a perfect destination for our majestic feathered friends. Eagle Days is held every January to celebrate them. The Chain of Rocks bridge, which opened in 1929 as an automobile bridge, spans the Mississippi river from Missouri to Illinois and is just over a mile long. It was closed in 1968, but was reopened in 1999 as the world's second longest pedestrian/bicycle bridge. It was our first trip to the bridge, even though it has been on our list for ages.

Some ice, but mostly open water

We're pretty high up!

I think the bridge itself is quite a beautiful backdrop

For the entire length of the bridge...both to Illinois and back again...Nicholas played this game.
1) Pick up snow

2) Throw snow over the side of the bridge

3) Run as fast as possible to watch your snow come out the other side. He claimed to be able to see his every time floating along in the water.

All along the bridge, volunteers had set up telescopes focused in on the eagles in trees along the banks. We all got great looks even though it was a bit hazy. Then at the halfway point in the bridge there was a tent which contained lots of bird info and (thankfully) was heated. The St Louis Audubon Society had tables set up with coloring projects for the kids. Both Nico and Charlotte chose cardinals (big surprise), but while Nicholas finished his in about 3 minutes, Charlotte took about 20 minutes. She was so...very...precise. Using about 1cm long strokes back and forth with her marker. No amount of coaxing or "we can finish it at home, babe" could convince her to stop (as you can see by the look she's giving me as I take the picture). So Tom masterfully entertained Nicholas while I oversaw the completion of the cardinal. And boy was it beautiful.

Both the kids have very nice binoculars...which we had of course left at home. Luckily the Audubon Society provided these beauts. Yes, those are TP rolls, folks. Nicholas gave them back as soon as he realized their lack of function. Charlotte loved them.

A lot.

I think these are the most beautiful water intake towers ever. This one was built in 1894.

This one was built in 1915. People actually lived in them, right in the middle of the Mississippi river. The towers provided drinking water for St Louis during that time. It is not obvious (to me at least) how exactly they worked. But they're so cute!

Is it weird that seeing this sign on the bridge and looking at the big I-270 bridge which is a few miles north made me think of the movie Cars?? I could almost hear James Taylor's sweet voice singing...

We made it to the Illinois side, and after a quick snack (thanks to the Rotary Club), headed back across. The entire mile back on the bridge (thank you Tom for hoisting Charlotte on your shoulders!) Charlotte wanted to see the "pretend eagle". I was very happy that he was still there when we got off the bridge!

Did you know...bald eagles built the largest nest in the world, weighing more than 2 tons? The eagles return to the same nest each year and keep adding to it continually until it's too heavy for the tree to support or they go to the great bird nest in the sky. In this picture Nicholas is very kindly holding Charlotte up in the nest so she can see over the side. After the picture he immediately dropped her onto the ground. Crying ensued.

Ta da! Just as we were leaving (with tired kiddos) I saw that there was an eagle show being put on by the World Bird Conservatory in a tent. I couldn't pass it up! Luckily it was very near the end of the show when we popped inside.

The perfect ending. We'll be back next year...with real binoculars.