We had a lovely weekend indoors this weekend, but time to start moving again, South this time. We wanted to go up North where the Mississippi headwaters are, but maybe we’ll leave that for the Springtime when we can enjoy it more. We did however go East to drive along and the Mississippi. This is the first time I’ve seen the Mississippi. It moves faster than I thought it would. It is big, wide, and brown. And pretty sure the water level is high because there is a lot of marshy land on the side and many trees within the edges of the river and doesn’t look like it is always like that??
The highway going along the Mississippi River keeps crossing the river into Wisconsin and back over into Minnesota.
Wisconsin. 12th State.
We ended up stopping in Wabasha, Minnesota where there is a National Eagle Center. Meet Donald, Columbia, and Was’aka. These eagles are here for various reasons that make them unable to survive in the wild such as being blind in one eye, being unable to fly after a broken wing, etc…
The main difference between Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles other than the obvious bald white head is that bald eagles are fish eagles, live primarily along lakes and rivers and feed on fish. Golden eagles live more in open spaces and prairies and feed on non-water fowl like rabbits and squirrels.
Wabasha is in the middle of the Mississippi River Flyway pattern that runs from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and follows the Mississippi River watershed. Over 60% of all North American bird species and 40% of the waterfowl use this flyway. It is a vital “highway” for migratory birds moving between their summer and winter homes and provides critical places to rest and eat along their journey.
Eagles fly only as far south as they need to…to find food. At the town on Wabasha (other than being featured in the movie Grumpy Old Men) the river does not freeze over because of the deep Lake Pepin directly to the north and the Chippewa River flows in causing enough turbulence in the Mississippi that it does not freeze over.
An eagle’s feathers weigh twice as much as its bones.
Birds use their feathers to fly, but also so much more…can you name any others? See below for some others…
An eagle can see 5x as far as us and have 2 focal points. Humans have only 1 focal point so can use both eyes to focus on one clear image in front of us or to the side. Eagles have 2 so they can see what a clear vision of something directly in front of and to the side at the SAME TIME. Humans have to pick. Also, their eyes are HUGE compared to their heads. They have the same size eyes as humans…but much smaller heads.
You do not want to mess with the talons of an eagle. It can squeeze its prey at a rate of 400psi. For reference on the squeezing hand, I got up to about 45-50. Edwin got up to about 75.
Birds use their feathers for…Making Sounds, Bracing, Hovering, Transporting Water, Hearing, Keeping Clean, Sending Visual Signals, Keeping Warm, Floating, Foraging, Camoflauging, Digesting, Diving, Swimming, Lining Nests, Keeping Cool, Tobogganing, Snowshoeinng
We had dinner in La Crosse which was in Wisconsin so we had to order us up some cheese curds and camped just south of La Crosse along the Mississippi River at Goose Island Campground.