Eagle Days!

John and I started going to Eagle Days with our teacher friends the year I was pregnant with William. Eagle Days is always held the last weekend in January - so you can imagine I was very, very pregnant. Looking back, I'm not sure I would have taken me with that year. But, I don't think any of them were up to arguing with this pregnant chick (you're not gonna win, that is all I'm going to say). I think I had William four days after Eagle Days that year. We missed the actual Eagle Days last year due to the birthday, but went the following weekend with our teacher friends.

This year is was cold (11 degrees) and very windy on the river. However, this was the BEST eagle watching we've ever had. I think we saw more eagles this year than the other years combined. Very cool...although I didn't get many great pictures. First it was super cold and second the distance to where the eagles were hanging out was not ideal for our lens. But, here is what we came back with:

Eagles or penguins? Four eagles hanging out on a chunk of ice. Pelicans (? Is that what they are?) swimming around in the background.

If you look carefully in this picture at the base of the trees, you'll see a LOT of herons hanging out. By my count, there are 27 herons in this picture.

Eagles flying around and swooping in to fish - very cool!

Another eagle hanging out on an ice chunk floating in the river

The eagle roost. If you look carefully at the tree in the center of this picture, you'll see a lot of white heads. I count 24 eagles in this tree alone.

Fishing eagles, swimming pelicans (?)

William was SO cold he only stayed out with us for a few minutes before Grandma and Grandpa took him back to the car.

This year we caught the Eagle Days Presentation at the Apple Shed in Clarksville. This shed has to be the coldest place in Missouri. Metal shed uninsulated in the middle of winter. Add in a metal chair to sit on and you have one very cold behind.