This past weekend I participated in a golden eagle survey in southeastern Minnesota. Unfortunately my group did not find any golden eagles in our area but I did get some opportunities to take some pictures. It was pretty cold that morning, the bank thermometers read -13 degrees as I was driving to the
National Eagle Center where we were meeting. That does not take into the account the wind chill factor which was probably around 30 below. I had a little extra time so I made a little side trip to Colvill Park in Red Wing, MN on my way to Wabasha.
Colvill Park is a little city park on the southern outskirts of Red Wing. It has a lot of the things that parks in most cities do, like a swimming pool, playground, picnic area, and ball fields. It also is a good place to do a little bird watching, since it is on the Mississippi River. It is a really good place to do bird watching during the winter months, particularly if you want to see bald eagles. Colvill Park is directly down stream from an Excel Energy plant. The steam plant keeps the surrounding water warm so that it does not freeze, which means that it is a gathering place for bald eagles during the winter. Since it was so cold that morning there were many eagles gathered around, about 40 total.
I took a few pics but since I had to be down in Wabasha soon I could not stay. After I finished the golden eagle survey. I left at lunch time since we had already covered our area pretty well and we had not spotted any, I stopped back at Colvill Park. By this time the eagles had left their perches and I was able to get some great flight shots as the circled overhead on the thermals.
There were quite a few adults but what really caught my eye were these very beautiful mottled immature birds.
Immature eagles appear much different then adults do. They usually have brown feathers, brown eyes, and black beaks. At the age of around 4 or 5 they begin to change to the adult coloration that most people easily recognize. When they are in the middle of this process, as these birds are, they can have unique and striking coloration.
You can see that the heads are turning white but still have a mix of black feathers. The same with the tail. The beak is partially yellow but still has some black in it. Since the head on the eagle in this last picture has a lot more white feathers then the others it is probably a year older.
Eagles where not the only bird in Colvill Park that afternoon. There was a small group of mallards in the water as well as a female common merganser. In the trees on the side of the river there were a couple of downy woodpeckers playing with a red-bellied wood pecker.
This is the time of the year when bird watching in Minnesota can get to be difficult. First of all many of the birds have migrated south for the winter and most of the fun winter species have still not made it this far south. Then there are so many days of skies filled with gray clouds, that type of light makes it hard to photograph anything. Don't forget cold temps and snow which require gloves and lead to fogged up glasses which also do not help when you are trying to get that great shot. But it is also this time of the year when I rediscovered my love of nature and began this adventure in birding and wildlife photography.
Minnesota has a very healthy population of bald eagles. This was not so when I was younger but because of federal protection and the ban on DDT eagle populations have been increasing each year. In Minnesota, during the warmer months of the year, the eagles spread out across the state. You can usually find some at each of our many lakes and rivers. However, during the winter they congregate where ever the water does not freeze. This gives us several reliable spots where you can see eagles in good number during the winter. Back in 1999 I made some big changes in my life. I left retail sales and left my small entertainment business and went to work at a corporate job. This allowed me a luxury that I had not had since I was a kid, time. Time to enjoy life, and to enjoy nature again. It was at about this time that I found out about the eagles that gathered on the south Mississippi River at this time of year and after my first visit I was hooked.
Since that time I have made many visits down to the river during the winter to photograph the eagles. This picture was taken early this year at Colvill Parkin Red Wing, MN. Both pictures are the same except the second is cropped in on the eagle. When you see pictures of clear blue skies like this taken in Minnesota during the winter time you can be pretty sure that it was extremely cold.
