The 50 degree day this weekend made for a great trip along the river. We found the downstream sides of the Locks to be crowded with fishing boats. 38 below the Genoa dam.

Bald Eagles clustered… sometimes as many as 12 in close proximity… fishing along the edge of melted ice sheets. My guess is that as the ice melts, fish carcasses are released to make an easy meal for our favorite scavengers! At one spot, I quickly counted 12 eagles and then left uncounted a much larger cluster of fishing and flying eagles just beyond.

Prairie du Chien had their annual Eagle Days this coming weekend, March 5, .Ferryville offers theirs. Eagle days are an excellent time for visitors to have access to expert guides in accessible spots in our small town communities!

It was hard to imagine that our Sandhill Cranes would let a 50 degree day slip by without making a run for Wisconsin, so we made it home by 5 to form a welcoming committee. Sure enough, a single crane came in by 5:15 pm. Like the last crane to leave the valley in October, this first arrival was mostly focused on finding out who might already have arrived. Its calls were constant as it moved eastward from the river, but no responses as yet. By March 13, most of our local birds will be settled in and claiming their nests.

I have to say this was the first time in 15 or 20 years of crane watching that I have been so confident the cranes would show up that I have literally set up a lawnchair to wait for them!! What a wonderful river valley to call home! You can find a HISTORY of Sandhill Crane arrival dates I’ve recorded in a near-by post. Use the SEARCH option to find previous posts on Eagles, Pelicans, and Sandhill Cranes along the Mississippi River!