A chilly roost - Bald eagles make return to Missouri

ST. LOUIS -- At least there's one good thing about the arrival of cold weather -- the eagles have landed.

Bald eagles are back in the St. Louis area. As rivers freeze to the north during the winter, the eagles head south, and many nest near dams along the Mississippi River. Now is an ideal time for eagle-watching.

Scott Isringhausen, an interpretive program coordinator at Pere Marquette State Park in Grafton, Ill., counted 40 eagles in the trees or swooping around on Thursday morning.

The eagles, Isringhausen said, are rare birds -- very loyal to their mates. Though they travel separately during the winter, they will return to reunite at the same nest each year, raising their eaglets before repeating the cycle next winter.

"When eagles mate, they mate for life," Isringhausen said.

Just how birds recognize each other year after year puzzles scientists. Phil Schempf, a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, figures the sharp-eyed birds use visual clues.

The navigation skills are another mystery, but scientists speculate that the eagles use a combination of the sun, stars and an internal compass to find their way.

They have lives of constant upheaval. Young, golden-colored eagles meet at age 5 or 6. After pairing, they build a nest and lay eggs. Eggs take 35 days to hatch. Then eaglets learn to fly over the next two months, after which they begin to fend for themselves with help from their parents.

Other birds of prey are loyal to their mates. But not all birds part for such long periods of time.

A handful of eagles make the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers here home for their nests, perhaps venturing south if fish become hard to come by. But hundreds roosting along the local waterways from January to March are on their fish-hunt, staying in most places about a week.

More than 500 migrant eagles visited the area last winter, according to one estimate.

Pere Marquette will conduct eagle-watching programs on the following dates: today and Tuesday; Jan. 9 through 11, 22 through 24, 26, 30; Feb. 5 through 8, 12 through 14, 19 and 20, 27. Programs begin at 8:30 a.m. at the park's visitor center. Call (618) 786-3323 for information, and reservations are required.

The old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis also will hold Eagle Days from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 15 and 16, featuring educational programs and Lewis and Clark re-enactors. Call (314) 416-9930.

The town of Clarksville, about 60 miles north of St. Louis on Missouri 79, will hold its annual Eagle Days Jan. 21 through 23.