Bird report and more signs of spring

Juvenile Bald Eagle  

Following a hint from my photography friend Dave Updegraff I went to Dubuque, Iowa this evening. There is a pond near the Mississippi, called “16th Street Detention Basin”. At my arrival about 15 Bald Eagles were sitting on the ice or flying in circles. I watched them for several minutes but suddenly they all took off and flew towards the river. I guess it was dinner time… Except for one juvenile, that kept circling above for a couple more minutes. I wrote this before, I do not like this place because it is so damn noisy due to the traffic in this area, where several streets intersect. However, this pond provides a resting and feeding place for many birds that come through the Mississippi valley. The other news is that the American White Pelicans have returned. I saw a squadron of 25 birds soaring up the river. If this is not a sure sign for spring than I don’t know what is… ;-) It was warm again today but the river had still its ice cover. This may change any minute.

The Great Horned Owl was still sitting in the nest at Mud Lake Park. No sign of a young owlet yet. I’ll keep you posted how this may develop…