Jerry Carlson

Special to the Times

It was a scenic start to a 10-day road trip. The curvy, two-lane road that wound its way along the Zumbro River bottoms from Mazeppa to Wabasha offered a close up look at the bluff country of Southeast Minnesota.

As always, I was on the lookout for any wildlife that could be seen. Other than a couple of turkeys and several red tail hawks, our drive was uneventful until we nearly reached the Mississippi.

It was here that my wife, Colette, spotted an eagle soaring over the Zumbro. A short distance later, there was a second bird. Both appeared to be fishing along the open waters of the river.

It was a bit ironic that these two eagles welcomed us into the town of Wabasha. We had taken this road with the express purpose of stopping at the National Eagle Center located there.

As we navigated our way through the back streets to the interpretive building, we couldn’t help but remark at the uniqueness of the Eagle Center location. Built on the banks of the Mississippi, it was well-suited for observing our national bird.

We had both grown up in Lake City, another small town a dozen miles upriver from Wabasha. As kids, seeing an eagle was not an unusual event as they would congregate by the dozens during the winter in the open water stretches of lower Lake Pepin.

This gathering at the open water wintering site still takes place and is part of the reason the Eagle Center was located in Wabasha.

After watching one of the three captive eagles tear apart and devour a fish, we spent some time learning facts about eagles. We were both surprised they lived up to 40 years in captivity and have powerful talons with a grip of 400 pounds per square inch.

We also watched as the other guests tried desperately to catch sight of a wild eagle fishing along the river. Although eagles are common in St. Cloud, not everyone has a chance to observe them on a regular basis.

Even though the wild birds were uncooperative on this day, the Eagle Center, with two bald eagles and one golden, was still an interesting place to explore.