Finally, I got the chance to go.
Each year throughout Missouri in the early months of the year a number of "Eagle Days" events are held, often in cities near lakes and rivers. Not all that many decades back, the Bald Eagle was extinct in the state of Missouri, but conservation efforts to restore the Bald Eagle to its former territory began about 25 years ago. At the time, many young eaglets, most of them being from Wisconsin, were introduced into the state in made made nests. The plan was to have the eaglets associate those nesting sites with being their "home" and that as they grew, they would stay in the same relative area, eventually nesting their themselves. Thankfully, the plan worked.
Last year when @papa-pepper attended the Ozark Area Steemit Meetup in Springfield, MO, the @little-peppers went to the Eagle Days event with @mama-pepper while they waited for me to finish. That's why "Red-Pepper" has an eagle hat on in this photo with @stellabelle. While I may have been busy last year, this year I wasn't, so we attended as a family.
BALD EAGLES
Bald Eagles should be familiar to some people, since they are the national bird of the United States. Because they eat mostly fish and waterfowl, they need open water in order to find their prey. This causes issues for them in winter, so many migrate south in search of open water. This is why the numbers in some states, such as Missouri, drastically rise during the winter months.
Now, there are not only the winter visitor eagles that can be found in Missouri, but hundreds of Bald Eagles that make the state their year round home. Because of the success of the restoration project, the Eagle Days events have been being held to raise awareness about these impressive birds.
Female eagles, like "Phoenix" pictures above, can stand about 3 1/2 feet tall, weigh up to 15 pounds, and have an eight foot wingspan. The females are larger than the males, but the males are still some pretty large and impressive birds. Phoenix was part of the attempt to reintroduce the Bald Eagle to Missouri, but she did not make it in the wild. Eventually so much human intervention was needed to keep her alive that she would never be able to be released.
On the plus side, she would already be at the higher end for life expectancy of wild Bald Eagles, since she is already 25 years old, and 25 -30 years old is about the maximum for wild birds of this species. In captivity though, one once lived to 50 years at the St. Louis zoo.
These days, and for the past couple decades, Phoenix has been an ambassador for her species, making appearances to hep raise awareness and capture the fascination of the next generation. While we often see wild Bald Eagles in my family, many people are not so blessed. To allow people the opportunity to see these magnificent creatures up close and in person encourages them to care about the wild animals and the environment that we share with them.
It was an educational and entertaining day for the whole @papa-pepper tribe, and if you want to see some more fun from the day, keep an eye on the @little-peppers account, as they have a few fun things to share in the near future.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-eagle-days
Until next time…
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happy ending. :)
It worked out!
What a cool program! Since Ive moved here I have seen 2 bald eagles on our property, they are such a majestic and beautiful bird!
They really are! I've seen quite a few do some amazing things in my time.
great post! thanks for sharing! they're amazing birds :)
They are amazing birds indeed.
nice post thanks for sharing your post..
very beautiful animals :)
Big UP !
I love EAGLES...
heres a Picture from my entrance...
This pic is handdrawn by my wife...
Wow! She did a very nice job!
yes she did, im proud about this pic and to have such an talented wife...
What a great eagle you are, hopefully your eagle is healthy always
I was going to watch a national geographic animal documentary...after reading this i have no more need for it. Bald eagles, such a majestic creature, the only bald animals i have in my country are mostly man XD
Glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for the encouragement!
Thunderous Lord Jay!!! You mean eagles live that long. I thought the life expectancy will be something around 8-10. Also, the eagles you had photo with, are their legs tied and fasten so they can fly away or are they that tame not to run away from humans? Just curious.,,,,
They are tied to make sure they do not take off.
Great post , I had no idea that Phoenix was into wildlife protection at that level :)
Nice family day outing.
There was so much confidence in that woman holding it, so that brought up my above question?
Aside from their prey being aquatic creature what other things also fall into their prey?
Commendation: The pictures are greatly shot.
They don't really attack people. Besides fish and waterfowl, they may also eat carrion (dead animals), mammals, and other birds.
That eagle is really beautiful.
nice eagle, and smart, and good program, good luck
Surely it was a great walk, full of adventure and education, your family is beautiful and I would like to know if that animal is not dangerous? is a beautiful and authentic bird, greetings
Well I always loved this bird, wish I could grab one for myself :/
That would be cool!
Those eagles are beautiful animals!
I am sure you had s great time with the @little-peppers!
wow..look at the magnificent look in their face..very steady firm look..that is why i love eagles..for me eagles are the creatures that fight until the end..and you have a very lovely family..nice to see them together :) may god bless you all
Papa-eagle got this.....
Will also make some nest for bald eagles someday
Hey, maybe you could make a trip to huntsville to the open arms pantry to drop off a couple shopping carts. They are open every tuesday. 400 west street. Hit me up in chat later.
Hmmm.......
Got your chat message but i cant get that on my phone. The pantry just closed but someone will probably be here when you get here. If noone is here, just leave them by the door. Someone will be by to put them inside.THANKS
a great program is very good and can be imitated by other countries in this world. it is right for us human beings
preserve their habitat and habitat from extinction. Good news friend
It is right! Thanks @bangmol!
wow this is a great friend,
always be careful comrades, I really like eagles.
but wild eagles are enemies for chickens.
in my place are many eagles that prey on chicks.
how do we prevent it @papa-pepper.
That is so fun! I had never seen a bald eagle in person until we moved to Missouri. Its only weird when you see this mighty majestic bird eating road kill haha.
You never saw any up in Wisconsin? We'd see them everywhere.
Yeah man, maybe because we were in a city? We didn't venture west of 94 too often.
with an amazing eagle, a very good post, my personal @fasteem is very fond of your post
Honestly, I am very happy to read your article, you create an exciting content that can make me relax reading it, can you visit my blog ?? @umar97
wow!!! I'm so intrigued I always love your post @papa-pepper and I am porting straight into @little-pepper's account to go catch some more fun
Wow! Thank you for all this wonderful information about bald eagles.
wah eagle is very big friend
worthy of being made king in the USA
indeed he is very ferocious to pounce on animals small animals
hopefully his journey safely to the destination
Awwwwnnn! You guys are sooo cute! Ur kids are adorable and the eagle is magnificent indeed. I hope y'all had fun. Will be watching out for the @ little-peppers accounts!
Good article. It would be cool to look at these animals personally and from a close distance. I'm a little bit jealous, actually )
Fly like an Eagle. Can't be more free than a bird.
Our Bald Eagle pair are back building their nest atop a tree overlooking the farm. I absolutely love going out each day and hearing their screeches and chattering. Each year Lake Coeur d'Alene gets hundreds of Bald Eagles that show up and the shores of the lake get covered with people scoping them.
We have quite a few here in eastern PA (and I'm not talking about the ones going to the Superbowl, i am happy about that by the way) They are becoming a fairly common site around here. It is awesome to see them making a comeback.
Most birds seek shelter from the storms, the eagle flies above it!
Awesome birds to watch.
Eagles are unique birds with they pride themselves as royalty. They also have good eyesight. Nice artwork
Great program for a majestic looking bird, but I still prefer the Turkey. Love you Ben.
They are such majestic creatures! It's great to hear that the program worked.
That’s so cool and great education for the little peppers. Funny you mentioned they came from Wisconsin. I remember a post from you last fall when you tried to film an eagle in the wild and it didn’t work out so well! Ha ha... I know that was just for humor but the pics here are much nicer!
Whatttttt! Thats so scary! But yet so great. I dont think we have them over here in Holland that big!
There donorouders on that madams arm like I Sm the king! Nice to read
Cool Birds of prey are just awesome to watch.
We only have two here (I think) the Australasian Harrier and the NZ Falcon.
I wish we still had Haast's Eagle. Now that's an impressive bird!
Imagine an eagle big enough to carry a man off, and that's what used to live here.
I'm glad the conservation efforts have worked, and it shows that humans can fix the problems they create ;-)
Such a serious "proof" photo.
NZ has done similar re-housing projects, mainly by first clearing all the introduced predators [opposums, weasels, rats etc], placing a barricade around the area to keep them out, and then re-introducing the natives back to their natural homes
Any chance of introducing them to the Ozarks?
I know a couple of blokes who would probably be interested.
Me fascinan las Eagel, nunca he tenido la oportunidad de tenerlas cerca, me encanta me entusiasma, me inspira, me pone feliz el espectáculo de verlas. Gracias por compartir, no me des voto porque ya me regalasteis algo muy bueno este día. Saludos
Great pictures of an amazing visit. We will have to look for that next year.
I love eagles. Rulers of the sky and so beautiful. Eagles would swarm over our old house daily looking for fish in the river out back. I loved to watch them❤️
very nice
They are the most majestic and awesome birds! While I was visiting Vancouver Island a number of years ago, my friend and I were hiking a log a river watching the salmon run. A very large eagle swooped down next to us and took a large salmon out of the water. It was an amazing site. Wish I had gotten a photo since he was so close to us.
Nice post
Oh, I wish I had known before you went... My dearest friend on this planet (next to @longsilver) probably was there. She lives near Springfield and is very active in the Native American healing community, I just can't see her missing "Eagle Days," I will have to ask her!
Very cool. Eagles are a plenty on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers up here in ol St Lou as well. Nice to see them up close. I especially liked the photo of the little peppers and Stella :)