Bald Eagles on the Mississippi River: Clarksville, MO and Grafton, IL on the Great River Road

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience is eager to again feature natural aviators in our coverage of Midwest Aviation.  We set out yesterday, with our friend ace photographer Gary Chambers, to capture the majestic bald eagle in its natural habitat along the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, MO.  Our general travel path included visits to Lock and Dam No. 24 in Clarksville, MO and then across the Mississippi River at Louisiana, MO, to Grafton, IL along the Great River Road (there are many more viewing areas to be visited in future excursions).  Between 8am and 2pm, we saw some bald eagles roosting and flying over the ice-covered river, several of which landed on ice flows and took a ride down the river before taking off again.  

As with all of our Midwest Aviation features, one goal is to inform our audience of the great contributions of the region's aviation industry, heritage and participants (including our natural aviators!).  Our other, and more important goal, is to encourage our audience to participate in aviation, and in this case, go out and witness these majestic creatures for yourself and ensure they always have a welcoming Midwest winter home.  Our photo essay includes gulls, geese and of course, bald eagles!