Missouri
On Feb. 8, 2010 I saw a bald eagle in an open field just south of the entrance to Westwood Trails subdivision in Foristell, MO. The subdivision is located off of HWY T between Foristell and New Melle. I could not watch it for very long because there was no shoulder on the road to pull over. It was an awesome sight!
Ramona Roberts
Joplin, MO (SW Missouri)
The Chert Glades Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalists are teaming up with the City of Stella Missouri for the second Annual Eagle Days.
It normally is scheduled on the last Saturday of January, but this year was postponed due to the weather last weekend. It has been
rescheduled for February 6th 10 AM throughout the day. Last year there were hundreds roosting in the trees along Indian Creek
and in and around the surrounding area of Stella. I noticed a comment from an individual from Washburn, Mo which is approx 45 minutes
SE of Stella. The many fresh water stream, creeks, rivers and nearby lakes are attributed for the number of Eagles that migrate to this
area every year. For more information visit: chertgladesmn.org
Karen Garver
Union, Missouri (Franklin County); Today was the second sighting this winter of a pair of mature Bald Eagles. Not sure if they are the same pair each time, but are beautiful, nonetheless. We are located on a large parcel of property just south of the I-44/Hwy 50 interchange surrounded on three sides by the Bourbeuse River. There are large plots of low farm land and undisturbed forest for them to hunt in.
Chris Burnette
I live in Bunceton,Missouri(Cooper County),I see a mature Bald Eagle everyday if not twice a day on Hwy 5 Between I-70 and Hwy 50. I believe he's found good hunting, there are hundreds of open fields and several very large lakes. It is a very large one, I'd say near 2 foot tall with a head so white you can easily see it. It makes my drive back and forth to work everyday very exciting. I drive slow and search the trees for it. I hope to catch a photo of it before it moves along in the warmer weather. It makes my heart beat faster to think I've been blessed to see one of these magnificent animals in the wild and so near my home.
Alva and Rita McCart
1/20/10, New Melle, Missouri. (St. Charles County, Missouri) I travel many miles of Highway D, 2 to 4 times per day and see much wildlife. Never before have I spotted a Bald Eagle out here until this day. The Bald Eagles prefer to stay near the major rivers or other large bodies of water, so this was truly a surprise. I was traveling eastbound on highway D and was about 2 miles east of New Melle, when I saw the Bald Eagle on the ground, on the westbound shoulder eating what appeared to be road kill, but it could have just made a kill and was eating it. I pulled over to the shoulder and for a few seconds I was lucky enough to be very close to the bird. I tried to quickly snap a picture but the eagle flew off right in front of my car and then on into the woods. I've also reported the sighting to the Missouri Conservation Department. It just made my day!
Kathy Pyatt
Lake St. Louis, Missouri. We have had the pleasure of watching a pair and two immature eagles for the last two weeks. They perch in the trees behind and next to our house. We have watched the female fight off another eagle locking talons etc., in the air. They also fed off geese on the lake and took turns feeding while one stood guard. The eldest immature was the last to fed, while the youngest sat on the ice and watched but never fed. It's a thrill a day. 1/11/10
Linda Ross
Just wanted to share with you that we have many eagles at Mark Twain Lake at the Clarence Cannon Dam. When the lake freezes the Eagles congregate at the dam to fish and we counted at least 6 today. Mark Twain Lake is in Northeast Mo approx 100 miles north of St.Louis Mo.
Shannan Meyer
I saw two mature eagles circling over St. Charles MO today 12/28/09 around noon.
Marvin Monday
We were heading out our subdivision near Lake Waukomis, Missouri, 64151, a suburb of Kansas City, , on December 23, 2009, when we saw a bald eagle flying in a circle over our house and then head northeast towards Smithville Lake! What a beautiful site to see it over our home!!
Dianne Marks
Lake Lotawana, Missouri - 64086
I wish I had known about this site the day my husband and I saw a group of 4 bald eagles flying rather low near our lake home this past late fall, 2009. It was truly a magnificent sight and it appeared to be two mature and two younger eagles and they seemed to be dashing in and out of a wooded area next to our property and then circling above as if they were playing a game! I couldn't get enough of watching them and felt I had been blessed with an incredible gift to see these amazing creatures commanding the sky yet close enough for us to see quite clearly. The "performance" lasted about twenty minutes and I'll never forget the experience! I hope we will see more of them again. Awesome!!
Steven and Patricia Hall
We just saw a beautiful Bald Eagle sitting in a tree at the end of our road outside of New Haven, MO.
Lois Aichholz
I live in Branson, Missouri, and at work this morning when I walked outside to see how busy the streets were and how well the day might be, I looked up and say a bald eagle flying over head. It was around 11:30am. I watched it as it flew off in the distance and then started making circles in the sky. Going higher and higher I almost lost sight of it. I then saw it fly away and didn't see it anymore. I was very exciting because when it flew overhead it was only about 100 feet in the air. So I could see it distinctly the huge white head and white tail feathers. It was beautiful.
Ethan Plank
Went for a trail run day after Thanksgiving in Minor Park in Kansas City, Mo. Parked at trailhead on North end of Park off Red Bridge Road next to the basketball courts. I saw the Bald Eagle at exactly the 1.87 mile point from the trailhead. The Eagle was sitting next to the Blue River on the ground. As soon as I approached the Eagle took off and I stopped and watched as it flew down river.
Greg Wening
We live in Smithville, MO. Our home is located very near Smithville lake just north of the dam. On September 24th, 2009 at 12:55pm in the sky above where we live, we saw 5 juveniles and one adult bald eagle circling. My husband and I were simply amazed at their beauty. We watched them and followed them with the binoculars until they slowly circled out of sight. We have seen individual eagles by the lake but never this many at once or seen them fly in this pattern. What a beautiful sight. This again is another reason why we live where we live.
Brenda Kirschbaum
Cedar Crest Cove, Hermitage, Hickory County, Missouri. Immature eagle flying just above roof tops (lucky me!) at about 5:30pm, 020109. Flew directly over my head. About 1 block away from water on Lake Pomme de Terre.
Martha Henry
Monday morning January 5, 2009. I was driving south on Mo Hwy 37 just north of the Arkansas border near the small town of Seligman. I am used to seeing eagles in that location from time to time but that morning I saw one roosting in a tree with several other dark figures that I presumed were squirrel nests. I drove into town and thought about the other figures in the trees and decided to go back. There were 8 more eagles in that tree. The tree beside it contained 7 more and so on. In all I counted 23 eagles in five different trees. I went back to my truck to get the camera and of course the battery was dead. I think they were there for breakfast. A local farmer was cleaning out his chicken house. Whatever, I was impressed to say the least. I got so excited that I flagged down a local cop just to make sure I wasn't crazy.
Herb Rimel
We were hiking in woods just south of the Mississippi River Lock and Dam at Saverton, Missouri (south of Hannibal Missouri). We came up to a ridge that we knew dropped off to the river. When we crested the ridge, we were just above the tops of the trees that grew at river level. To our surprise, about 50 eagles were nesting in the trees – it was almost like a covey flush for quail – they all took off and were right out in front of us. I've never seen eagles so close (within 50 yards) and it was just amazing! They included mature (white headed) eagles as well as younger eagles that appeared to be black/grey. They flew around and went down river to avoid us. Later in the day, when we were driving along Hwy 79 into Hannibal, we could see several eagles sitting on "icebergs" i.e., frozen chunks of ice in the Mississippi River!
It was truly a once in a lifetime thing.
Ellen Addison
I live in Branson, MO and work in Monett, MO. On the way to work on Tuesday, December 16th, I saw my first Bald Eagle in the wild. I was driving along on Z Highway, just southeast of Monett when I came up on a HUGE Bald Eagle devouring a road kill. I drove right past him, and he never flew off. I turned around with hopes of getting close enough to take a nice close-up picture with my cell phone, but as I approached him this time, he flew up and lighted in a nearby tree. It was truly a very exciting moment for me! That bird was beautiful! There is so much glory associated with the Bald Eagle that it made this close up sighting a very truly memorable experience for me!
Daniel Owens
We drove to the Missouri river levee at New Haven, MO yesterday in hopes of spotting an eagle. It was very cold, in the teens, and partly cloudy. The ice was flowing down the river in huge chunks and we spotted a beautiful Bald Eagle flying up river. Within a few minutes we saw two more and they were playing or fighting with each other over the river. It was an awesome sight to see. Three Bald Eagles in one sighting so we were very excited to see them.
Lois Aichholz
New Haven, MO
My grandson and I were walking along along the James River in Greene County Missouri today and came around a bend in the river with a large bluff on the other side only to see within 20 feet away the most beautiful Bald Eagle, continued to glide on past and let us watch him float out of sight. The white of his head and tail is unbelievable.
Darrel Wilson, Rogersville,MO
My wife and I were in Branson for Thanksgiving....We saw three eagles flying around at Table Rock Lake. I took this video and thought you might like it.....
http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff212/mjktx121/?action=view¤t=MVI_1183.flv
Mike Kennedy / Little Rock, AR
on Dec 2 of 2008 around 9:30 am in the morning in the state of missouri in the city of smithville. I sighted a bald eagle flying along 169 hwy just behind the post office i saw it swoop down and soar back up in the air. It was the most beauiful bird i have ever seen. This is my first incounter with one in the wild.
nancy seay
I live near St. Louis, Missouri, and saw a mature bald eagle on October 25 while walking around a lake (Creve Coeur Lake in St. Louis County) during the late afternoon. It soared over the lake, swooped down to the water, and flew around again ultimately landing in a tree about 60 feet away from me. I thought it appeared to be an eagle as it was flying, but was certain when I saw it sitting in the tree with it's unmistakable white head and beak. This seems quite early in the year for an eagle sighting in my area.
Elaine Beffa
East of Weaubleau, MO a couple of miles on north side of Hwy 54 atop a tree.
Debra Doughty
For the second year in a row a beautiful bald eagle has graced Harrisonville Missouri. This small community is approximately 35 miles south of Kansas City on 71 hwy. It stay by our city park lake and seems to follow the Canadian geese that take over the park and lakes this time of year.
Chuck Crosby
Sighted 8 to 10 sitting in the trees and doing acrobatics in the air next to the Mississippi in West Quincy, Missouri. They must be on their way to the Bald Eagle Days in Keokuk, Iowa!
Vicky Carson
We saw a beautiful Bald Eagle yesterday, January 2, 2008 in central Missouri, just south of New Haven, which is along the Missouri river. While we were driving down Highway C he was flying just above the treetops and it was a very cold day with a bright blue sky and the temperature was in the teens. He was unmistakable with his bright white tail and white head against the clear blue sky. An awesome sight!
Lois Aichholz
I live in Gladstone, MO and work in Overland Park, Ks. I travel to work daily across the Interstate 635 bridge over the MO & Kansas rivers. Almost daily there is a family of 4-5 eagles on the MO River bridge, 2 immatures, 2 adults. There are 2 just east of the 635 bridge over the Kansas River, in the same tree on the south side of the river. I have had them swoop from under the bridge up to the bridge within 20 feet of my car! I nearly passed out!
Tim Tunstill
I know there are several reported bald eagle sightings in the SW MO region but I may have a different one. It is located 5.1 miles west of Washburn, MO on Hwy 90. I must have seen at least 30 bald eagles roosting in the treees and flying around Christmas day. It was amazing.
Melissa Briggs
I Just had two fly by my house on the Missouri River in St Joseph Missouri, They rested for a while then one took off and went North on the river. The other one stayed for about 30 min and then went across the river for a while, then just took off North. I hope I get to see them again! They were beautiful! 12/2/2007
Claudia Daum
I had a bald eagle sighting yesterday (11-18-07).
My name is Claire Chosid and I live in Creve Coeur, Missouri. We're a suburb of St. Louis, Mo. I must implore that we're not near open water or large lakes. We have a few small ponds, nothing of any size that would attract an eagle. I have a very old cottonwood tree in my back yard. It might be 100 years old and the tallest tree in the area. Yesterday, I was taking out the trash, looked at my cottonwood tree and spied a pair of eagles. I'm going to assume that it was a mated pair as one was well smaller than the other. I have a resident red-tailed hawk that hangs out in the cottonwood, but I freaked out when I saw the eagles. I was astounded by the contrast of the white head and tail and the dark brown body. I ran inside to get my camera and started shooting. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, but the photos are still pretty awesome. I emailed them to the NBC affiliate in St. Louis and they ran them on the 5 o'clock news. The local paper will run my photos on Wednesday. I can email them if you'd like to use them.
All in all, it was an amazing day. I got a few shots of them sitting, then I got one of the male taking off, then about 10 shots of them circling my house. We have acre lots here, they circled for 5 minutes and were gone. I am blessed to have witnessed such an awesome event. Five years ago I had Great Horned Owls nest in the trees behind my pool. I got to watch them grow and learn to fly. I thought it wouldn't get any better than that for this bird watcher. But it did. Truly a once in a lifetime event!
Claire Chosid
It is just after sunset and I was taking my dogs outon Jan 18th, 2007. I
saw a bald eagle circling. I landed in a tree across the street from my
house in a park. It is a small park in the middle of residential Kansas
City named Iser Park right at the corner of 112th Terrace and Sycamore.
John Ferguson
This is the First time ever that I've seen 2 Bald Eagles together in the wild,
on the same tree,even
I am local cable guy here, and was working on a ladder just next to elk river. All of the sudden, one lands within 100 foot of me in a large tree. Before I can get down, I look up and I thought it left, but it was a second one hovering over the tree. It landed next to the first. Side by side. Got my camera and took a great picture. Like I said, this is something I have never seen in the wild. And to be our national bird, It was Awesome.!!!
Charles Harvey
January 28-29th 2006 is the Clarksville Missouri Eagle Days events... The River Heritage Center & Visitor Center has siting scopes and there are lots of events
planned that weekend.. Courtesy of Kimberly
When I was in Boy Scouts we used to go to a place in northwest Missouri called Squaw Creek. It is off of I-29 near the small town of Rock Port. They have an Eagle Day also (not sure of the exact name or date) in November sometime. They usually report about 70 or so bald eagles at that time and it is a great place to see other wildlife as well. Courtesy of Stephen Sample
Two adult bald eagles along the north bank of the Missouri River in north Kansas City, Missouri. They can be seen in the trees from Levee Rd. where it turns into Warren St. Courtesy of Phil Shahan
Missouri provides many excellent Winter places for sighting Bald Eagles,
including the Mississippi River from St. Louis north. There are reportedly a
few permanent nests in Missouri, but the prime period for seeing these
majestic birds is mid-November through early March. The exact timing and
numbers of birds depends upon the weather. The place I have found to be best
for quantity and quality of viewing is at Clarksville, Missouri (West bank of
the Mississippi), located at Lock and Dam #24. Clarksville is about 70 miles
Northwest of St. Louis downtown and Highway 79 is an easy drive through
beautiful riverbottom farmlands. Once at Clarksville, locate the Clarksville
Visitor Center on Highway 79 at the North edge of town, near the dam and
locks. There you will find excellent displays of wildlife information and
memorabilia, PLUS a near-perfect spot (you choose inside or outside) to view
the eagles.
In recent years, we have had day counts of as few as 25 birds (very warm
winter without enough ice to drive them this far South) and as high as over
400. These birds nest in the trees across the river for the large part, but
regularly fly across the river and into trees very near the viewing site,
offering close range views of flying Bald Eagles -- a sight you will not
forget. For further information, contact: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Riverlands Area Office, P.O. Box 558, Clarksville, MO 63336, (573) 242-3724.
Via internet, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation at
http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/birds/baldegle/
Other Missouri Prime wintering locations for eagles include: Lake of the
Ozarks @ Bagnell Dam Access, east of Bagnell; Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area
@Route K, southwest of Columbia; Lock & Dam 25 @East of Winfield; Mingo
National Wildlife Refuge @Northwest of Puxico; Riverlands Environmental
Demonstration Area @East of West Alton; Schell-Osage Conservation Area @North
of El Dorado Springs; Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge @South of Mound
City; Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge @South of Summer; Table Rock Lake &
Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery @Southwest of Branson; and Truman
Reservoir @West of Warsaw. Plan a visit to one, or all, of these locations
this winter and watch for eagles perching in large trees along the edges of
rivers or lakes.
For info, go to: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/birds/eagles/
Yours for excellent viewing, Ben Bradshaw, Kimmswick/Imperial, MO. 11.28.2002
I saw a bald eagle feeding on a deer carcass on my farm. I live in Bethany, Missouri and I saw the eagle about two miles west of town. Courtesy of Charley Spillman
I have seen several (approximately 25-30) bald eagles around the Dora, Missouri area as well as around the Wasola, Missouri area near Rockbridge Trout Ranch in the last three years. Courtesy of KRISTINA FRAZIER
We live in NE Missouri (North of Kirksville) and were visited by several eagles today. A pair landed in a tree on our farm, followed an hour later by a young bird not yet bald. They left together after remaining in the tree about an hour. Courtesy of Roger Rosenberg
December 31, 2005
St. Charles Mo. My family and I have been privileged to observe several single bald eagles very close to our house, which is in the river bottoms. I have observed several single bald eagles over the highways, primarily by the Missouri River between ST. Charles and St. Louis Counties over the last several months.
We went to Winfield to specifically look for bald eagles and we were thrilled to see and hear several of them in the air and one sitting in a tree. At about lunchtime they were flying on the Illinois side of the river by the ferry dock. One was perched on the Missouri side between the dam and the ferry. Bring your binoculars.
Courtesy of The Maltzman family, St. Charles Mo.
On Saturday, January 7th we were at our Truman lake cabin close to Warsaw, Missouri. I always walk my dogs down to the lake first thing, usually between 6:30 & 7 am, getting light but not sun up yet. We were on our walk and even before I got down to the water I could see a white something in one of the dead trees at the edge of the lake. The dogs were over in the tall grass so I continued on down slowly and as quiet as possible, knowing what it MIGHT be. Sure enough a majestic bald eagle was just sitting there. I sat right where I was and just waited for him to take off, knowing he wouldn't stay around. In a few minutes when the group of small ducks took off, so did he. Our neighbors who have lived on the lake for years have told us there has been 3 eagles come back to this cove area for the last 4/5 years.
So now I will always bring my "spy glasses" with me and have started to log when I see "him". I am going to have to read up on the feeding habits and such just so I know what I might expect. I feel very honored and privileged to see this great bird right in my back yard!. Courtesy of Martha Fann, Racket Missouri
Over the weekend on our way through Smithville, Missouri we saw the sign for "Eagle Days." We were curious as to what it was so we decided to check it out. On Sunday, we went and watched the presentation with an injured bald eagle and then headed to see what we could find on our own. That day we saw five flying in the wild. We enjoyed it so much, we decided to make another trip there today. The first one we saw was less than 200 feet from us with a perfect view of it sitting in the dead tree in the cove. After watching him for 15-20 minutes, we decided to try our luck somewhere else in the area. We moved on along and near the marina we found a smaller mature bald eagle and what we believe to be a juvenile that had not gotten all his white.
After the two of them flew off, we moved on to another location and saw our last one perched in a dead tree near the shore line. This was a great day for us and we have now decided that we will visit that spot again tomorrow to see if they are still in the area. Wish us luck!!! (We've not downloaded our pictures yet, but hopefully we will have a sighting to report tomorrow and we will include photos then.)
(These sightings were at Smithville Lake in Smithville, Missouri.)
Courtesy of Stacey, Brendon, Shelly, Dina and Oza
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