A friend and I are going to venture out to see some Eagles in Illinois this weekend, and was wondering if anyone could give insight on the best place to go? I've stumbled across this link for an Eagle event in Utica, IL across the river from the Starved Rock State Park.
http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/eagle.html
Has anyone ever attended this festival or spot? Should a 75-300mm be enough reach??
A friend of mine spotted a lot of Eagles in Peoria, IL so we are kind of torn on which to attend, but it seems like Starved Rock is almost guaranteed to provide Eagle sightings, but the question is how close can you get?
Any other spot recommendations? We are trying to keep our drive to a 3 hour max from Northwest Indiana.
Its only speculation, but I've heard Starved Rock State Park is a good place to see them. I'd say go for as long of a reach as you can, especially if a place near you allows you to rent lenses for a weekend. I only have a 55-200, so am going to try to get as close as I can this weekend in Sauk City, WI.
Have not been there for eagles but it should be alright. The park is worth a visit anytime though not sure how long you are going to spend there.
Posted by Tim Mulholland on January 21, 2009 at 10:44 AM
There was a discussion on the RMNP forum, and one of the places of note is Burlington, Iowa. There's a link to a photo from Burlington and there are dozens of eagles in the area, it appears...
FOUND IT! ;) January 18th, titled: Where to find concentrations of Bald eagles in Colorado...
The following was posted by Guy Schmickle:
While I don't doubt that there's areas in CO to find decent concentrations of eagles, I don't think anywhere in the state can compare to what can be found at the locks and dams along the Mississippi in Iowa...especially if the weather is cold (and it's been all of that). Here's a scene that dropped my jaw a couple of years back when I drove down to L&D #18 (near Burlington, Iowa) a couple years ago. Also, here's a link to the current eagle counts along the various Iowa lock and dams. You'll need to click on "Bald Eagle Days" in the lower left panel and then click on "Lock and Dam Eagle Counts - 2009". It looks like the Burlington area is once again a hot spot this year.
______
The links didn't come through with this, so maybe this link to the topic will be helpful:
Discussion
5 repliesA friend and I are going to venture out to see some Eagles in Illinois this weekend, and was wondering if anyone could give insight on the best place to go? I've stumbled across this link for an Eagle event in Utica, IL across the river from the Starved Rock State Park.
http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/eagle.html
Has anyone ever attended this festival or spot? Should a 75-300mm be enough reach??
A friend of mine spotted a lot of Eagles in Peoria, IL so we are kind of torn on which to attend, but it seems like Starved Rock is almost guaranteed to provide Eagle sightings, but the question is how close can you get?
Any other spot recommendations? We are trying to keep our drive to a 3 hour max from Northwest Indiana.
Thanks!
Its only speculation, but I've heard Starved Rock State Park is a good place to see them. I'd say go for as long of a reach as you can, especially if a place near you allows you to rent lenses for a weekend. I only have a 55-200, so am going to try to get as close as I can this weekend in Sauk City, WI.
Tim!
FOUND IT! ;) January 18th, titled: Where to find concentrations of Bald eagles in Colorado...
The following was posted by Guy Schmickle:
While I don't doubt that there's areas in CO to find decent concentrations of eagles, I don't think anywhere in the state can compare to what can be found at the locks and dams along the Mississippi in Iowa...especially if the weather is cold (and it's been all of that). Here's a scene that dropped my jaw a couple of years back when I drove down to L&D #18 (near Burlington, Iowa) a couple years ago. Also, here's a link to the current eagle counts along the various Iowa lock and dams. You'll need to click on "Bald Eagle Days" in the lower left panel and then click on "Lock and Dam Eagle Counts - 2009". It looks like the Burlington area is once again a hot spot this year.
______
The links didn't come through with this, so maybe this link to the topic will be helpful:
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=38448&CGISESSID=8b3d1da320b1cedcb8f69bdb402758ea&u=10852
Good luck,
Tim!