[insert cries of Chicken Little]
Yes, folks the time is almost here again. The mid-upper Mississippi River
vallee is going to experience the annual invasion of the eagles. The past
couple years have resulted in upwards of 3,000 bald eagles between Quincy,
Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa. They do most of their gathering at the lock &
dams as the water is always open (not frozen over) and the fish are a bit
stunned going over the dam.
You all know about all this though. BUT, I have some new information!!!!
The other day I was down at the L&D (lock&dam) and I decided that I wanted
to get some pictures of a barge passing through from a restricted area.
Gosh, five years living here and I finally get brave enough to ask
permission to stand on the gate. Anyway, permission granted and I managed
to get unlimited access to the Lock. The upper Mississippi will be closed
to river traffic on December 15 for the season and the L&D crews will
primarily be doing maintainance instead of having to worry about keeping
barges afloat. I asked about getting access to the dam's catwalk for eagle
shots. Permission granted!!!! yeehaa!!!! They even said when to come
down for the best pics. Soooo, as they start drifing downhere I will be
getting some limited access to get within a few feet of the eagles fishing
and eating. (they eat on the catwalk too). Maybe my 200mm will be
sufficient after all.
Now I just have to figure out how to earn enough money to buy film....
Ken
Kenneth E. Norton
Image66 Photography
image66@xxxxxxx
(217) 224-5004
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