Spot Golden Eagles Near the Mississippi

By the time we reached the National Eagle Center in Wabasha from the Twin Cities, my husband and I had counted more than a half-dozen adult bald eagles in trees along the Mississippi River. While we always enjoy seeing the majestic, white-headed birds of prey, this time we were looking for gold.

On a Valentine’s Day that brought a false spring—50 degrees and sunny—we joined six other birders in the center’s eagle-adorned minibus for a golden eagle field trip led by Scott Mehus, the center’s director of education. Our mission: Find one of the more elusive raptors in the Upper Midwest.

“Some bird watchers go for years trying to find one,” he warned us, adding that sightings of these eagles, which winter in Minnesota, are never guaranteed.

Before taking off, Mehus, who has studied golden eagles for three decades, showed participants images of adult golden eagles and juvenile bald eagles, which look strikingly similar at a distance but can be distinguished by several key features.

As Mehus drove us across the river into Buffalo County, Wisconsin, the bus became a rolling classroom. Over an audio system, he shared golden eagle facts while we passed around items including glass-encased beaks and laminated flight charts.

We were in the Driftless region, golden eagle country, not near the river where bald eagles fish, but in the blufflands adjacent to the river, where wooded slopes give way to small open prairies and golden eagles hunt for squirrels, rabbits, and even wild turkeys.

The trip’s crescendo came when Mehus excitedly pointed out the window as he pulled over. We rushed out, and there they were—two goldens, an adult chasing a juvenile out of its territory. Through binoculars, I took them in. I could see the smaller beak, the dark plumage, and the unmistakable wash of golden-brown feathers on the back of the neck.

“Now that’s a golden eagle,” I said to my husband. We both smiled. A perfect birding trip.

Plan a Golden Eagle Trip

The National Eagle Center offers seasonal golden eagle field trips in January and February.

• The schedule is announced on its website in the fall. Learn more at nationaleaglecenter.org/eagle-viewing.

• The interpreted trip departs from the center and takes three hours. 

• While minimal walking is required, participants are advised to dress for the weather and to bring binoculars, spotting scopes, or cameras if desired.

• Cost is $50 for center members, $60 for nonmembers. Learn more at nationaleaglecenter.org.

Know your Golden Eagle

• Similar in size to a bald eagle. Female golden and bald eagles are bigger than their male  counterparts and weigh between 10 and 14 pounds with a 6- to 7-foot wingspan. 

• Named for the golden-brown wash of feathers on the nape.

• Beak is much smaller than a bald eagle’s, closer in size to a red-tailed hawk’s. 

• In flight, juveniles show white spots near the wingtips and tail; juvenile bald eagles have white in the wingpits. 

• Found across the Northern Hemisphere, unlike bald eagles, which live only in North America. 

• The golden eagles that winter in our region nest in northern Canada south of the Arctic Circle.