Traveling In Search of a Bathroom for Baby Eagles

Often, I wish I could “travel as the crow flies” to arrive at my destination faster than following road signs. However, when the road that leads to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN, is the Great River Road Scenic Byway, getting there is half the fun.

After passing through Red Wing, the pavement is all that separates the meandering Mississippi River from high bluff country. In Lake City, the river widens and includes Lake Pepin. Because the water funnels to a narrower channel after Lake City, it seldom freezes downstream in Wabasha. This creates a winter habitat for animals and birds of prey, such as eagles.

There are a couple of areas to pull over and scout for birds. Read’s Landing, about three miles west of Wabasha, is a popular sighting location. Last week, 122 eagles were counted on a single day. When there are snow cover and frozen water, it’s not uncommon for 200 to 300 eagles to visit Read’s Landing daily, according to Scott Mehus, NEC education director.

In less than two hours, you can arrive at the National Eagle Center, a 15,000 square-foot interpretive center on the banks of the Mississippi River. The center, which opened at its current location in 2007, saw 88,000 visitors from more than 80 countries last year.

As a nonprofit organization, the center relies primarily on donations, memberships and admissions to operate. Five eagles, injured and unable to be released back into the wild, reside at the center and help educate visitors. There were videos to watch, scopes to look through and interactive exhibits to explore on your own. In return for my $8 admission sticker, I also received an entertaining and educational seminar about our national bird from Mehus.

“Where do baby eagles go to the bathroom?” Mehus asked a group of children he assembled in front. Responses were creative, if not correct.

“They go in half of the egg shell after they’re born,” said one child.

“They back up to the edge of the nest and go over the edge,” said another.

An image popped into my head of a baby eagle tapping its beak on mommy eagle’s wing to let her know it needed to go to the bathroom.

On a more serious note, Mehus passed around a small lead pellet to illustrate how lead shotgun pellets and lead fishing sinkers are deadly to eagles. When an eagle ingests lead, the metal affects the bird’s brain. Within five days, vital organs can shut down and the bird dies. He urged hunters and fishermen to replace their
ammunition and gear with non-lead varieties.

At the end of his presentation, Mehus brought in Donald, a golden eagle with a permanent wing disability. We watched as Donald was weighed and then given skinned rabbit for lunch. We learned that eagles are able to digest bones. Donald, with the rabbit clutched in his talon, could be heard enjoying his lunch, using his beak to rip the food apart.

As he screeched, Donald may have said it “tastes like chicken,” but then Mehus said Donald was simply making the shrill noise that eagles make when they are worried about their food being taken by another.

We were also introduced to Was’ aka, a male bald eagle whose Dakota name means “strength.” He was found starving in Florida because a tumor on his eye prevented him from finding food. Although he can fly, Was’ aka is blind in one eye and therefore would not survive in the wild, according to Mehus.

The five resident eagles rest indoors on perches, where large windows afford them a view of the river. They make the shrill noise when another eagle flies by the window. Except for Was’ aka, eagles can see up to three miles away. Even with a pane of glass between them and their fellow birds, I'm sure the free birds got the message loud and clear to keep their distance.

One of the newest projects undertaken by the center is the release of three eagles that have a GPS device attached to their backs. The tracking devices allow researchers to collect data to follow the flight path and to learn more about the migration patterns. A short film about the project can be viewed at the center.

By now, you might be scratching your head and wondering, “So how does a baby eagle go to the bathroom?” For that answer, you have to find out for yourself by visiting the National Eagle Center. If you go, plan to arrive in February or March when birds are most plentiful. We ate a light lunch at T-Bones, a bar and grill near the center. Don’t forget to bring your camera to have someone snap a photo of you next to one of the eagles. The interpretive program begins at 1 p.m.