The eagles have landed

There is new meaning to the bible verse in Isaiah chapter 40:31.."they shall mount up with wings like eagles..."

Sunday we spent the most perfect day in Wabasha.  It is the town where the movie, "Grumpy Old Men" was filmed.  More importantly, it is where the National Eagle Center is located.
We learned fascinating details about eagles.
The term "eagle eyes" is a metaphor pertaining to the eagle's eye!   They have incredible eyesight.  They have a built in shade that covers their eyes like sunglasses.  We all know how bright it can be with the sun out and the white snow.  The combination can be blinding.  The eagle is able to use that shade to be able to see 4x the magnification of the human eye.  Our eyes would have to be the size of tennis balls to compare to the eagle eye.

Female eagles are 1/3 larger than the male.  They have 7000 feathers that cover their body, have hollow bones, and weigh 10-12 pounds.

We literally counted 135 of them while eating our lunch at Reads Landing Brewing Company.  It was  the most remarkable thing I think I have ever seen in my life.  We were at the eagle center, and I happened to see an "eagle count" on a white board.  It read:
Wabasha     64
Reads Landing    205
Alma       63
Buffalo City      30
We went to the information desk and asked about the counts. " Indeed, go to Reads Landing.  That is where many of the eagles are perched because of the ice on the river.  The eagles like to fish from the ice,"  stated the employee.
Reads Landing is minutes from the Eagle Center, so off we went!

There they were in all their glory, perched in the trees, soaring above the water, swirling playfully with their playmates, showing off their brilliance to us.  We were hypnotized.  It was the most incredible show of radiance.  We were, and are still, in awe.  We started counting...1, 5, 20, we just kept saying, "there is another one, this is crazy, can you believe this?"
We just could not count all of them.  We were dumbfounded.  Still are.
I want to go again.
Binoculars are a must.  Pictures just can't do it justice.
Think of it...not 1 or 2 eagles.  We are talking 100 plus that you are gazing at all at once.  Amazing.
A few days later and I am still enchanted by the thought of it.  What a gift to use these not so eagle eyes to see such splendor, such glory, our national symbol of strength and freedom.

Go soon if you too would like to be hypnotized.  This natural show of brilliance will not be here for long.  Once the ice melts and it gets warmer, the gathering will disperse and they will soar to other areas.  It will make me look to the skies and say, "there is an eagle."  I never tire of looking at one.