Down in the Lower Bonne Femme Valley, south of Columbia, on this first wintry morning of the season, most of the birds were sheltering from the cold, gusty, northwest wind. But there was one exception.
An immature bald eagle was cavorting in the clear, cold air, soaring over the Missouri River and its bordering floodplain. Perhaps it was born in the State or simply took advantage of the strong tailwinds to travel south for the season. In either case, he/she was unfazed by the wind chill that kept me in the warm confines of my pickup.
While common in Missouri throughout the year, bald eagles increase in number during the colder months, tracking the waterfowl flocks on which they feed (augmenting their diet of fish and carrion). This morning's visitor may have arrived ahead of those migrants but, hopefully, they will soon appear.
