National Eagle Center, Wabasha,MN

It was another great weekend to cruise the Upper Mississippi River Valley and this time we cruised to Wabasha,MN and stopped at the National Eagle Center. We have mentioned this place in our previous blogs but never actually took the tour. They have a nice dock to park at making it easy to walk up to the building. There is a small admission fee to get in. The first thing we did was to go see the live eagles they have on display.

The first one we visited was named Was'aka, he was their first male eagle and was found in Jacksonville, Florida. He had a tumor on his left eye which has been removed but leaving him blind. His original name was "Ari" but was changed by voting visitors to Was'aka which means "strength" in Dakota Indian language.

The next one we visited was named Donald, he was hit by a car in California and his wing was broken in two places and couldn't be properly mended so he became a member of the Eagle Center. He was named for the Donald Weesner Foundation which paid for his transportation to the Eagle Center. The next eagle was named Harriet, she was hit by a car in Wisconsin and had several surgeries to repair her heavily damaged left side, some of her wing had to be removed and she has arthritis and muscle damage which is why she is at the Eagle Center. She was named by a first grader.

The next eagle we visited was named Angel, she was a fledgling that was hanging out on the ground and broke a bone in her wing and had severe muscle damage, she survived by living off fish scraps dropped by nearby heron nests. She had surgery to try to repair her wing but the muscle damage was too much so she came to the Eagle Center and was named by a fourth grader.
Houseboating Excursions and friends got the pleasure on having our photo taken with an eagle named Angel. The size and beauty of these birds up close is truly amazing. The grip of their talons is more than 400psi, the machine they have to compare Troy's grip registered at 80psi, we will just say Hi when greeting an eagle no need to shake hand-to-talon.

On display was an eagle mask which is influenced by Native American sculpture from the Pacific Northwest and carved from a large white cedar log. The top of the eagle's head is painted in the form of Mississippi River channels with symbols of local flora and fauna. The white cedar is considered a spiritual wood and the smoke is seen favorable to the heavens and the eagle is the messenger of the spirit world.

This photo of a golden eagle sat on top of an unknown steamboat but is a symbol of pride, protection, and bringer of good fortune.

The silver eagle represents a Bicentennial Eagle sculpted by an artist, A. Giannelli, and donated by a couple that loved to visit  the Eagle Center.

The photo of the two eagles represents courtship and not fighting, the male and female grab their talons together and cartwheel down to almost hitting the ground and then fly up and do it again building a strong bond and engage in playful flirtation.

The photo of the circle cage represents the size of an average eagle nest. The Bald Eagle holds the world record of the biggest nest ever built, 20ft. deep, 9.5ft. wide. and weighing 3 tons.

For all you Harley-Davidson riders they also are offering a chance to win one of America's pride and joy motorcycle.

There is also a large balcony outside to view the Mississippi River and watch a commercial barge come up river and if you use their supplied telescopes you can even see some wild eagles hanging out in the area. There is so many more things to see and information classes to sit in on, that the National Eagle Center is a must see for the entire family when visiting the Upper Mississippi River Valley, you will not be disappointed.
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