Fall Color Peaks on the Upper Mississippi!

BEST Fall color on the AQRichard

I am just back from a beautiful three weeks cruising with the American Queen between St. Paul and St. Louis. Fall color should be here for the October 18th week in all its glory. Lots of Sunshine predicted, so plan to hit America’s Great River Road! Click here for CURRENT COLOR REPORTS.

eagleOut on the Mississippi River, we noticed an increasing abundance of American Bald Eagles each week of the Sept/October cruise. While my favorite stretches are from Lansing, IA to Red Wing, MN, truly we saw eagles all the way to Alton, Illinois. Noticeably more ADULTS than Juveniles. Not sure why that was. Has anyone else noticed that? Please comment below! Are the sheer number of adult prompting younger birds to be searching further afield? Have the juveniles already started south?

Eagle Update

Getting quite a few questions on Eagles as November comes to a close. I do believe some of the Canada eagles are moving south, but weather is still mild on the Upper Mississippi River.

With Eagle viewing that is second only to Alaska, we can expect huge clusters, sometimes hundreds of birds in trees above open water… but they are widely dispersed until the river freezes.

Best eagle viewing begins AFTER the Tundra Swans leave, as they tend to leave just in front of the really freezing weather.

So stay in touch at www.greatriver.com and we’ll let you know as the season progresses.