Eagle Hunt Road Trip 2026 02

This week I decided to go on an eagle hunt. 1000 Islands Nature Preserve in Kaukauna had an event to welcome the return of migrating Bald Eagles. Apparently eagles from more northern areas of the continent migrate to our area to find open rivers.

So I decided to go on my own eagle hunt. There are multiple spots that I’ve sighted eagles along the Fox River. It ended up being much easier than I thought.

I started out driving along Stroebe Island. The first pictures of eagles I photographed were hanging out on the power poles here. And with the open waters where the current is would be a good place for eagles to hunt.

However I did not find anything at this first location. So I moved on to my next stop.

And my next stop was success. Near downtown Neenah is a foot bridge that is part of the Loop the Little Lake trail. Last summer my wife and I had seen a mother eagle with two juvenile eagles. So I figured it would be a good stop.

And it was, as I was getting out of my car at the nearby parking lot, I could see a dark shape over a large nest in a cotton wood tree. As I made my way across the foot bridge and the shape moved to another tree further down.

Other photographers passed me as I approached the birds. As I could see a second eagle in the tree with the nest. So I set up my camera ready to take pictures.

Unfortunately the wind was harsh today. So after several minutes of taking pictures my fingers started to get numb with cold. So I returned to my car. But before I left I took a few pictures of the ducks that lined the open water. Besides fish they are a food source for the eagles that perched just hundreds of feet from them.

I decided to make one more stop, Fratellos in Appleton. While the possibility of seeing an eagle was there, it is rare. My alternative reason for stopping there was to get some video and photos of the river rushing out of the dam.

There is a pillar from an old factory that water is continuously crashing up against. So I stopped there and took more photos.

The videos I took will be posted on Facebook and Instagram over the course of this week. Feel free to leave a message below or on Facebook. And thanks again for reading.