Day on the Ice at Mines of Spain 01/13/2022

Beautiful last few days of warm weather in Iowa, the upper thirties, allowed my father and me to extend our daily walkabout to the Mines of Spain Calcite Trail that runs along the Mississippi River. Almost stumbled on about eight eagles sitting in the tree branches near Catfish Creek that were getting fish from one of the unfrozen sections of the river. In between the walkabout trails, I pulled out my backpack drone (Mavic Air Pro 2) for a few minutes of photos of Julien Dubuque Memorial Grave Site, some pretty cool tree shadows on the ice, and a shot of us. I was carrying my Canon 5D Mark III with a Tamron 150-600mm and took some fantastic shots of the eagles (a few adults, but mostly young ones) on tree limbs, diving for fish, tussling with each other, and just doing morning chores. Walking back to the 4-Runner, a Pileated Woodpecker started following us closer and closer, allowing me to get some pretty nice macro shots of it. The weather tells us the next few days could have some snow, so look for some more shots in a week or so. Thanks, have a fantastic day, and hope someone gives you a smile!