Surprise getaway for two at Two Rivers

  John and I recently talked about how we should take more short trips to explore our corner of the world.  I had read about the Alton and Grafton areas in a AAA magazine, where I saw a photo of a bald eagle perched on a ice floe and a headline claiming that this region was the eagle capital of the Midwest.  I decided this would be a good surprise trip for John.  I looked up accommodations online, and as soon as I saw the online photos of Tara Point Inn, I knew that was what would set this getaway apart.  There were no rooms at the inn, but a fancy cabin was available!  So on February 9-10th, we enjoyed the spacious cabin and breakfast by this window with a view of the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

View from our luxe cabin

Here we are, outside the inn, enjoying the view.  As you can see, there was ice along the river shorelines.  The temperature was below freezing for the whole day, so we did much of our bird watching and touring from the comfort of the car.

We started our birding adventure by driving up to the Brussels Ferry, just north of Grafton.  On the short drive, we pulled over to view the river a couple of times and saw our first bald eagle of the day, perched in a large dead tree overlooking the water.  We took the ferry across the Illinois River, to Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge.  The ferry reminded us of our winter birding in Ontario.  Many of the Two Rivers area wetlands were frozen, so the only birds we saw near Swan Lake were raptors (a harrier and several hawks and eagles) and white-fronted geese.  We did have luck finding huge groups of waterfowl in a marsh, farther east on Old ferry Road.  As you exit the ferry, turn left on Old Ferry Road and keep straight along the banks of the Illinois River until you loop around to a parking area.  Park there and walk out a ways to look for waterfowl.  We could hear them through the trees, when we pulled up.  We saw northern pintail, mallards, green-winged teal, gadwall, and Canada geese.  Here is video, showing pintail coming in to land (enlarge the video to see the ducks and crank your speakers up to hear the pintail and geese):

Once John had gotten his fill of waterfowl (yeah right!), we headed back across the river on the Brussels Ferry.  While on the ferry, we saw several more eagles, including one perched on an ice floe in the river!  That eagle looked just like the one I had seen in the magazine, when I first read about this birding hotspot, so that was a highlight of my day.  

After departing the ferry, we drove north along the Great River Road (Highway 100) and did a short hike in the cold at Pere Marquette State Park. 

Chilly walk at Pere Marquette State Park

After our walk, we drove back south along Hwy 100 and pulled over at a gravel one-way road that loops around Gilbert Lake, just west of the Brussels Ferry dock.  The one-way drive along the river was several miles, but was well worth it for the birds! Along the river, we saw several small groups of diving ducks, including goldeneye, scaup, ring-necked ducks, ruddy ducks, and (my first) Canvasbacks! We had to pull over and sneak through the woods a bit to get closer looks at some of these ducks. We also saw multiple eagles on this drive, including 3 perched in one tree.  

After the drive, we stretched our legs and grabbed some ice cream and hot chocolate at Grafton Fudge and Ice Cream. We really enjoyed the antiques, including hand-cranked ice cream makers that must have been similar to what my dad remembers from his childhood.

Grafton Fudge and Ice Cream

Then, we headed to The Loading Dock Bar & Grill for some ice skating.  The main room is converted into a magical ice skating rink in the winter, complete with warm lights and fireplaces. It was a picturesque place to break out our old Canadian skates.  Ice skating is like riding a bike, and soon John told me that I looked ready for the Olympics!  The venue was beautifully decorated and they had tables with fire to warm up and eat some lunch.  As a warning to those who may visit, the skating was a bit pricey, but we don't get the opportunity to skate very often down here and I'm sure that it was expensive for them to set up, so it was worth it.

View of the river from the ice rink

By the time we were finished ice skating, it was getting dusky out, so we started our drive towards home.  On the way, I spotted a large flock of American white pelicans in a marina.  These are, in my opinion, the strangest birds to find in the mid-continent, but I can't resist their antics.  We got to watch them here, fishing along the ice edge.  

Pelicans feeding in a marina

All-in-all, it was a lovely weekend getaway in Grafton, Illinois.  The bird watching did not disappoint, as we saw a wider variety of birds than I expected, and our total eagle count for the day was 20. This was proof that not all of our trips have to be long or super planned in order to be fun and relaxing.

-- Laura