3118. Visit the National Eagle Center in Wabasha

While playing on Google maps, I found the National Eagle Center in Wabasha which was only about 30 minutes from Fountain City, our main destination for the day. I decided we needed to go there and added it to the ever growing list of things to do while in La Crosse area.

The National Eagle Center is home to several non-releasable Bald Eagles. It is located on the banks of the Mississippi where many eagles are known to be sighted. They are open year round and admission is $12/adult plus $3 if you want to see the eagle show that is held daily. 

After attempting to find parking, we made it just in time for our 1 PM show. We got our tickets online ahead of time because the shows sells out and not guaranteed to be available day of. Conor, our Eagle specialist, spent most of the program educating us about eagles -- what they look like, eaglets, their nests, their food choices, how they hunt. 

Then he brought out the star of the show -- a partially blind eagle who was rescued off a sandbar in the Mississippi by the DNR and a tour boat. Since he is blind in one eye, he no longer can live in the wild. A lot of training allows Conor and the other specialists to be able to hold and work with these eagles. Conor and his way of presenting the material really made for a fun and interesting show. 

Once the show was over and it was probably about 30 minutes, we went down to the main building. Admissions and the presentation are in a separate building on Main Street and the center itself is a block behind it on Big Jo Alley, which is currently under construction. 

On the main floor of the National Eagle Center is the gift shop, where Stacy bought a loon call (and if you go to the show you know what that is), and a viewing area with 2-3 eagles. There was another specialist that was there to answer any questions we had about the eagles.

Upstairs were exhibits featuring different eagle items as well as some educational exhibits. It is not big or very impressive. The skylight ceiling on the staircase was best thing in my opinion

There is also on outdoor viewing platform upstairs but we saw no eagles. 

I'll be honest, if you aren't going to get your tickets ahead of time to see the show, I'd honestly skip the National Eagle Center. It was not as exciting as I thought it would be. I was hoping for a lot more and maybe it will expand with donations. The show is 100% worth the price of admission, especially if Conor is doing it. The center is itself was lacking something and I'm not sure what.