Steamboat Landing gives you a lot of opportunities to watch birds: bald eagles in winter, blue herons and pelicans in summer, all kinds of geese and ducks, hawks, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, and more.

In winter, bald eagles like to sit on a dead tree right across the river from Steamboat Landing. When a passing barge breaks ice on the river, they fish right in front of Riverhouse.

American White Pelicans are white with black primary feathers. Their large bills contain a pouch for scooping up fish. The pouch is not visible during flight.

Their presence in Illinois is an interesting story, because their normal migration route is well west of here. A few years back, a group of pelicans wound up in the Illinois River Valley. Perhaps a storm pushed them off course. Whatever the reason, they have returned in greater numbers each year. Migration is a learned behavior, and apparently the pelicans have learned that the route to a warm winter home goes through Illinois!