Minnesota boasts the highest number of nesting pairs of bald eagles in the 48 contiguous states, with counts of more than 1,300, and some of them spend the winter in the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge — www.fws.gov/midwest/uppermississippiriver — stretching from Moline, Ill., up to Wabasha, Minn. The National Eagle Center — www.nationaleaglecenter.org — based at Wabasha, has sketchy tips under "Where to See Eagles." Unless you're driving the 70 miles from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Wabasha — www.wabashamn.org — has places to stay.

Don"t ignore the heavily populated Northeast. Essex, Conn., is the home of the popular Connecticut Audubon Society's Eagle Festival, Feb. 16-18 — www.ctaudubon.org/about/eaglefestival.htm — and they advertise eagle-watching boat tours. For your time there, the Connecticut River Valley & Shoreline Region — www.ctrivervalley.com — will fill you in on other things to see and do in and around Essex.

Farther south, there are enough bald eagles to make Rains County the Eagle Capital of Texas, with an unofficial count of 50 of the birds last winter at Lake Fork. Drive a short distance east of Dallas to their Eagle Fest at Emory, Texas — www.eaglefest.org — where you can join boat and bus field trips, demonstrations and lectures. Click on "Eagle Watching Tours" for tips including taking along cold-weather clothing, just in case. Unless you're staying in the Dallas area, they have links to local motels, lodges and marinas. If you are driving back to Dallas, that city's Visitors Bureau — www.dallascvb.com/visitors — has what you need to know on everything from flights to shopping (click on "Visitor Resources").

Wait, there's more. The magazine of the National Wildlife Federation put together a list of 10 great eagle-watching spots — tinyurl.com/2j6v4v — including more places in the Northwest, Northeast and the Plains.