Are you looking for a nice little day trip from St. Louis? Do you like birds? Well, you might check out the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary near Alton, Illinois. You don’t even have to go to the center, just come up to the Missouri end of the Clark bridge and explore the wetlands around the river. There are an amazing number and variety of birds. Of course, in the winter their are the eagles, but just now there are masses of pelicans and other ducks and, yes, the ubiquitous Canada Goose, which has to be the most equisitly beautiful pest in the world.
While you are in the area, you might also want to check out the Confluence Point State Park. Pretty cool, to see the rivers mixing.
I will leave singing the praises of the Great River Road and Grafton and Pere Marquette State Park and Calhoun Countyfor another day, but those are also cool sites in the area.
Addendum: A flying pelican for Jill.
My mom LOVES the pelicans along the Mississippi. The last two springs it’s almost all she talks to me about. They are pretty cool; I love to watch them glide into the water.
Yeah, Jill, they are pretty cool landing and flying. They have black bands on the inside of their wings which make them quite striking. I will post an addendum of one flying and/or landing.