Adventures in Bird Watching

Anyone who spends more than 20 seconds with Kid118 will know how much he loves birds. For his birthday in February, he really wanted to visit a raptor rehab center in the southern part of our state. Alas, they were unable to handle visitors at the time due to the extreme cold and the fact that they had moved all their resident birds into their house (!!!). So, we planned to try again when weather conditions were more favorable.

Someone decided to 'help' me pack by unloading my entire t-shirt drawer...

...and trying things on, too, of course.

So, last week we packed up all of us plus Grandma and Pada and headed south.  We stayed in a family cabin at the Brown County State Park.  My parents camped.  Here we are at the nature center.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect at the raptor rehab.  I knew it was at a private residence, but assumed there would be a barn or some such place for all the birds. 

I was partially correct.  We drove down winding, hilly, narrow county road just a few minutes outside town and arrived at a cabin with multiple 'structures' around the property. 

The owners walked out to greet us and asked us to wait on the porch while they tended to a bird emergency.  A new patient had just arrived with a badly infected wing. 

After a short wait, the 2 ladies who operate the rescue began bringing us their permanent residents to visit.  They are not allowed to show visitors birds who are able to be released into the wild.  That's always the goal, but for some injuries, just isn't possible.  So, at the house they will stay.

 

We got to see, up close and personal, an Eastern Screech Owl, a short-eared owl, an American Kestrel, and a Bard Owl. 

Then we took a trek around the back of the property to see at least a dozen more large birds of prey in the backyard.  Crash was more interested in Grandma and the wild strawberries.  And the lawn mower. 

I'm not sure which was the favorite,  but this Harris Hawk was a definite contender.  The guides were quite taken with our kiddos and their love and knowledge of these creatures, so I'm pretty sure we got the super-deluxe tour package to the tune of 2 and a half hours.  They loved every minute.