Wednesday 18 July 2012

Raptor Foundation


The kids and I went with friends to visit the Raptor Foundation near us.  It has been several years since our last visit and they have added some new exhibits.  We had a great time exploring the facility and seeing all the birds and reptiles. I won't even try to identify each of the birds we saw too many to remember:)


American Bald Eagle --  I was actually surprised to see this here as I thought they couldn't leave the States.  They had 3 of them at this facility


We saw lots of types of Owls -- this one hissed every time the kids got near


Fish pond where the children feed the fish



I love that many facilities in the UK often have kids activities to do while touring.  Here we learned lots of information about the different kinds of birds we saw.


This owl was named Leo and was found walking around the grounds freely as it was unable to fly.


This bird had glaucoma in both eyes and could no longer hunt on its own.

It started to rain so they had the flying demonstration indoors -- only the birds weren't very cooperative

Finally one took off:)

Little Man getting a chance to hold an owl...Princess was next in line but then the owl decided it had had enough for the day and needed to be put back in its pen.  Princess was not happy she didn't get a turn:(


Finally the sun came out and we went outside to continue our flying demonstrations.  The bird were much happier and more cooperative this time around

Take off


I love this shot of the bird flying directly over the heads of the audience -- can you see the bird flying just above the heads


Keeper telling us about the birds


Next we went into the Reptile building where we saw many interesting items.  Here were samples of hearts and brains sizes for various animals

Meerkats not sure why they were in the Reptile house, but they were pretty cute

Kids got to feed them, first time for us to feed these little animals they ate wax worms, mealy worms and crickets.  They made lots of interesting sounds

Iguana

python

blue tongue skink

Exploring the skeletons

they had a microscope with a up and too close view (for me) of a tarantula skin 

Kids talked the shop keepers into letting them pet a snake:)

In the education center we saw the different size bird pellets that the birds produce -- In a past class we have dissected a owl pellet which is very interesting and just a teensy bit gross

different size eggs

A school class was here just prior to us entering and they were working on dissecting a pellet.

Princess getting a picture with a Meerkat

Little Man's picture, this little guy was very squirmy and wouldn't stay very still



We had a wonderful visit.  The Reptile facility said they hold keeper classes for kids and I will be looking into it for my kids.  Princess loves reptiles and keeps asking to have a pet snake.  I keep telling her she has to move out and have her own house first.  But doing a class might be very fun for them both.  I plan on calling and making arrangements for this very soon.






















9 comments:

  1. That looks like a fun place! Do you have to drive very far for all the fun things you do there? We have a similar facility, but it is 1 1/2 hours away and neither Little Miss or I have the patience for such a long drive. Or I should say we have the patience, but only if we're 100% sure it is going to be an awesome time. It's funny that the owl was hissing at the kids. It's expression looks like he is about to tell a story or something.

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    1. This place is about 45 minutes away from us:) I love that about England you can find so many great things about an hour from home. This I know will be harder once we move back to the states. The longest i have ever driven to take the kids somewhere on my own is 2 hours:) but I try to stay under 90 minutes

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  2. Wow! Do you have room for another "kid"-- you guys do the most awesome things! What a brave kid holding that owl... there is NO WAY I'd have done that!

    www.momontherunx2.com

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    1. My kids are pretty fearless they will touch, hold, feed any animal:)

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  3. As usual you amaze me with the wide range of adventures that you have with your children. I loved all the pictures except for the snakes; they are my least favorite of God's creations. It is so awesome for your children to have so much hands on learning.
    Blessings to you all and hugs too!

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    1. Snakes are not my favorite either but I prefer them to spiders. My husband will tell you I am not rational when it comes to a spider. A fear I am ashamed to admit I passed on to my children:(

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  4. This looks like an awesome adventure! How cool to get to hold an owl! Your photos of the handles holding the birds reminds me of a book I love called A Falcon for A Queen in which one of the main characters kept a falcon as a companion. Thanks for sharing with us at NOBH!

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  5. Awesome pictures! My kids love seeing owls and birds of prey too! Owls spook me out though :) Clicked a vote for you! :)

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  6. wow, that looks like a really fun place!! I wish we were in the UK!!

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