Birdapalooza

The boys and I were back at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham today for their Birdapalooza event. We had a SUPERB time! This is our 3rd weekend visit in a row, and it seems like we have more fun every time we go!!!

First, we went to the 10:30 Birdman Dave show where we met his Macaw, Bell, and his Barred Owl, Christopher Columbus. We got to see both birds up very close, and we even got to see both birds fly. Super neat. Birdman Dave was great with the kids.

Second, we visited with the museum's Red-Tailed Hawk, Misha, in the farmyard. Very interesting, again, to see such a beautiful bird up so close. Misha put on a nice show for us opening her feathers and sitting pretty.

Third, we met Ranger Greg at the gate to the Explore the Wild exhibit and went on an hour bird walk. I saw a Belted Kingfisher for the first time. We discovered a Hummingbird's nest made out of lichen up in a Loblolly. We got to watch a Red-Bellied Woodpecker working on making a home in a hole in the branch of a Loblolly. We saw a pine sisken at the museum's bird feeders. It was really fun to walk with a group of folks all interested in spotting birds. Ranger Greg gave us a lot of good tips on how to look for different types of birds. One was to learn what seeds and berries various birds prefer and then look for those plants to find the birds. I definitely saw more on my bird walk with Ranger Greg today than I would have seen on my own.

Fourth, we went on the train. No trip to the museum is complete without a train ride:-)

Fifth, we walked back into the Explore the Wild exhibit and met Ranger Greg again this time to see a Red-Shouldered Hawk. WOW! This hawk tolerates people well and sat unbothered for over 15 minutes while a bunch of people took pictures of him. This whole experience was just too cool for words.

Sixth, we went to the butterfly house for the 3PM release. Joey didn't exactly get to hold a butterfly today, but one did fly out of the release cage and land in his hair and sit there for several minutes. Everyone was taking pictures of him. What a pretty Owl Butterfly. Seems appropriate it was named after a bird since it was after all Birdapalooza day:-)

5 hours later, we were ready for a trip to the gift shop and then some food!

We'll be watching the museums website for their next fun event.

Here are the best of the rest of the pics from today.