T and I saw some raptors today
I had to drop my daughter A off on Vancouver Island for a b-day party, which then left my son T and I with some time on our hands. Knowing that a parent can only spend so much time at McDonald’s and remain sane (though the Hot Wheels toy right now is very cool), I wanted to find something T and I could do together. So we decided to see some raptors.
Between Duncan and Crofton over here on Van Isle is the Pacific Northwest Raptor Centre. I’ve wanted to go for years but never seemed to have the chance. Despite the rain, today was the day. Okay so T and I didn’t get to see the raptors flying and there was no air show today, but it was still cool.
Raptors? Birds of prey. Eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, ospreys, kestrels, merlins. T and I saw them all. From the Great Horned Owl to Bald Eagles to tiny kestrels and gorgeous peregrines. Even this tiny little pygmy owl named Twitch that would hoot at you (Twitch lives in the lobby/gift shop).
What was cool about it? Okay besides the fact that these are freakin’ cool birds, is that T thought that they were freakin’ cool too. We talked about the birds, what they ate, what they do. Nice little walk in the rain.
Lesson here … enjoy a child’s sense of wonder and discovery. Enjoy their questions. Enjoy the stories they make up about what they see.
We’ll come back there again when it’s sunny so we can see the bird show. Now that will be really cool.
Tags: raptors, brids of prey, eagles, hawks, osprey, merlins, kestrels, owls, nature, science with kids, science outside, ornithology
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