March Break with Raptors

During the March break we got to see a neat presentation on birds of prey put on by the people from the Wye Marsh. Here's the snowy owl.

It didn't want to do any flying for us. But after A LOT of coaxing, it finally flew to its perch and back again. Whee! What a whirl of feathers.

How do you learn not to freak when they land on your arm?

The great horned owl below was majestic. We were all told to respect this owl's territory if we came across one in the wild. So noted to self. I think we have one prowling our bush.

Barn owls are cool looking. This guy below is eating a chicken leg. Yum!

And the red-trailed hawk (below) performed one dramatic flight demonstration. Besides pretty much skimming my head it flew into a ceiling tile and found the kitchen in this auditorium. Quite a crowd rousing performance! The bird was fine.

Speaking of fine, probably the finest part for the kids was the poop. Every bird demonstrated that ability for us. Spectacularly sometimes. Eew! The kids loved it.

Not sure the same can be said for the intern who had to clean it up.