Who doesn’t love eagles, hawks, kestrals and owls?  Birds (especially raptors) are fascinating and while we’ve been to different raptor centers, we’ve never watched a release of raptors back into the wild.  I figured we might as well go check it out and the kids seemed interested, so bonus points for that! Granted, the day started off a tad on the wrong foot when we didn’t leave the house as early as I wanted to.  We actually almost missed the first releases.  It was chilly and overcast, but the smell of fall was in the air and I was kind of glad it wasn’t warmer out because long walk carrying camera and a child would have made for a very sweaty and gross situation.  As it was, the field would not have been conducive for a stroller or a wagon so the kiddos had to walk through kind of tall grass. Due to our late arrival, we couldn’t get very close to the stage, but we were all still able to see the birds.  Now… pictures. The majority were a tad blurry.  I had my biggest lens zoomed in almost all the way, it was cold out and I had a child sitting on my feet for part of the time.  Ha ha.

It was very cool to see two hawks, a kestral and a young bald eagle being released, though.  To watch them take flight was just so awesome and when the first hawk was released, a bunch of turkey vultures showed up overhead and it was a big celebration.

I’m not super bummed about the blurry photos… these kinds of things are best experienced in person anyway.

After the release, we went to see some of the other raptors that they had outside… ones that would not be released for various reasons and now help educate people.

I love owls.  I’m hoping to go out on an adventure by myself this winter in search of owls.  Since it’s a few hours drive north, I figure it’ll be a good time for the kids to stay home with Josh since they get a tad fussy when it’s cold out.  We see owls now and then where we are, but I’m heading north to find Great Grey Owls.

Those eyes!!

Okay, and this little guy was just too adorable.  Had he not been attached to that guy, I would have wanted to stick him in my bag and take him home.

And of course, the magnificent and ever so regal Bald Eagle. Amazing birds.

I’ll save our Apple Orchard visit for another day. 😉