July 7, 2014: Eagles and Owls and .... Turkeys?

Today we took an adventure to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington, British Columbia. We arrived at this familiar place, quickly toured the lobby and initial displays then made our way to the two main attractions. First the boys beetled over to the captive bred black bear who was resting and grooming himself in his pen. His name is Knut and sightings of him are somewhat rare. In the numerous times we have visited the centre, this is only the second time we have seen him. He was being a little shy still and mostly showed us his backside with a few glimpses of his face. After a close encounter with this giant teddy bear, we sauntered around to the flight centre. Here we were delighted to peer upon four eagles, injured but recovering and preparing for release back into the wild. Through the small windows in the wall you can see these majestic birds perched, flying and sometimes eating from the pond below. Isaac remarked that one of the bald eagles was younger than the others because of this brown head feathers. After the flight centre we toured the other habitats on sight for birds that cannot be released back to the wild. We saw golden eagles, barn owls, doves, red tail hawks, peregrine falcons, ravens, and turkey vultures. We continued our tour in the newly renovated grounds to see ducks, turtles, and geese. On our way back around we had a surprising and absolutely hilarious encounter with .......two turkeys. These hideous but beautiful birds were strutting everything they had and putting on quite the show. They were gobbling, throwing back their heads and making a comical cackle that made the kids laugh. Of course the kids joined in on the turkey play with imitation which resulted in a ten minute conversation that entertained all other onlookers. We had a great time at this wildlife sanctuary, saw animals close up and learned new facts; we will be strutting back here one day soon.