It's For The Birds!

The Birds of Prey is just a few miles south of Boise located on a windswept knoll overlooking the Treasure Valley. It really is amazing after driving in Boise traffic, how quiet and serene the spot is just a few miles away from all the bustle of Boise.

There were a couple of hawks and eagles that could be dimly seen through screened windows on our way to the main educational facility. A small group of children from some daycare was going through the exhibits when we arrived and we briefly joined them as a gentleman appeared with a peregrin falcon on his arm.

Jaedan took this picture:



The question was asked of the group how heavy they thought this falcon might be. Our Never-Shy Jaedan popped up his hand and answered, "1600 hundred pounds". He was off by just a few pounds, with the actual weight of the bird at 1 1/2 pounds. (can you imagine having to hold a 1600 pound bird on your arm?)

We then watched a DVD presentation about the mission of the Birds of Prey that was interesting to Nana and Papa but a little bit much for the kids. They were good troopers however, and soon we were on our way to seeing some of the birds. Because it is an educational facility and the birds are part of a breeding program, cameras weren't allowed on the tour. So we obliged ourselves with some wing shots!





The kids found the tour to be too slow and to much lecture for their short attention span so we left the group and just went wherever the kids wanted to go. There were other rooms of stuffed specimens, pictures, artwork, and even other animal exhibits other then birds. Ashlynn was quite interested in this beaver.



There was another room that showed the difference in color and sizes of bird's eggs. It also had some touchy-feely objects for the kids to explore. After about an hour, we loaded up and headed for the zoo. The kids were having a pretty good time, were behaving reasonably well, and we adults were enjoying ourselves too.

$70.00 dollars for an overnight stay at a motel with an indoor swimming pool, $40.00 for dinner at Elmers. Hearing the gratitude in the kid's voices as they told us over and over again, "Papa, Nana, we love you"....................PRICELESS!