Saturday, August 24, 2013

We went to see the birds

My little brother, Joshy, has a lot of really great interests. Raising turtles, outdoor exploration, sketching, painting, taking pictures, birdwatching, creating terrariums... Many of them are things that I also enjoyed while growing up (except for raising turtles... I raised frogs).

A few months ago, we discovered that Saint Louis is home to the World Bird Sanctuary, and I wanted to take him for his birthday. Everyone ended up coming along, so that was pretty cool. I've lived in Saint Louis for a while, and I had never so much as heard about this place before a few months ago, so I figured it could use some free promotion ;)

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The World Bird Sanctuary is located near Lone Elk and Castlewood State Parks, near the intersection of highways 270 and 44. It's one of the largest centers for the conservation of birds in the United States. Many birds who are injured and are no longer able to live independently in the wild are brought to the sanctuary for care and to be used for public education. If the birds are able to be healed, they are released back into the wild. Bird species who are declining in Missouri are bred at the sanctuary and released to repopulate the area, promoting the biological diversity of our forests.







The birds that cannot be released back into the wild are kept outside and are either in cages that allow flight, or are tethered to their posts. A caretaker explained that this doesn't bother the birds; birds of prey expend most of their energy flying in search of food, and would much prefer to remain stationary in one spot all day long. Since the sanctuary provides the birds with their food, they don't have a need to expend all that energy on flight.





Most of the cabins, exhibits, educational displays, and flight cages were constructed by local scouting groups.









Happy birthday Joshypoo

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