Tuesday, 26 August 2008

ABC Wednesday - F is for...

Feathers!!

Fluffy and Fearsome.


It being the school holidays, and the weather being so foul we have struggled to find suitable places to take Emily. She is of an age where discovery is everything and counts a lot towards education and personal development. She seems to have an endless capacity for soaking up facts - if the weather's bad (which it seems to have been constantly) these facts will be absorbed from indoor activities or the television - I have caught her using advertising slogans in the past, she'll come out with "Every little helps!" (Tesco) or start singing "Let it shine!" (Morrisons.)

So, in order to cram her brain with as much non-TV knowledge as possible we try to take her out to places of interest. One such place is Kirkleatham Owl Centre near Redcar. Emily loved it. (I'll keep my thoughts about it to a later post.)



Snowy
The centre houses all manner of birds in addition to owls - as you can see from the first picture Vultures are there too as well as a pair of Ravens who absolutely refused to stand still long enough for me to photo them (they knew what I was up to and danced around, singing and 'laughing!!' - at me?)

Emily had a great time and came away with a fluffy feathered friend of her own (to add to the four million fluffy friends at home!!) So the day was a success for her and she learnt a lot. Afterwards we paid a visit to the Kirkleatham Hall Museum - subject of a future post.
For more fantastic 'F's' visit the ABC Wednesday Blog and sign in on Mr Linky or to view an anthology of all of the posts visit The ABC Wednesday Anthology.

32 comments:

Liz Hinds said...

Snowy looks really cute! Have you read the Owl who was Afraid of the Dark to Emily? Highly recommended.

Rune Eide said...

Owls must be a fun bird to have - especially at night!

However, I am not allowed that pleasure - doctor's orders.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Fantastic Gary this owl,
yeh she/he is fluffy indeed but looking so innocent, they are not I quess? good sight at night!

I am showing different all "face's" for ABC-wednesday, and I hope you like them, visit: www.joannwalraven.blogspot.com

Greetings from JoAnn's-D-Eyes

Granny Smith said...

Wonder feathery entry! What kind of fluffy creature did Emily add to her collection?

With their distinctive faces, it;s no wonder that owls are called "wise old owl"s.

And I know the ways of ravens. I have no doubt that they were foiling you on purpose - and laughing about it!

Ivar Østtun said...

Very nice ABC. Cool owl :-)

kjpweb said...

Very nice - and plenty of feathers!
Cheers, Klaus

me ann my camera said...

And don't forget 'fearsome' looking :-) Nice photos.

Anonymous said...

These are some fabulous fluffy friends you are showing us today. What a fun trip...

Nydia said...

What a great and fun thing to do with your daughter, it's so importat to take advantage of this special pahse in her life to present her to Nature's "mysteries" and so many other interesting subjects! I'd love visiting this centre, feather friends are a fav one. Look at those gorgeous owls! Amazing!

Great post!

Kisses from Nydia.

Leslie: said...

It's wonderful to see parents who go out of their way to educate their child outside of school, TV, or the Internet. There is an absolutely fabulous book by Farley Mowett (a Canadian) called "Owls in the Family." It's considered a grade 3 or 4 novel but if Emily is younger than 8, she would love to hear you read it to her!

CaBaCuRl said...

Feathered animals are among nature's greatest creations methinks! Owls are one of my favourites...thanks for the beautiful photos.

Tom said...

I think places such as this are great... the job they do is so worth while and it is the kind of place where youngsters can get up close and personal with wildlife.. I went as a young lad to such a place over 40 years ago and my love of Raptors .. Owls included as grow from that very first visit.

Kim from Hiraeth said...

Now THAT would be a great field trip--to an owlry! The great snowy owl reminds me of Hedwig, Harry Potter's owl.

Bear Naked said...

Feathered Fowl are Fearless.
Not like the Ravens crying "Nevermore."

Bear((( )))

Jane Hards Photography said...

I'll take the little snowy owl. As bird rescuer I applaud this post.

Maria's Space said...

I love owls. Always have. Such great pictures.

Columbo said...

Owls are so awesome! Wise beyond their years. Great photography and a nice posting for ABC Wednesday.

nina at Nature Remains. said...

I love birds--thanks for featuring them!

And my site is safe from spiders--for a while!

Dina said...

How lucky that you have an excuse (curious Emily) to visit all these fun places. Owls are so mysterious.
Shalom to you all.

magiceye said...

good set of Fs!

Anonymous said...

I would have to go here, were it possible. Owls are thing with me.
Went to Paignton Zoo as a child and was so disgusted with the condition of the owls they had that I wrote to the RSPCA. I still have their reply.
Great for Emily.

mrsnesbitt said...

We hear a barn owl very early in the morning, around 3am. Some months ago we were aware of something huge on the windowill....yes an owl. We could just listen and picture the scene. We knew if we opened the curtains it would fly away. A magical few moments.

gaz said...

nice post. i love owls - if i had to choose a fave bird of prey, they would take the biscuit.

Dirkjogt said...

Lovely birds and fascinating to see. Nice F's!
Dirkjogt, Belgium

Kjersti said...

Very nice choice. The owls are so cute!

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for the visit and for showing the beautiful owl photos!

Maria Verivaki said...

do they deliver mail (like Harry Potter's)???

Anonymous said...

Great photograph really well done

chanpheng said...

Beautiful feathers and the birds wearing them. The center looks like a wonderful place to visit.

CherryPie said...

This is a winner for me :-) I love owls!

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

owls are lovely birds when you get to know them.

Stapeley is a bit far from Middlesbrough but Emily would have loved the meerkats there.

kouji said...

cool looking owl. :) harry potter-y.