A few times a year my brother and I go on a field trip with the old man. The old man loves the picturesque beauty of the outdoors and enjoys photographing all the wonders that mother nature has to offer. The three of us took a field trip to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha at the beginning of October. I figured it would be fun and it would be nice to spend time with like-minded dorky people. What I didn’t expect was to be fascinated by these powerful birds of prey. I enjoy copious amounts of random facts as much as the next philomath but this was really something.
The Eagle Center has an an area where you can get up close to the five eagles that reside there. Each of their resident eagles has been injured in some way and despite the very best care, they are not able to survive on their own in the wild. They looked differently up close than I had imagined. Their thick legs reminded me of the Muppets. They were...cute. You are able to be just a couple of feet away from the birds and a knowledgeable volunteer is there to answer any question that you may want to ask.
There are two floors of interactive exhibits. I was entertained by several of the exhibits, so I’m pretty sure kids would enjoy it too. I liked an exhibit that shows you what an eagle sees. You look through a lens and can see a small rodent. When you take your eye away from the lens and look for the rodent, it’s really hard to find with your naked eye. There is another exhibit where you can test your grip strength and compare it to the grip strength of an eagle. Spoiler alert, an eagle has a grip strength of 400 psi and will kick your a**.
The highlight of the field trip was the classroom program. The old man made sure we got to the eagle center before it opened so that we would be able to get a front row seat. We took turns standing in line 45 minutes before the classroom doors opened. It was on my shift that an older woman pretended to look at the map in front of me before she pulled a pathetic attempt at a line cut. According to Larry David, a successful chat and cut will assure the cutter a better spot with the original line stander none the wiser. A successful chat and cut this was not. Not only did this lady cut in front of me but all the people in line behind me as well. I kindly pointed this out to her but she stood her ground. She wisely left three seats open in the front row, lest I would have wrestled her to the ground. The balls on old ladies, but I digress. The classroom program runs an hour but it flies by since they keep your attention with all of the interesting facts, or “useless knowledge”, as I like to call it. The culmination of the program is resident eagle, Angel, eating for your viewing pleasure. Angel was offered a heaping hunk of fish and she pretended like she wasn’t interested. Just when I thought this bird was going to leave us high and dry, she tore into that fish with entertaining veracity. She tore that thing up! Because we were in the front row, I could hear the snapping sounds the bones were making and I got a great view of the flesh ripping apart. It was so disgusting that I tried to look away but I couldn’t. Angel had me transfixed.
The National Eagle Center is time well spent learning about how our actions impact eagles and how we can take care of these birds and the planet better. It’s worth your time and money. Do it for Angel.
Angel looking majestic.
Random guy kissing the fake eagle.
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