Kellie Connolly

Briggs

Tuesday 11:30

February 23, 2012

Wild about Learning

On our Sunday stroll through Liberty Park my three year old son Cash heard a squawk that sparked his interest and his bright blue eyes were drawn to inside the fence of the Tracy Aviary. His curiosity led us to the aviary entrance where we found a sign that read “Open Everyday except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Come on in and see what our birds are up to!”

Surprised to find out they are open for business year round I read on. “Visit any

Wednesday through March and your admission price will be waived *when you pay $1 per person conservation contribution”. Normal admission is $7 adult and $5 for children, which is pretty average for an attraction like this one. To get in for a dollar is a great price, so I decide we will come back on Wednesday. It took a little convincing to get my son to back away from the gate, but I promised we would return for “Winter

Wednesday” to have a picnic in the bird park.

The Tracy Aviary is tucked in he southwest corner of Liberty Park. It’s a small reserve for birds from all over the world. It offers year round exhibits, bird shows, and educational experiences for all ages. Admission includes “keeper talks” where you can ask the knowledgeable staff any questions you have about a particular species and flight encounters scheduled daily. For an extra $3 you can toss a fish into a pelicans pouch or feed wild birds inside the Amazon Adventure.

Wednesday morning finally came. We woke to a light snowfall, but I had promised, so we packed a lunch and bundled up to make our way to see the birds. By noontime the snow had melted and clouds dispersed into a slight overcast. The park was less busy than usual. Probably due to the colder weather earlier, but the bird seemed to be alert and enjoying it. We watched as they scoured the ground for bugs being flooded out by the previous night’s downpour.

Cash’s excitement at seeing the next eye-opening surprise kept us moving at a steady pace. We had enough time to read the information from the fun-fact cards

2 learning what they eat, where they live, and what makes them unique before bouncing along to the species. Today we saw up close and array of birds from the King Vulture to

Cash’s favorite the Black-necked Swan.

After our first trip around the park we stopped to eat our peanut

butter and jellies at a picnic table. I’m the kind of mom that is always

sneaking a little snack into the venues because the price of concessions

is always outrageous, so I’m grateful when places allow outside food and

drink. It really helps with the expenses for a day out. Cash quickly finished eating, tossed his crust to a peacock wandering nearby, and ran over to a sandy play area to “fill the bill” and get a visual on how much a pelican can hold in its beak.

While watching him I reflect on what a nice trip this has been. I sure did enjoy the elbow room to freely take pictures without holding up any lines and the cool afternoon air felt so nice. I remember when we went to The Living Planet Aquarium everyone’s voices echoed loudly of the walls that trapped in our body heat. We were herded through so quickly by the stampede of people behind us we weren’t able to actually sit and watch the jellyfish or get a picture in without wrestling for a spot to pet the stingray.

That thought was interrupted by “come on mom let’s go in there”, Cash blurted taking off down the pathway heading toward our next stop Destination Argentina where we learned that birds from our own Great Salt Lake migrate to Argentina for the cold winter months. Then we set off to make our second trip around the aviary.

3 There was actually quite a bit of renovating and construction going on throughout the facility with a new indoor exhibit on its way, but none of it seemed to hinder our tour. Just this last May they completed construction on the Owl Forest. A play area equipped with built in binoculars for spotting North

American Owls. This is where Cash seemed to have the most fun running and climbing up the bridge way.

When we were done we went into the gift shop at the Visitor Center. I shopped around and

Cash sat down at their children’s station to color a picture of an owl. While browsing I saw a flyer advertising new groups they have for pre-k children where they learn things like colors, letters, and opposites. Seeking out short or tall birds and experimenting with wordplay using phrases like “dazzling duck and opulent owl. In this class we say HOO HOO-ray for owls!”

For older kids they also have camps like trainer for a day and different conservation programs teaching youth to act locally with things they can do to preserve our wetlands and think globally with Species Survival Plans for threatened species like the Andean Condor. The also have a hatchery to assist the endangered Mauritius Pink

Pigeon from the coasts of Madagascar, who’s population was once limited to ten.

4 The young lady working told me they also have on Wednesdays what they call

“Bird and Book”. She explained that it’s “a special story time and then after you come nose to beak meeting a feathered friend from the book”. It was at 10:30 and by the time we got there we had already missed it. I plan to try again next week and this time look up the schedule of events online to be sure I get us there on time to enjoy all they have to offer and get more bang for my buck.

At the Aviary there are opportunities for people of all ages to get involved.

Sparking a child’s interest in learning is priceless, but for just a dollar it’s affordable for everyone. This was a good day, for me it was a walk in the park, for Cash it was a wild adventure around the world to explore birds from our backyard to the Amazon. It’s definitely a great way to spend a day with the kids. I have been looking all over this valley for stimulating entertainment for my little one especially in the winter months and

“Winter Wednesdays” at The Tracy Aviary is one of the best bargains around.