2016/05/05

Science by Night at the Museum of Nature (2016)

This evening, a free event called Science by Night took place at the Museum of Nature.  In addition to the usual Thursdays' free open house (in the evenings), there were activities where the visitors could extract strawberry DNA, see birds of prey up-close, talk to paleontologists and park scientists, and more.  Since I have been to the museum many times already, the activity that interested me the most was seeing the birds of prey from Falcon Environmental Services.

Captive Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).

Captive Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Captive Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Looking directly at me.

Captive Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
The Barn Owl (Tyto alba).

Captive Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Captive American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
A male American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) named Elvis.

Captive American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
The blue/gray crown and wings indicate this is a male.

Captive American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

Captive American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Since I had only seen kestrels a handful of times in the wild (in the distance), I was amazed to see how small they actually are (smaller than American Robins).

Captive American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Adorable!

2016-05-05-P5050088
Another popular activity was getting a sprayed-on tattoo of animals (promoting Parks Canada).  The line was too long so I didn't get one.

Rideau Canal at dusk
Afterwards, I walked back to campus to collect my things.  I don't think I have ever seen Rideau Canal at dusk before.

Rideau Canal at dusk

2016-05-05-P5050138
While walking along the canal, I realized there was something flying along the canal.  I realized that it was a bat!  Trying to take a photo of a fast-moving animal in the dark is impossible, but I am quite happy with this image.  Maybe I will stay later at school from now on just so that I can look for bats at dusk.

Great day overall.

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...