Prior to my previous hike (Canal Loop, Part 2), I took an hour-long tour along the Woodlands Walk, near the Nature Station. They were doing a tree identification walk. Although I have to admit to remembering very little of what was said, I do hope to slowly gain some ability to identify the trees I am looking at.
After the walk, I stuck around and wandered the visitor center there. The Nature Station has several aquariums and terrariums with fish, amphibians, and reptiles on display. Several birds and mammals (usually rescues) are on display on the outside. It's always sad to see animals that should be wild in such enclosures, but, in most cases, they would not be able to survive in the wild. One of the owls, in particular, had lost most of one of its wings in a collision with a car.
I have to admit that, even on a leash, the great horned owl (pictured at the top of this post) gave me a look that was a little disconcerting. For all I know, he couldn't actually see what he was looking at, but he sure seemed like he was keeping an eye on me and that he would peck my eyes out if he could!
By contrast, the barred owl (pictured here) looked kinda friendly, while the barn owl (not pictured) looked rather shy and demure.
There were also bird feeders (both seed and sugar water) on the grounds, so the outdoors were frequented by both nectar and seed eaters.
This was a total walk of no more than a mile, so it doesn't count as a separate hike.
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