The Eye-Dee-Airy (or the Aviary)

A few weeks ago a group of us got up bright and early and headed to the Aviary. (or as Noah pronounces it, the "eye-dee-airy".) These sea eagles were the first winged creatures we encountered. The picture doesn't do them justice...their talons were big and pointy...their beaks were also big and pointy. They could swoop down and pick up one of my cats without any problem at all. And that, my friends, gives me the heebie jeebies. (Have I mentioned that I HATE birds?) But, the tickets were free and my family told me Noah would just love it, so I agreed to go. (And thank goodness the majority of the birds are behind glass).

The Aviary is a lot smaller than I thought, and for a bird hater like me, that was a-okay! We also ran in to two non-winged creatures who were also a big hit.

That's right, Dora and Diego were doing a special appearance that day. We were smart and got there right when the Aviary opened, so we only had to stand in a short line to meet the celebrities of the pre-school generation. On our way out, the line to meet them was snaked around the room and all the way down the hall -- the line to get in was out the door and down the sidewalk. Noah was really excited when he saw them walk in, so I'm glad he got to meet D-D-D-D-Dora! (you know the song!)

There he is with William, one of the birds in the tropical room where the birds are free to fly and walk around wherever. (I did NOT like those rooms at all!) You can see how he's pulling his hands back, I think that's because I kept saying "Don't touch him! Stay back!"

He and my dad did go in to the Lorikeet room and fed the birds some nectar. I let my dad take him in for some "Pa and Noah bonding time". Wasn't that big of me? The truth is, you couldn't pay me enough money to go in to a small enclosure with all of those birds flying at me wanting to drink that cup of nectar. No thank you! When we were at the Columbus Zoo, I stayed outside while Noah and Walt enjoyed that activity. I was watching and one of the winged creatures flew directly at my face -- I totally forgot it was enclosed in caging and screamed like I was being attacked. It landed on the fence a few feet from my face, and boy, was I embarrassed!

My mom and aunt secured us front row seats for the bird show. And all of the big birds flew right over our heads. I ducked, even though they told us not to. I couldn't help it. It was a fun day, but honestly, I'm glad we didn't pay to get in. Noah seemed to like it though, so I guess that's all that matters. He probably could have wondered around looking at the same birds over and over!