The Tracy Aviary

Today we went to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City. If you have a Pass of All Passes you can go on Tuesdays for FREE. It is so fun. It is where you get to see tons of birds!

My favorite bird that I saw was the Black Vulture. They are so cool. We saw one flying out of its cage. Its name was Chewy, and its sister was named Vader. Get it? Chewy was eating raw meat and flying from trainer to trainer to eat the food. They chicken, turkey, beef, mice and rats. They like fresh raw meat better than rotten meat. If you look hard enough, they are actually VERY pretty!

As you drive in to the park you will see the first exhibit, pelicans and ducks. The pelicans will dive in for food, but I didn't see any do that. Ducks are cool! They were flying all over the place. It is fun to see them land in the water.

I saw so many birds! I saw owls, macaws, Sun Conures, eagles, hawks, King Vultures, Andes Vulture, Scarlet Ibis, Sand-hill Cranes and even an American Avocet. I hope that you can go, it is a very fun place!

The Two Woodpeckers

Yesterday I woke up and told my mom it was time for breakfast. Then we went upstairs and ate breakfast, but before that I saw two woodpeckers. They were Downy Woodpeckers. They had red heads, black spots all over their wings and their chest and tummies were white. They were in our apple tree near our kitchen window. They were pecking at the bark. When I saw them I yelled out "Woodpeckers!" and jumped up high. Then Hattie my sister came and they flew away before she could see them. 

Facts: Woodpeckers drill out the bark for bugs. They will eat the bugs. After their beak, they have a shock absorber, which helps so its head doesn't get rattled. They also have a long tongue which can wrap all around its eye. That is how it can get its tongue into the bark to get the bugs. 

To learn more about Downy Woodpeckers visit http://www.wilddelight.com/birds/woodpecker/.