In the best sort of "take your child to work" scenarios, we met my husband at his base squadron's environmental awareness event this week where the children were able to do some catch and release fishing with the DNR folks.
This gentleman has been to our home and has a wealth of stories to tell about climbing up the sides of mountain to rapel down into eagle's nests for banding and monitoring of endangered birds.
Here he is explaining another way they attract birds of prey for banding. The very fine netting in back of him is used near shrubs and brush to catch tiny songbirds near a testing range. Part of their job is to keep careful counts of the flocks to ensure they are not unduly disrupted.
This beautiful falcon is one of the rescued birds used for educational presentations. It is a great visual for kids who read a lot of historical fiction and biographies to see these maginificent birds which have partnered with people throughout history.
Obligatory kids-in-the-wheel shot of the huge tractor used for brush management and reseeding of the range.
And goslings. Oh my heart. This is exactly how our family has always traveled, with kids sandwiched between mom and dad.
“Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine- cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets. And any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education.”
— Luther Burbank (American horticulturalist and botanist, 1849 – 1926)
Starry Sky Journal 