"Free" weekend

After the six weekends of Lent, the weekend of the Triduum and Easter, followed immediately by our Spring Community Weekend, having the first "free" weekend after all of those was time for fun outings by many sisters. I chose to go to our state park, Presque Isle, specifically to see if we could find the owl family sighted recently in a tall hollow tree with their new owlet!

Not only did we find the owl family but we learned that the Tamarack Wildlife Center was holding a live raptor program at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center right at the entrance to the park. Here are a couple photos I took of the "traveling troupe"!!

A red-tailed hawk minus its redness!

Jasper a beautiful little Eastern Screech Owl who lost an eye and an ear but is a regular member of the traveling educational troupe of the Tamarack Center.

A Barred owl, Sophia, I think...another beauty.

But, my favorite was seeing Willow. Willow is a small Eastern Screech Owl who was rescued, along with her three owlets,  from a hollow in a dead tree that was felled in Gridley Park seven years ago. All were taken to Tamarack who released the three babies when they were old enough to be on their own. Willow, however, had a damaged wing and has been a part of the Tamarack education programs for years. She also serves as a surrogate mother to any baby owls that are orphaned and brought to the center.   

See Tamarack's site for more about these and other "residents"!