Tracy Aviary

Since, we have a long summer vacation than we are not use too... the kids and I have a summer bucket list of different things we want to do that we haven't done before.  One of them is to visit this Bird Zoo..The Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City.

We spent a afternoon in the very warm sun playing at the aviary.  We packed snacks and lots of water to get us through the blistering heat.  We had a great time! 

This was a huge highlight for Carter to feed the concure birds.  He has been wanting one of these birds for a pet for a long time.  We found out that these birds are not good pet birds to have because they are so noisy and can cause hearing loss if kept indoors.  They were even loud outside.  The trainers have to wear earplugs if they take them indoors.  So, glad we found this out because I am not about to wear ear plugs in my own house for these birds.
Ashlynn was a brave soul..I did not want to feed the birds but she insisted on feeding them.  She was so cute to watch.  The trainer stayed close to her to make sure she was ok.

We saw lots of different kind of birds around the park.

So many things to look at.

We watched a demonstration on how many pounds it takes to squish a chicken egg.  Carter and Ashlynn were both called as volunteers to try to squish the egg.  Carter put weights on top of the box that the egg was under and Ashlynn sat on the box.  The egg did not crack until it reached 95lbs.  Wow! That was amazing!
Then, I was called to be a volunteer for another demo, but did not know that I would be fearing for my life.  Before I could even ask if someone else wanted to volunteer I was being fitted to wear this huge leather glove that was the size of my leg.  Then the trainers were putting raw meat on the end of the glove and put goggles on me and told me to stand still.  I asked what kind of bird was this for..they replied a RAPTOR and to hold still.  So, here comes out this large bird that suddenly it is on the end of my glove eating the meat.  It was SO SCARY!  It would fly off into the crowd to the other trainer and then fly back to me for more food.  I was so nervous the entire time.  I don't even hold or touch our own pet parakeets at home!  This was nuts!  I did survive and the kids were so shocked. 

This place was a very educational and fun place to spend a summer afternoon.