Today was Bald Eagle Day. Held at the Shakespeare Festival Park east of Boise, on the Boise Rive. East-Boise is a very nice area. Very nice. There are hike/bike paths everywhere, and it has a southwestern feel to it, like outside of Phoenix. You're close enough to the foothills to touch them, and it seemed like it was a tad warmer there, compared to out on the flats in Meridian. It is a quick jaunt to school. I now understand why so many staff and faculty at the university live out there, or in the foothills.
The colors and textures in the landscape were my favorite part.
Then I came around a corner, and found OWLS!
I loved the branches, looking like they were crawling out of the fog. Really, they were stuck in the ice. I also noticed how the red bushes were reflected in the part of the pond that wasn't frozen, while the frozen part acted like frosted glass.
Then I came around a corner, and found OWLS!
Can you see the owl's shadow in the glass behind it?
It was day time, so they were sleepy and quiet. Oh my, so pretty. The big one is a great horned owl, but I didn't learn the smaller owls breed. If anyone recognizes it, let me know. I also got to see a great horned owl in the wild, in a tree, way across the river, through a telescope. The only way I knew it was an owl was the yellow eyes. Right when I was staring at it, through the lens, it blinked! As soon as its eyes closed again, it was gone. Camouflaged indeed.
Around the corner from the two captive owls was a captive Bald Eagle. I found out she is about 30 years old, and she lives in captivity because she was shot, and her wing was broken. She can fly a little, but not enough to survive in the wild. She lives full time with the person who is holding her in the picture. Imagine having the responsibility for caring for that bird!
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