Some of my Favorite Places to Visit are The Owl Center, The Eagle Center, The Bear Center, and the Wolf Center.
National Owl Center, Houston MN
Great Horned Owl
My husband and I take a trip every January to the Owl Center, that we are Members of. On our trip, we sit through classes that teach you about the different Species of Owls and what they sound like. When we arrive, they usually have 1 owl that is free to fly anywhere they would like. This species is the Eurasian Eagle Owl named Uhu.
One of the owls that we hear quite a bit, even at my house, is the Great Horned Owl. Karla Bloem, the executive director, started researching Great Horned Owl vocalizations in 2004. She started out researching vocal repertoire and behavioral context, but her research has since grown to cover regional variance, vocal development, individual variation, nesting ecology, and the dispersal and survival of birds raised in captivity. Both captive and wild owls, including a non-releasable wild pair that was breeding in captivity, were used in her research. By reporting observations of the breeding pair being streamed live as well as observations made at other wild Great Horned Owl cams, volunteer citizen scientists have helped with data collecting.
National Eagle Center, Wabasha MN
Eagles
During our time visiting the National Owl Center, we also visited the Eagle Center. We also have a membership to see the Eagles and do receive certain perks. They have Eagles that are on display as they are the Ambassadors. At this time, they have 4 Ambassadors, Angel, Columbia, Was’aka, and Latch. With walking around the Eagle Center, a good thing to have would be a Scarf with Pockets. Would be able to keep my wallet, cellphone, and Credit Cards safe while walking between both locations. In another location right across the street is the Training Classes about Eagles.
Some of the past ambassadors have left their mark with so many people. We were able to see the Golden Eagle, Donald, before he died on March 16, 2020, due to complications of a stroke. Also, Columbia just passed away on January 17, 2024, due to illness and she also had lead in her system. The other past ambassadors we are able to see from time to time. Harriet was the first ambassador at the Center. She arrived in 2000 due to a badly dislocated wing and needed to have it amputated. She passed away at the age of 35 in May 2016. We still get to have the privilege of seeing her from time to time on Vehicles. She happens to be on the License Plate of those who purchase the plate.
National Wolf Center, Ely MN
Wolves
In the summer of 2021, we decided to take a trip to Ely and check out the International Wolf Center. We arrived at the Center the day after they put in a new Ambassador Rieka, who was just born in May 2021. We watched the education team in the main enclosure as they were seeing what 2 other ambassadors, Grayson and Axel, would do with Rieka. They took to her fairly well. Now when we look at the Ambassadors, they do have 2 more added, Blackstone and Caz, which are all now full-grown.
North American Bear Center
Bears
On our trip to Ely, MN, we also visited the Bear Center. This was an amazing site to see all the Bears roaming around in their enclosed area. The day we were there, the Guide stated they had to go about 900 ft to retrieve their big garbage bin, as the other wild bears decided to move it.
Another Guide was taking us to see all the other bears that were in their cages, as they did not get along with some of the other bears. As we stopped to hear about the bear in the cage, she had a few birds flying around her, so she dug out some bird feed, and the bird sat on her hand and started eating.
Hope you enjoyed my travels in Minnesota. I will be visiting all these locations again soon.
Get in touch with us today to unlock exclusive benefits! As a valued member of our online community, we’re thrilled to offer you special gifts. Discover how to reach out and connect with us for more details:
Response Magic