So Friday morning I had to meet Kyle at our Zoo2U in Delaware, which meant I had to pack up all of the animals. We had a small issue that was easily fixed; neither me nor Kyle were signed off on any amphibians for our program. In the end we just took two reptiles, the male Boa Constrictor and the Box Turtle, along with the Chinchilla and Broad Winged Hawk. Even though I left a little later than I wanted too, I was able to get there on time. We were presenting to a first start summer program of prek to 4th graders. It was awesome to see them so enthusiastic about the animals and learning about them, but I could tell towards the end their attention span was shortening. When I got back to the zoo and got everyone unpacked I hung around the Visitors center.
Then Andre came in and had me go roving around the zoo with him. He took the Spectacled Owl and I took the Broad Winged Hawk. Silly Andre brought a short thin glove with him, so we had to very craftily switch his glove behind the Visitor Center. This meant I held the Owl's jesses and leash while Andre hurried to clip the leash to the new glove and put the glove on. That went very smoothly which surprised me. Then we got over by the Bobcat exhibit and we heard someone or thing calling out "Hello? Hello?". Well come to find out the Macaws had gotten themselves into the bushes. Andre didn't really think before he acted and before I knew it he had the owl hanging again and was giving me his glove. Now mind you I already had the Broad Winged Hawk on my left hand.
So I had to hurry and figure out a way to make a left handed glove fit on my right hand and then swing the Owl back on the glove. It was kind of cool holding both birds at the same time while Andre ran in to get the Macaws, but at the same time I didn't like the situation I was put into. After all was said and done we took the birds back to the Aviary and I went back to the Visitor Center to kill some time. My last task to pass time consisted of Kyle and I going into the Aviary to catch Crickets being that we were running low again. It was pretty fun going in there to catch them with a net. Never did I think I would be catching Crickets during my job for the animals!
Today was another easy day at the Zoo. The only things I needed to get done today was do round one handling in the Aviary and Ed building, do enrichment for the turtles and mammals, do the 11 O'clock Ed talk, and go roving. I love doing handling, especially with the birds. I was able to catch the Red Tailed Hawk on the first go without getting mauled by her talons. Once again I had to get the Turkey Vulture off the ground, which is getting easier and easier. Doing handling today also meant I got to play with Mr. Wilson, our Opossum. He has gotten so big since the day Joy brought him in! But he's such a cute little bugger.
My Ed talk went very smooth, I actually had people show up which was awesome. I have come to the conclusion that I need to talk louder and slower when I do my presentations. I'm getting a lot more comfortable with talking in front of groups, but it's probably because I'm becoming more comfortable with the information. My parents also got a nice treat today, I was able to bring them back into the Aviary to show them the birds. This was nice for my Dad who likes to watch the Turkey Vultures fly around our town. I was able to bring Turkey bird out to him so he could see him up close in person. It's things like this that make me kind of work in the education department, but I don't know. Hopefully soon I will get a better idea which direction I really want to take.
-Heather
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