Hudson River Mammals at Beczak

Today Mikro attended a program on the mammals of the Hudson River at Beczak Environmental Educaton Center in Yonkers. The kids learned about beavers, river otters, and harbor seals, the distinctive characteristics of mammals, and how blubber keeps marine mammals warm. They got to handle a beaver chew, and made a mask of the critter of their choice. Mikro's is a harbor seal.

Wild World Awake at Night and Exploring at AMNH

We went to a terrific program at AMNH on nocturnal animals. Mikro learned about flying squirrels, owls, bats, and sloths and got to see them up close.

This is a Southern Flying Squirrel.

A Barred Owl:

Malaysian Flying Fox (bat):

Giant Sloth:


After the program, we explored the AMNH, which is one of Mikro's very favorite places. We took in the Hall of NY Environment, the Rose Center (formerly Hayden Planetarium), the Climate Change exhibition, and Extreme Mammals (which we had visited before with our homeschool group. I was amazed at how much Mikro remembered and was able to tell his dad about. I didn't think he was paying attention at all on our prior visit, when he was goofing around to an annoying degree, but it seems like there was a lot more going on in his head than his behavior might have indicated!) And, of course, no visit can conclude without the obligatory sojourn amongst the dinosaurs. We watched the cladistics film again, and I sat in the darkened theater sipping iced tea while Mikro and daddy visited the big bones.








Then we ate ouside on the steps, watched Mikro feed pigeons, and got a little silly with the camera...







Next, we hopped on a train and raced to Yonkers, for Beczak's Family Campfire and Kayaking event, but unfortunately, we got there too late for the kayaking. Mikro enjoyed the bonfire, but I was kicking myself big time because we didn't stop to pick up allergy safe marshmallows, and he was left out of the fun on that...

Friday Fieldtripping at AMNH and Victorian Gardens

Our homeschool group took a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History to see the Extreme Mammals and Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibits.





Mikro was way more hyper than usual. Probably because he knew that AMNH was only our first stop of the day. Afterwards, we wandered over to Central Park, where we saw Chewbacca out for a stroll.



Our destination was Victorian Gardens, a seasonal family amusement park within the park. Mikro has been on the Wonder Wheel and a couple of kiddie rides at Coney Island, on which he was... less than comfortable. So I wasn't sure what to expect.

Well, he had a blast!











After we left, we saw some interesting sights.





It was a howl at the moon kind of day.

Out on a Limb at Belvedere Castle-- Part 2

Desperately trying to catch up on my blogging... On March 28th, we went to the second part of the Urban Park Rangers Out on a Limb program at Belvedere Castle.

The first speaker was Susan Brandt, founder of Rational Animal, an organization whose mission is to increase public awareness of at risk animals in New York City. They hold an annual winter fundraiser called Gingerbread Homes for Animals fund medical care for homeless animals. They also organize benefit concerts, developed a map showing New Yorkers where to find pets in need of adoption called Trails to Tails, produce public service announcements, and run an orange ribbon campaign. The kids at the program received orange ribbons.




After Susan's talk, we headed out to the Ramble to meet wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath and his animal friends.

WARNING: LOTS OF PHOTOS AHEAD!

This Eastern Screech Owl had a broken collarbone and can't be released back into the wild.













Diana the Redtailed Hawk is fifteen years old. She eats rodents and pigeons.






















This Peregrine Falcon was hungry and demanded his lunch loudly! Peregrines are primarily bird-eaters. They have a notched beak for biting the neck of their prey to disable it. JFK Airport uses Peregrines to hunt pigeons and other birds which are a menace to aviation.






















This little raccoon was car sick and not in the mood for show and tell, so he stayed in his carrier. He is partially blind and has been since birth. Raccoons are not purely nocturnal. It is fairly common to see them during the day, especially in the spring when nursing mothers need lots of food to produce adequate milk for their young.




The skunk was sweet and good natured and safe to be around since it was de-scented and kept illegally as a pet.
















After the program, we hiked the Ramble and did some bird watching. Then we hopped on the subway and went to Moon Rock Diner for dinner. They have yummy veggie pannini.







Mikro entertained us by making goofy faces while we ate...