As winter seems to lose its grasp on our weather, we have been going further afield. Carpenter Nature Center park seemed like a good place to explore.

On our way to the park we encountered two bald eagles fighting in mid air. Thankfully they separated before they landed on our car. For me it was a once in a life time experience to see both birds fighting like that. I suppose it was a reminder that we were headed for the nature center near Prescott, WI.

Once there we toured the visitor’s center and saw examples of diffident animals. Mostly reptiles and amphibians. There were a few beautiful raptors that were cared for by the center as ambassadors for their species. They unfortunately have had serious enough injuries like lead poisoning, impaired vision or injury that would mean they would not survive on their own in the wild, much like many of the animals at the MN Zoo and Como Zoo and Conservatory. The kiddos thought the antlers were interesting, and loved the fact that the animals present could be “adopted” by someone. (Adopted in this case means help pay for the support of the animal for a year not – as I had to explain to the Baby Willow – to take home.) If one is interested in helping beyond adoption this free to enter nature center has a wish list  to help support its programing as they are run on donations like the Como Zoo.

The ground was still covered in snow but with the temperatures we’ve had, not for much longer. This Nature Center is along the St. Croix River. There are gentle and paved trails for those like us, and steep climbs for the more adventurous. One lookout point on the edge of the park had a clear line view of both the snow covered River and a massive eagle’s nest down the way. There were even those observation binocular stands pointed right at the nest.

We did not see much wildlife while there, but towards the end of our walk we went through a small wooded area. It was filled with chickadees and woodpeckers. I know that there were others, but I did not even get a look at them. It is so nice to hear birds again. I really hope spring is coming soon.

Bye for now.