The first Saturday in September is International Vulture Awareness Day, so my bird pick for this month is the Turkey Vulture.

They are often mistakenly referred to as the Turkey Buzzard. They are also often frowned upon because of their gross habit of eating roadkill. I, however, appreciate their clean up efforts. Also, they prefer their meal already dead which means my chickens and goats are safe from these large birds.

IDENTIFICATION

HEAD: bright red. primarily unfeathered
BILL: white
BODY: brown/black
WINGS: brown/black. underside of flight feathers is ivory

Notice the red, nearly bald head & white curved bill.

During a Birds of Flight show at the Oregon Zoo, I was able to get a good look at the light colored flight feathers.

From a distance, Turkey Vultures appear black. However in actuality, they have a lot of brown tones mixed in.

HABITAT

Turkey Vultures can be found in North and South America, typically in open wooded areas, deserts, and countrysides.

This one is circling the hill behind our house.

FEEDING

Turkey Vultures are scavengers, feeding on dead animals. Their incredible sense of smell helps them find their next meal.

FRIENDS & FAMILY

FAMILY: New World Vultures
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cathartes aura

Typically, I notice a small group of two or three Turkey Vultures soaring overhead. Occasionally, there is a larger flock. Even less often, I spot them flying with other large birds.

FLIGHT

Turkey Vultures glide through the sky with their wings slightly raised. Their wingtips have long separated “fingers.”

Right Photo: riding the thermals high in the sky

PHOTO GALLERY

We spotted this Turkey Vulture in the Redwoods.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
For more info about these large, amazing birds check out my posts from International Vulture Awareness Day in 2013 and a trip to the Audubon Society, where I saw Ruby, a Turkey Vulture used as an education bird.

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Twice, the kids and I, ventured away from Old Town and explored an area in eastern Nuremberg.

Europe has so many wonderful historical buildings, monuments and museums. As much as I love exploring all those places and want my kids to have exposure to it, I also understand my kids are kids. I want them to have just plain fun and not remember our trip as an unending snoozefest of old stuff. So, our itinerary included a couple places of fun where the kids didn’t have to worry about being quiet or knocking something over.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Our hotel was located right next to a tram stop, so we took the tram to Dutzendteich Lake. This was a fun way to see parts of the city we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

We planned to take the tram to the zoo, too. But there was a problem with the line, so they sent a bus. The bus dropped us off a bit before the zoo entrance, so we walked the rest of the way. That worked out ok. It was a nice day and a good excuse to venture through a German neighborhood.

A home near the zoo that reminded me of a German fairy tale.

NUREMBERG ZOO

One day of fun was spent at the Nuremberg Zoo.

I loved seeing animals we don’t have at the Oregon Zoo.
The Maned Wolf brought up memories from when my kids were younger and watched Go, Diego, Go.
The horns on the Alpine Ibex were stunning!
I am always in awe when I see a gorilla. I could watch them for hours.
This was my first time ever seeing a manatee.

We have had these species at our zoo, but these particular ones were new to me. We have polar bears, but not baby polar bears. So cute! And, I have never seen a tiger swim. He seemed to enjoy it.

One of the highlights of our zoo day was the dolphin and seal show.

Except for the snafu with the tram, the day was great. We even got back to the hotel with enough time to wander over to Old Town for dinner.

DUTZENDTEICH LAKE & NAZI PARTY RALLY GROUNDS

Staying in Nuremberg, it was hard to resist visiting the former Nazi Rally Grounds. The rally area surrounded Dutzendteich Lake. We took a nice walk around the lake. The kids got to play and I read the signage, trying to take in the enormity of the historical things that occurred where we were standing.

CONGRESS HALL
To display their power, the Nazi’s planned many large buildings on these grounds. Congress Hall being one of them and designed to be a focal point. In 1935, work began on the Roman Colosseum inspired building. Due to the start of WWII, the building was never finished.

The building now houses the Documentation Centre, an exhibit of Nuremberg during the Nazi era.

The lake is now used for recreational purposes. Not too many people were out on the lake, but lots of paddle boats were available to rent.

I will admit to being underwhelmed at the landscaping. I guess I was expecting glorious mounds of green fields covered in spring flowers, since we were there in April. I guess I’m also used to living in western Oregon, where it is green. Really green. Surrounding the lake was primarily brownish dirt, leaves and underbrush. The zoo was the same. I did find a few patches of green and wildflowers, though.

I was thrilled to see birds and ducks at the lake.

Left: The kids running, loving the relaxing day.
Right: Congress Hall and the huge ferris wheel we rode later in the day

ZEPPELIN FIELD
This photo is what remains of the grandstands, originally built in 1935.

Zeppelin Field held many National Socialists parades, rallies and festivals, with as many as 200,000 people. The rallies continued until 1938.

Since the war ended, the field has been used for sports, motor events and concerts.

There were very few people around when we visited, though.

NUREMBERG FOLK FESTIVAL

We happened to be in Nuremberg during their Folk Festival, which was right next to Dutzendteich Lake. So, we checked it out.

We had a great time. It was similar to a carnival or fair we have around here, just with German flair, of course.

My eyes tend to spot farm animals. These are the ones I found at the Folk Festival. The pig is darling with a great smile. The rooster is quite handsome. Best of all, they don’t poop.

Of course we tried fair food. I skipped the sardine sandwich. I honestly wasn’t quite sure even how to eat it. But, I did get a schnitzel sandwich. It was delish!

We shared the biggest pretzel I have ever seen. It was priced just a tad more than a regular pretzel and the 4 of us could fit half way around it for a selfie.

It’s funny the things you remember. I’m pretty sure this pretzel is one of the things we will remember most about our trip.

The only ride we did was a humongous ferris wheel. It was simple and fun, with an amazing view of the city.

Safe & Happy Travels to You!

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The kids & I love going to the Audubon Society. We enjoy seeing their education birds & exploring the trails.

Depending on the direction you’re coming from, you may drive through a cool tunnel like this one on Cornell Road. The sign says it was built in 1940.

Interpretive Center & Nature Store

One of our favorite things is watching the birds outside the windows at the bird feeders.

Farm Kid2 & I attended a book signing by author & illustrator Lisa C. Manning. The book is titled Falcons in the City and based on Peregrine Falcons, like this education bird Finnegan.

Interesting Trees

In between the Care Center and the Nature Store are two particular trees of interest.

Left: The Giant Sequoia is the largest tree in the world. I don’t know how this one compares to others, but it is huge.

Right: The Dawn Redwood is said to be a living fossil. Prior to the 1940’s the tree was only found in fossil form. In 2005 it became Oregon’s official state fossil.

Wildlife Care Center

One room of the Care Center is open to visitors and has birds & turtles to see.

Education Birds

Some of the education birds are inside, others are in outdoor homes.

Left: Aristophanes, the Raven

Bottom Right: Ruby, a turkey vulture

Trails

The Audubon Society is a 150 acre nature sanctuary with miles of trails to hike.

Left: Notice the English Ivy climbing the tree…
The setting for the book Wildwood takes place here in the urban forest that is part of the Audubon Society. In the story, Ivy is a villain. In truth, English Ivy is a huge problem. It climbs everywhere and threatens native trees and plant.

Right: Balch Creek, which is also mentioned in the Wildwood Chronicles.

More Trails

Across Cornell Road from the Care Center & Interpretive Center are more trails part of Audubon’s Sanctuaries.

Also, if you head east up Cornell just a short way you will reach the popular Wildwood Trail. Pittock Mansion is a 25 minute hike up the trail. Continuing on you will reach Washington Park, home to Hoyt Arboretum and the Oregon Zoo.

To see what others are sharing for the month of October check out write31days.com

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Thanksgiving morning the kids, hubby & I completed the 4 mile Turkey Trot at the Oregon Zoo.

The race began near the World Forestry Center. Then continued through Washington Park, down the hill towards the Portland Rose Gardens, back up the hill and finished inside the Oregon Zoo.

It was a good event with great weather and a bit of challenge for the kids. Their legs were sore the next day, but they all want to continue doing these type of events.

Top Middle: A costume a loved
Middle: Running through Washington Park
Bottom Right: At the end we each received a chocolate turkey. Yum.

The kids did great. They ran some, they jogged some & they walked some. We finished the race in 1:10, which I thought was fantastic.

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Redwood Forest
Last year we took a 15 day road trip. One of our first stops was the Redwood National & State Forest. We came across a group of vultures so we stopped to admire them. I don’t know what they were eating, but it was very stinky.

Oregon Zoo
During the summer, the Oregon Zoo has a bird show. One of the birds that flies around is a turkey vulture.

Lake Billy Chinook
Last summer we went camping at Lake Billy Chinook. We went on an evening guided tour about turkey vultures & saw a group of them roosting in a couple trees.

Our House
This summer it seems the turkey vultures have been flying around more often.

Grand Canyon
The furthest destination on our road trip was the Grand Canyon. It was a first for all of us. We saw many amazing things while there, including the critically endangered California Condor. We saw at least 3 different California Condors. They aren’t the prettiest bird, but they are huge & it makes me happy to see them flying around.
This one is tagged #4.

If you look closely towards the middle of the photo is a California Condor flying in the Grand Canyon.

This one is tagged #84.

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 82 of 100

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After visiting North America, the next stop on our imaginary world tour was to the Amazon rainforest in South America. This part of the world is a favorite for my kids – as I’m sure it is for many kids. There is such an array of fun plants & animals. They love the big snakes, colorful birds & frogs, monkeys & big cats.

Google defines a tropical rainforest as:

a luxuriant, dense forest rich in biodiversity, found typically in tropical areas with consistently heavy rainfall.

School Room

We used our globe & multiplication to figure out approximately how many miles it is from the temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest to the Amazon rainforest. We came up with 5,280 miles and marked it on our map.

Our biome pocket chart filled with info on the rainforest.

Left: Every week Farm Kid1 is “sending” a postcard to his dad who didn’t travel on this trip with us. He decorates the front & writes a little message on the back.

Right: South America stamp in Farm Kid1’s passport.

Left: Rainforest collage made by Farm Kid1.

Right: Farm Kid1 chose to do his rainforest animal report on a toucan. The animal report wheel is from Enchanted Learning.

A few rainforest goodies sitting in our geography center. Toy animals from the boys collection, a Tropical Rainforest leveled reader from scholastic, Afternoon on the Amazon Magic Tree House book & Jan Brett’s The Umbrella.

Field Trip

Our rainforest theme took us to the Oregon Zoo once again. To see my post on our trip through the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit click here.

More Rainforest Info

Our South American Continent Box
Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool
Kids Do Ecology
Blue Planet Biomes
Enchanted Homeschooling Mom

Links to our Continents & Biomes:
North America – Temperate Rainforest
South America – Tropical Rainforest
Antarctica – Ice Cap
Africa – Sahara Desert
Australia – Coral Reef
Asia – Tundra
Europe – Deciduous Forest

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As part of our Amazon Rainforest study we visited the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit at the Oregon Zoo. This is a section we don’t generally spend a lot of time exploring. So, this was a great excuse to look a little closer. I had Farm Kid1 answer a few questions such as Which animal is the most colorful? Why? Which animal is the hardest to find? Why? Can you find all the colors of the rainbow in this exhibit? Farm Kid2 had a piece of paper & a few crayons. He drew the animals.

I’m not sure about you, but I never realized how high the waters get in the Amazon. I guess I never thought about it. The seasons in the Amazon are marked by the rain. During the rainy season the Amazon basin will flood, the waters getting extremely high. Eventually the water will recede showing off the forest floor. Some how the plants & animals have figured out how to adapt to these changes every year.

RED-HANDED TAMARIN
Emerald tree boa in the background. It appears as though these two are in the same area, but really they are separated by glass.

EMERALD TREE BOA

GREEN ANACONDA

PACU
Also in the exhibit are big fish called pacu. We learned that pacu in the wild eat the fruit from trees when the water is high, then poop out the seeds. When the water level recedes the seeds grow into new trees. These fish are an important part of the system.

DWARF CAIMAN
Not exactly the prettiest set of teeth.

ARRAU TURTLE
They are an endangered species.

We spent a good 45 minutes examining this small, but educational, exhibit. We all left with a better understanding of the rainforest.

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