The weekend was more quiet than most since I was a little under the weather. Most of Saturday was spent like this:
Thank goodness I felt better Sunday, The Husband and I had a class at The Minnesota Raptor Center. The Raptor Center was established in 1974 as part of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and rehabilitates more than 700 sick and injured raptors each year. They also help identify emerging environmental issues related to raptor health and populations. They are an internationally renowned education facility and train veterinary students and veterinarians from around the world to become future leaders in raptor medicine and conservation. If you haven’t visited, I highly recommend it. We had signed up for a Basic Digital Photography for the Nature Photographer Class taught by Carlyn Iverson. It was amazing learning about the raptors, The Raptor Center, and having a chance to take photos of the amazing ambassadors that they have on site.
The first raptor we met was this Peregrine Falcon. She was very intense about feeding time:
This female Bald Eagle has been at The Raptor Center for years after a sheriff found her beside a road. The injury that she sustained makes her wings unable to move as needed for release back into the wild:
This Great Horned Owl was brought to The Raptor Center after being hit by a car. One of her wings no longer functions as needed for release back into the wild. She was stunning:
This American Kestrel was my favorite. She LOVED the camera and wouldn’t stop posing. All I could think was, “Who’s a pretty girl?”
All of that time outdoors made us hungry so we hit a neighborhood favorite for dinner, Dominguez. The Dominguez family comes from the town of Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos, just 45 miles south of Mexico City. Their website says that Cuernavaca is known as the “City of Eternal Spring” because its climate is so consistent. Temperatures hover around 68 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Minneapolis weather is certainly not that right now, but their food felt like a little escape from the frozen tundra.
Usually I get the Veggie Chimichanga which is awesome but I decided to try something new and got the Veggie Taquitos. If you want some good Mexican food, you need to give this neighborhood gem a try:
I LOVE your photographs from the raptor center. Such amazing creatures! I love the tufts on the horned owl. Did you say Mexican? I need to try that restaurant when I come back!
Thanks, Kelley! Next time you need a longer visit so we can get more eating in!
nicely done. I enjoyed the photos and will put the Raptor Center on the list of places to go with camera in-hand.
Thanks, Luke! I appreciate the encouragement to brave the manual settings on the camera, it added a while new level of enjoyment to the experience. Keep an eye on The Raptor Center events, they hinted at me photo classes in the future.
[…] have been thinking about the raptors from the Minnesota Raptor Center photography class all week and started playing with photo animation. This was a fun way to visualize some of the […]