Due to vacation, training, and general staffing issues yesterday I ended up helping out the Keepers in Explore the Wild for some afternoon activities. I found myself alone in Explore the Wild with only non-humans as my company. All four bears came out to eat the food I had scattered. Gus even found a stick and flopped on his back, spun the stick around and around in his paws and randomly took chomps.

The best part was what I saw in the wetland though. I caught sight of a red shouldered hawk diving in the wetland and coming up with a fish. The hawk returned to the branch, looked around, and swallowed its prey whole. A kingfisher was also sitting on a stump looking for food. One great blue heron was fishing alongside 8 mallard ducks. A whole bunch of small songbirds (of which I couldn’t identify any) were also busy fluttering about.

I love taking the extra five minutes or so to watch what’s going on in the wetland. Even as winter approaches, there’s still so much to see.