Alberta Birds of Prey & All In The Family

We had a very late start this morning as a result of oversleeping (nice) followed by a huge homemade breakfast (very niiiiice) with blueberry and strawberry pancakes, homemade maple syrup and eggs from cousin Corinne and Terry`s farm. Cousin Ellen packed a cooler for us with water and fruit and we left for Coledale to the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre.

We took a backroads tour to Lethbridge down what we were told were oiled roads, however, they were freshly graded - so fresh in fact, that we met the grader on the road. That nice, clean, brand-spankin' new rental car? Yeah, not so nice & clean now.

American Avocet

Killdeer

We weren’t sure what to expect at the Birds of Prey centre – this is a place that rescues and, if possible, rehabilitates raptors of all kinds and releases them back into the wild. They had birds of all shapes and sizes there – all raptors though – from the adorably tiny burrowing owls to the unbelievably massive golden eagle, and all out in the open. The birds are not caged in aviaries here – they are tethered on the ground, which they say is better for them? Each of the birds is free-flown daily – those that are able to fly, that is. We had hoped to see them do this, and they were scheduled to at 1:30, but there was a delay and they weren’t going to do it until 2 and we had to leave before that to be at my cousin Bryan’s where a family reunion was planned for the afternoon and evening.

Bryan and Annie have a really cute bungalow in Lethbridge with an amazing back yard and a newly built garage that Bryan is obviously quite proud of – and in which hangs a drawing of a wolf I did for him in the late ‘80’s!

We were thrilled to see many relatives at the bbq Saturday evening, including Uncle Alan, my dad’s oldest brother. Uncle Denis, my Godfather. My cousin, Ray Bryant, who is not only my oldest cousin, but also the Mayor of Taber (!!). Cousins Cheryl, Jen & her son, Darren & Jackie and their girls, Jordan & Dani. Bryan & Annie, our hosts for the evening. Blair and his girlfriend, Darcy (Bryan and Blair are my infamous twin cousins). Corinne, Terry & Dalyce. Velma & Gene. Cousin Neil. Aunt Shirley & Uncle Elwood. Cousin Ellen. Cousin Joy & her husband, Randy, and, we can’t forget, Smilie, the dog!

We had a wonderful evening catching up with the family and hearing stories, both new and old – from Bryan reminiscing about Charlie Brown the wiener dog and selling turtles at a road-side turtle stand with his brother Blair when they were kids in Port Perry to “city folk” out in the country for the weekend. “.25 for the little ones, .35 for the medium ones and .50 for the big ones!” to educating us about “prairie oysters” and telling us about a local bar called Bob’s and the shirts you can get that say “I had a ball at Bob’s” during their testicle festival!!

Cousins Bryan and Cheryl bbq'ing Bryan's awesome home-made shishkabobs!

Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator - a functional tribute to my late Grandpa Bryant (it encases an unsightly rain barrel!)

Cousin Neil, Uncle Denis & Cousin Dale

Cousin Darren, Uncle Alan, Uncle Denis & Uncle Elwood in Bryan's new garage.

We also heard a story that my great Uncle Ross was a merchant marine in the first world war and settled out west at the end of the war, saving money to bring his family over. He sent money for the boat fare and his wife and 7 children were to come over on the Titanic, but the tickets didn’t arrive in time, so they missed that boat and came on the next!

Another late (but great) night again (and more ribbing from Terry that we were wussies for being tired so “early”) and we made our way back to Aunt Shirely & Uncle Elwood’s for the night.

Todays tally:

- American avocet

- Killdeer

- red tail hawk (not counting the ones at the Birds of Prey Centre)