West Virginia’ s Wild Birds
Every year, the Oglebay Good Zoo provides programming to more than 130,000 guests and 13,000 students. Several of its special events have become family traditions, including the Easter Treasure Hunt; Festival of Lights celebration with the Winter Fantasy Laser Show, animated lights show and Santa’ s Reindeer Training School; and the most popular event, Boo at the Zoo.
Photo by Oglebay Resort & Conference Center.
“ The Good Zoo is incredibly familyand kid-friendly due to our rural, natural setting with many trees for shade and large, spaced-out enclosures that enable guests to easily see the animals without having to worry about large crowds,” says Joe Greathouse, the zoo’ s director.
The Oglebay Good Zoo is open yearround. For more information, visit www. oglebay. com.
West Virginia State Wildlife Center
The West Virginia State Wildlife Center, under the management of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, is the best place to experience state wildlife in a natural habitat. Located in North Central West Virginia, the wildlife center is known for its modern facility and display of native and introduced wildlife. A wheelchair-accessible inter pretive trail runs 1.25 miles through the forest, allowing guests to experience wildlife up close. Signage posted along the trail informs guests about the animals.
The wildlife center is home to a vast array of animals, including elk, buffalo, river otters, mountain lions, whitetailed deer, gray wolves, red and gray fox, black bears, coyotes, wild boar and bobcats. Visitors will observe a variety of reptiles, such as the copperhead snake, timber rattlesnake and black rat snake, and experience a host of winged residents, including Eastern screech-owls, barred owls, great horned owls, bald and golden eagles, wild turkeys, red-tailed hawks and ring-neck pheasants.
In addition to the trail, the wildlife center offers special events for animal lovers of all ages. In February, the center celebrates Groundhog Day with its very own weather prognosticator, French Creek Freddie. The center also offers events on West Virginia Day and invites raptor rehabilitation centers, reptile specialists and fishery specialists to the grounds during this special holiday. During the first weekend in August, the center opens a primitive-style camp called Rendezvous that provides visitors with an interactive glimpse into history with reenactors. In October, the center also offers fall hayrides and Spooky Night Tours to get in the Halloween spirit.
Photo by West Virginia State Wildlife Center.
“ The wildlife center provides an up-close glimpse of more than 25 different species of animals, and simply being around our wide variety of wildlife is a huge draw for families and guests of all ages,” says Tyler Evans, a wildlife biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.
The West Virginia State Wildlife Center is open year-round. For more information, visit www. wvdnr. gov.
West Virginia’ s Wild Birds
Because bird wildlife plays a major role in the Mountain State’ s ecosystem, two organizations are committed to protecting and rehabilitating the animals that call West Virginia home: the Three Rivers Avian Center and the West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center.
Three Rivers Avian Center
Since 1990, the Three Rivers Avian Center( TRAC) has been dedicated to wild bird conservation, as well as educating the public about the conservation of the ecosystem in the southern portion of the New River Gorge area.
TRAC offers programs such as Wings of Wonder – Birds of Prey, in which hawks, eagles, falcons and owls are presented to a scheduled group. The center explains why these special birds can’ t be returned to the wild as well as ways people can help wild birds as they adapt to the changing world around them. The center also offers free public tour days that are held on the first Saturday of every month from May-October. For more information, visit www. tracwv. org.
The West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center
The West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center( WVRRC) strives to rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned birds of prey, as well as provide educational programs to the public for the benefit of all animals.
The WVRRC presents fun and informative programs about the value of raptors in the environment and the important work being done at the center. The birds that are presented for scheduled groups include a red-tailed hawk, bald eagle, broad-winged hawk, red-phase Eastern screech owl, swallow-tailed kite, barred owl, American kestrel and turkey vulture.
WVRRC’ s programs, which are adapted to all ages, are available to any group, organization or school. To learn more, call( 304) 366-2867.
www. wvexecutive. com
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