N 36° 8’41.23″ W 77°24’51.27″ Google Earth location
Boy, did we need something cute after last week’s offering! The Girlfriend looked over my shoulder while I was editing this photo for inclusion, and so I asked, “Remember this little squirt?” She most assuredly did, and with good reason. Twelve years ago, we were paying our first visit to Sylvan Heights Bird Park, standing on the deck looking out over the duck pond with little idea of all the different species we would see. Abruptly, The Girlfriend began making desperate sounds to attract my attention while somehow forgetting that she knew actual words, the cause being this young sarus crane (Antigone antigone) that was following one of the park employees up the path like a puppy. On her return, the worker cooperatively brought her charge over for some portraits, a dangerous move around The Girlfriend because the temptation to bundle up the baby crane and steal away home with it was obviously great. I can’t say that I blame her; just the size was enough (it stood roughly 65cm tall,) but that muppet-felt blonde hairdo? C’mon…
I highly recommend Sylvan Heights Bird Park, because it’s very cool, filled with some pretty exotic and fascinating species, and you can get surprisingly close to many of them, including within some of the flight cages. It’s unfortunate that it’s a little ways off from any metro NC area save Rocky Mount, but you won’t regret the trip, especially when you hear a kookaburra in real life.