In honor of the various birds species in our care, we give you: Celebration of Birds Awareness Weekend!  We will be raising awareness for birds like the sandhill crane, snowy owl, Buffalo weaver, and more July 6 – 9 here at the Zoo.  Make plans to come out to get involved in the fun and learn about the many conservation efforts in the bird world.

We also encourage you to check out and participate in our ongoing ‘Poetry Takes Wing’ nature poetry contest! Poetry Takes Wing is a community-based exploration of the connections we have with nature. We seek submissions of poems by writers of all ages and backgrounds, referencing a bird or birds in some way and grounded in an ethos of conservation. Submissions in both English and Spanish are encouraged. There is no fee to enter. See full guidelines here. 

This weekend we are raising funds to support the AZA’s SAFE North American Songbird program. SAFE NAS focuses on over 300 species in the order Passeriformes that spend part of their annual cycle in North America. Songbird population declines in North America persist due to habitat loss, climate change, building collisions, and predation from outdoor domestic cats. For every $5 donated to our Facebook fundraiser you will be entered for a chance to win a bird-made painting!