Feed The Birds

The zoo had an aviary, a place where you could stand in line and then walk through a cage full of parakeets, and purchase sticks with birdseed on them that the birds would then land on and eat.
I have lost no love over birds, especially parakeets. Sure, I take the boys over to Parrot Safari to look at the big birds, but honestly, they are a little scary. They have big wings, and they can fly, and they have claws, and they have these creepy eyes that stare at you and they turn their little birdy heads all sideways and blink and you just know they want to peck out your eyes.
We had parakeets when I was younger, and like many of our pets, I didn't bond with them. Instead, the birds either escaped and then got killed by our cats, or gave birth to defective offspring.

I still view parakeets as pets rather than a breed to be kept in a zoo, so the whole thing seemed a little forced to me, especially after a long wait to get inside (they only let a few people in at a time.)
But once we were inside, it was worth it. The boys carried birds around, and let them land on their arms. Andy bonded with one in particular, petting it gently with his free hand. When it flew away at last, Andy cried "My Bird! I lost my bird!" And we had to get him another.