I'd never even heard of Scotland Neck, North Carolina. 

But when I read about it in an online photography forum, Kim and I decided to take a short detour on our way home from the beach and check it out.

If you don't like birds, Sylvan Heights Bird Park is not for you.

But if you DO like birds, which we do, it's well worth the price of admission.

I'm not going to pretend I remember the names of all these birds (although I do know this is a type of goose...)...

(and this is a spoonbill)....but it's a very cool place!

There are several walk-through aviaries where you get up-close and personal with the birds. There were at least 200 parakeets inside one of them!

So I'm going to just mosey through some of my favorite photos and throw in a comment or two when the mood hits...

I remember being mesmerized by the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" when I read it in 8th grade English class.

I'm still mesmerized by these gorgeous birds!

No hummingbirds like this one hanging around my feeder...

Even the ugly birds are fascinating....

An African fish eagle...we saw oodles of these in the wild in Botswana...

Female and male some-kinda-hornbills...

...and they have some pretty gnarly toenails on them!

This fancy pigeon started screaming crazy noises and nuzzling and flapping at my husband...don't know if he was trying to mate or fight him. Weird....

These cranes make an amazing migration flight over South America's Andes Mountains (where Kim and I will be in 2 weeks!  Can't wait!!), flying at altitudes of 17,000 feet (that's 3 miles above sea level, people!) to cross them. Being Hoosier flatlanders, we've been preparing for the possibility of altitude sickness...I wonder if these birds get short of breath while they're flying???

Hamerkop...another bird we saw frequently in Africa...

When I look at all the different kinds of birds, their unique shapes and markings and colorings, it makes me once again appreciate the creativity of our Creator God!  Just AMAZING!!!

So if you happen to be meandering through northeast North Carolina near the metropolis small town of Scotland Neck...

...and need a 90-minute diversion, stop by and take a stroll to see...

...the birds of Sylvan Heights.