Venture around our campus with Black Vulture, Vlad!

Find out just how interesting and unusual vultures are.

Join our Director of Avian Conservation, Taylor Berry, and our Black Vulture, Vlad, for a fun walk around the ponds at Reflection Riding! Vlad is a trained animal ambassador who will be exploring the landscape with you as you walk along this ½ mile excursion. Throughout the walk, you will learn all kinds of cool and creepy facts, such as how a vulture cools itself on a hot sunny day and their unusual diet. You will also learn the important role they play in our environment. The tour will end with Vlad leading you through our Native Plant Nursery to explore the importance of native plants in the life of a vulture.

Long pants and close toed shoes are recommended. Because an animal ambassador will be in the spotlight for this program, dogs and food aren’t allowed. Programs are available on most Saturday mornings at 11:00 am.

As an outdoor facility, our programs and events are almost always dependent on the weather. We are also a force-free facility, so if one of our animal ambassadors isn't interested in participating in a program, we'll respect that and offer our audience a great alternative. We appreciate your understanding if your program changes. In the event of severe weather, programs may have to be cancelled.

We learned so much and had a great experience!

“We took a short stroll around the pond as we watched Vlad the Vulture explore, just like having a dog on a walk with us. Everyone we met was so welcoming, and our guides were super knowledgeable. We learned so much and had a great experience and hope to return for more interactive experiences. We also did the Raptor talk that morning, and my 7-year-old stayed engaged for a full hour. No easy feat!”

— Lindsay S.