Despite the pouring rain, many hardy souls were on hand for Opening Day. The main highlight of the day was the opening of the new Wetland Centre. This centre, which is the final stage of our new Pier Landing,  was built with funding support from the Community Spirit Program and private donations. We were honoured to have MLA Ray Prins in attendance on Opening Day. We are very grateful to Mr Prins, who has been very supportive of Ellis Bird Farm over the years. We are grateful to the Community Spirit Program, which has made this whole project possible. 

We were also honoured to have Clancy and Bernie Patton of Calgary in attendance. The Pattons, well-known Calgary gardeners, have been long-time supporters of EBF and have provided us with both garden material and funding support. We were happy to ask Clancy to cut the ribbon to officially open the centre.

Dale Johnston and his two daughters, Michelle and Dalene, were also on hand for the opening. When Dianne Johnston passed away in 2009, Ellis Bird Farm was named by the family as one of the memorial charities. We received a substantial number of donations, which were matched by the Johnston family. We have a plaque in the Wetland Centre to honour Dianne’s memory and were honoured to have the Johnston's in attendance. 

The second highlight of opening day was the official naming of Ellie and Albert’s owlets.  We were fortunate to have two keen owl cam chatters (Rick Zemenak of Blackfalds and Cathy Perry of Alix) on hand in the Wetland Centre throughout the day to visit with people about the owls and the owl cam. They were also asked to help choose the winning names. The names were submitted by each school class that will visit Ellis Bird for a spring field trip. The three winning entries were Oho (submitted by Mamawi Atosketan Native School, Hobbema), Guardian (submitted by Bev Goring’s Grade 3 class from Annie L Gaetz ) and Luna (submitted by Mrs McKinley’s Grade 4 class from Spruce View).  Although all three looked soggy and cold on opening day, they are growing fast and are providing people from all over the world with a rare glimpse into the lives of Great Horned Owls. 

For links to pictures and video clips, check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/184joy ,  http://www.flickr.com/photos/61921610@N06 and  http://www.flickr.com/photos/61682359@N08 (thanks to bubojoy2, dancebacktheresa and catsmommy!). If you have taken pictures or video clips, please send us the link.