Do you have an animal lover in the family? Whether they prefer the four-legged, feathered, or finned, we’ve got some unique ideas for ways to spend time with your animal-loving teen.
Talk to the trainers at Dolphin Quest
Dolphin Quest is located inside the National Museum of Bermuda in Dockyard. Benches under umbrellas provide comfortable spots to sit around the lagoon, where you can watch the dolphins swim and play for as long as you like. Throughout the day trainers move about interacting with the dolphins, and they are happy to chat and answer your questions. There is no additional cost to watch the dolphins, other than price of museum admission.
Scrub a sea turtle
If your child is at least 14 years old, they can sign up to become a BAMZ volunteer and then take part in the regular sea turtle-scrub on select Saturday mornings. Come ready to get up close and personal with these gentle giants. Inside the drained turtle tank and armed with a brush and water, you’ll scrub their shells until they shine. It’s a unique way to touch these amazing creatures while doing them a real service! It’s also a great opportunity to ask the BAMZ staff questions and learn things you didn’t know about their resident sea turtles.
Watch whales in the spring
Every year humpback whales stop in Bermuda on their migration north to feeding grounds in Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. During March and April, they come close enough to the island to see. While there are whale watching tours available through different organizations, you can still observe these magnificent creatures from the mainland as they jump and play and enjoy the warm Bermuda waters. Take a picnic lunch and your binoculars and try to spot whales from atop Portuguese Rock at Spittal Pond, Cooper’s Island, or from any of the pull-off areas on South Road above the South Shore beaches.
Build a bluebird box
Bluebirds nest in the summer months, with June and July being the most active. This gives you plenty of time to build a cozy home or two with your animal loving teen. Since the introduction of sparrows and other birds, rats, lizards, feral cats and pesticides, the Bermuda bluebird’s numbers have dwindled. Now, their existence depends entirely on man-made nesting boxes. Building boxes for your own garden and admiring the bluebirds that come to live there are great ways to spend time with your teen while helping the bluebird population. You can build using plans linked here, use a ready-to-assemble kit from The Happy Bird Co (chingurret@gmail.com), or purchase ready-made boxes from BAMZ, Bermuda National Trust shop, Godet & Young, Aberfeldy, or True Bermuda Bluebirds (beautybrown@logic.bm), just to name a few.
