Nocturnal animals, plants in spotlight during ‘Creatures of the Night’ at Sherman Gardens

Visitors to Sherman Library & Gardens Friday evening braved strong winds, rain and low temperatures for a chance to get up close and personal with animals for whom the nighttime is the right time.

The annual “Creatures of the Night” event on Friday and Saturday drew hundreds of visitors to the Corona del Mar botanical gardens, where interactive stations from the Orange County Bird of Prey Center in Lake Forest, Santa Ana Zoo and Whittier-based Adventures in Living Science led families on a tour of the nocturnal world and its inhabitants.

David Ahlstrand, 9, Adrian Salinas, 9, 11-year-old Eric Salinas and Elle Ahlstrand, 6, meet Quest, an American Kestrel from the Orange County Bird of Prey Center, at Sherman Gardens’ Creatures of the Night event Friday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Education director Catherine Dickinson said the weekend’s bleak forecast did little to deter interest in the event, as families continued to reserve spots all day Friday.

“Kids don’t mind getting wet, and it made [the event] even more exciting for some,” she said Tuesday. “Our guests were truly ready to get into the spirit of it.”

Venue manager Beverly Morgan said she overheard a father reminding his daughter to keep up the hood of her jacket because it was raining, to which the girl replied, “Yes it is, Daddy, and the flowers love it.”

Santa Ana Zoo Curator of Education Lauren Bergh holds Bolito, a three-banded armadillo, Friday during Creatures of the Night at Sherman Library & Gardens.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“It was so dear to hear,” Morgan said. “And quite honestly the kids, for whom this event is created, could have cared less about the inclement weather.”

A combination of education and entertainment, Creatures of the Night is a celebration for children of all ages. But its creepy crawly denizens are not exactly the faint of heart.

Guests checked in on scorpions, tarantulas, snakes and lizards, while educators released hawks, owls and armadillos from their enclosures to give attendees a better look at the anatomy and physical features that assist them as they live, hunt and forage amid little to no sunlight.

Sherman Gardens horticulturalists contributed to the event, sharing their knowledge about night-blooming botanical species, carnivorous and poisonous plants that do their best work under the cover of night.

“[It] was a huge success this weekend, despite the rain,” Dickinson said.

April Rossi, right, with the Orange County Bird of Prey Center, watches as Jones Hauschka, 5, touches a Red Tail hawk wing.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

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