Sometimes a little nature can keep you centered. The Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory is an ideal place to discover the natural history of Central Oregon, especially for people whose leisure time comes in short bursts. The center, not far from Sunriver Resort, offers visitors a lot of educational bang for their (two) bucks.

Founded in 1968, the member-supported center now includes a small but jam-packed natural history museum, a live birds-of-prey exhibit, a botanical garden and nature trail. Also on site is a popular observatory where you can get a close-up view of the stars, the planets and even the sun.

The observatory is home to 20 telescopes of differing range and power. According to observatory manager Bob Grossfeld, the observatory goes to winter hours between Oct. 17 and March 18. During that time, the observatory is only open on a few selected dates. Contact: 593-4394.

The Sam Osgood Nature Trail is open all year round. It’s a loop that takes you through several Central Oregon habitats in just a quarter mile.

I stopped in at the museum and took in the exhibits (reptiles, amphibians, asteroids, wildlife and geology) before heading out on the self-guided tour, brochure and camera in hand.

After gawking a while at the live peregrine falcon exhibit near the starting point, I stopped at marker one and had a look at Lake Aspen. But marker two was my favorite. The brochure says Eagle Island is home to a disabled bald eagle that freely roams this piece of land during spring, summer and fall. Still, I was surprised to see the big bird perched on a snag near the shore. According to Nature Center staffers, the eagle lives inside a nearby open-topped flight cage during the cold winter months. It can’t fly, but could wander off the island across the frozen lake in winter.

Beyond Eagle Island are 11 more stops that together form the who’s who of Sunriver flora and fauna.

Visitors learn to identify wetland willows, rushes and sedges, along with the shimmering aspens just now putting on their seasonal show. They get a good look at the Newberry Volcano country to the east, get up close and personal with ponderosa and lodgepole pines and gaze upon a meadow that was once a lake.

Among lots of other things, the Sam Osgood Nature Trail sheds light on the cataclysmic vulcanism of the region’s landscape, the relationship of fire to the local ecosystems and the life cycles of indigenous frogs and toads.

Researchers at the Sunriver Nature Center are part of a global campaign to find the causes for the decline in frog and toad population numbers.

They’re also looking for ways to save species such as the Western toad and the Oregon spotted frog (ozone thinning, pollution, introduced predators and automobiles are among the problems they face).

Taking in a self-guided nature tour like this one is a painless way to learn a thing or two and soak in some native beauty.

Bracketed between the plight of amphibians and the wonder of wildflowers is this quote from Georgia O’Keefe: ”Still, in a way, nobody sees a flower really, it is so small. We haven’t time. And to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”

Take 30 minutes. It’ll open your eyes.

Jim Witty can be reached at 541-617-7828 or jwitty@bendbulletin.com.