Tuesday, January 26, 2016

8th day of our vacation - 12-23-15

December 23rd, 2015


8.23 a.m. and we are still in our hotel room.  We will be going out soon and the Honolulu Zoo is where we are heading.  



2.50 p.m. we are back at the hotel.  It is nice to be near to a lot of the sights, as it means we can take a short break in our room when we need to.  It is less than 15 minutes to the zoo by car, about half an hour if you walk.


After our time at the zoo it certainly felt good to relax and put our feet up.  We would probably have stayed a lot longer but it seemed hotter than usual, and there were no refreshing sprinkles of rain.  We have had a few of those over the last few days and have truly welcomed them.  



I have tried to identify what I could, and took photos of ID and information markers for some, which I will put below each photo. We saw interesting birds, one a Red-vented Bulbul who had popped in for a visit.


The others were in the aviary.  I thought the Toco Toucan was a really neat bird.  He was about to dig into his papaya.  You can click on this website for more info. 


This is a Java Sparrow, and you can find more information here.


I think this is a Superb Starling but he was in the shade and it was hard to tell.  When the sun is on him his feathers are glorious.


Here he is again shown with more sunshine.  There is a great video of him here, and you can also hear his call.




A Hooded Vulture, information here.



A sleepy and cute little Fennec Fox...





There are a few reptiles in outdoor exhibits - several exhibits were being overhauled.  

This is a Green Iguana





This is a Crocodile Monitor Lizard.





African Yellow-throated plated lizard, you can go here if you want more info.


We saw a pretty cat.  This is Felix, a Serval.


You can read about Felix and his kind below if you enlarge the sign. There was another sign
telling visitors not to worry if they saw Felix limping.  It was an age thing as he was getting on in years, but the zoo's vets and staff were taking very good care of him. We wouldn't have known as Felix was having a snooze at the time. 



 The Galapagos Tortoises were impressive.


The Honolulu Zoo was the first to breed Galapagos Turtles in an American zoo, back in 1954, 1967-71.


They are endearing, they always seem to be smiling.


We saw an African dog that was running around his enclosure but it moved too fast for a photo.  We watched two Black Rhinos for awhile nuzzling their faces in a big pool of mud.  They looked like they were enjoying themselves and set down for a snooze.  All this snoozing was making me feel tired.


I always enjoy looking at the flamingos.


They were with a few other birds....


which included a Mandarin Duck and another I wasn't sure about.


Also a Nene Goose.  I found it very interesting as I have only seen them in photos and they are native to Hawaii, are or were on the endangered list but are now recovering.  The Nene is Hawaii's State Bird.


A Cattle Egret enjoying the shade, as was I.

A Helmeted Guinea Fowl with information nearby.


You can enlarge the photo if you want to read about it.


I am still trying to identify this one.


Time to take that break but the last thing we did was to pop into the gift shop for some souvenirs for family and friends, and I treated myself to a tee shirt in a bright green color.  Not a color I usually choose but this was a very pretty shade, and it had a sea turtle design. I bought a cap to match with Honolulu Zoo printed just above the brim.


We have been down to the Barefoot Bar for our nightly cocktail and enjoyed listening to some music while watching the sun go down.



It was another spectacular sunset. 




We walked along the sand for a while.  On our way back another young couple asked me to take their photo.  Honeymooners perhaps but I couldn't bring myself to ask.  A very sweet couple from Italy.  I did ask that.



Flames from the torches lit our way as we headed back to our room, with the sound of the surf and now drums from the hotel's luau in the background.  


I kept thinking of this line from South Pacific, "some enchanted evening".  It seemed to fit the moment somehow and yes, I am such a cornball.

(but I did buy a DVD of the movie and played it when I got home.  With all this snow around I am going to be playing it again).



If you missed the previous posts and would like to read them, you can click on the links below.

Part 7

I am linking with the following memes as they become available, with my thanks to their hosts.  Please click on them to visit other participants.

SkyWatch Friday
Saturday's Critters
Camera Critters
Bird D'Pot
Nature Notes
Wild Bird Wednesday

34 comments:

  1. Awesome photos, Denise, what a great array of birds and animals! I love the large ears on the Fennec fox, they are such a delight! All of your photos have brought me such joy, thank you so much for sharing them!

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  2. Some beautiful animals here... hard to pick a favourite, but it's between the tortoises and the serval.

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  3. Thank you for a wonderful post. I enjoyed the pictures so very much.

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  4. It looks a lot different to weather you got over the weekend. Lovely memory making holiday.

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  5. Nature is amazing! You have seen so many colorful birds and other animals! I love the serval cat with its funny ears!

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  6. Wonderful photos of all the birds and the critters! Looks like you had an amazing trip.

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  7. I have really enjoyed reading about your trip, it looked amazingxx

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  8. i do love a good exoitc zoo and what a place to visit one... and flames and fire and torches, oh my.. you know i would love that

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  9. South Pacific was filmed on Hanalei Beach on the island of Kauai. Hope you photographed that beach when you were there.

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  10. Wow---what a trip you all had... I am enjoying reading all of your posts. Seeing the zoo there would be nothing I would think to do ---but you definitely saw a lot of birds/animals which we don't have here... NEAT group of pictures... AND--oh how I love that sunset.... "Some Enchanted Evening" is CORRECT.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  11. I love looking at your tropical photos with snow outside my window!

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  12. A day at the zoo is always fun...you are making me want to go again. It has been two or three years at least since we have been to one.

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  13. Denise, you certainly saw some colorful and interesting birds and assorted animals on the zoo trip. The history about each was also interesting to read. Nothing like walking along a beach at sunset to make for a complete day.

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  14. Wonderful pictures! And the luau sounds like a good time.

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  15. I love to visit the zoo. If we return to Hawaii someday, I would like to attend a luau. We opted not to do so in 2010.

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  16. What a fantastic place you have stayed at during your holiday. The zoo photos are great and I like the turtles and the muddy rhinos.

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  17. Thanks for taking us along to the Honolulu zoo! I've been to Honolulu often but never to the zoo. I like the big-eared fox. Reminds me a bit of my chihuahua!

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  18. I love a good Zoo and it looks like you found a good one.

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  19. Wonderful photo's you have shared ... I have enjoyed reading and seeing your wonderful Anniversary Holiday photo's. Such a lovely place to visit.

    These posts, and more, will make some wonderful memories for you.

    All the best Jan

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  20. Some incredible photos. I really love the beautiful Toucan & those little foxes are so cute. It sure is a magnificent Zoo with such a wide variety of wildlife.

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  21. Hello Denise!:) What a wonderful post!:) I am going to have to pay you a second visit Denise to admire all the fantastic creatures you saw. Lovely images of all the critters!:)

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  22. A thoroughly enjoyable trip to the zoo, Denise with a terrific variety of birds and critters! I think the Fennec fox all curled up was the cutest! But those monitor lizards give me the heebeegeebees!
    Enjoy the weekend!

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  23. Hello Denise, this is a fabulous critter post. I love all the birds and critters. The turtles are one of my favorites. I believe your unknown duck is the White-faced Whistling Duck, very pretty. Great series of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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  24. All kinds of magnificent 'critter' shots and sky shots are gorgeous ~ Handsome hubby too!

    Happy Weekend to you ~ ^_^

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  25. What a wonderful vacation - I've been to that resort. So many beautiful birds and different kinds of critters - the monitor lizard is quite fierce looking! Fun to see them all! - Karen

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  26. Beautiful! Wonderful! Fantastic!

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  27. Zoo's are great places to see awesome critters. I enjoyed seeing your zoo critters. The Toucan has such a colorful beak. - Also love that Fennec Fox, saw one here at the fair last fall, they are cute.

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  28. Such wonderful birds and animals! I LOVED that photo of the toucan! All the photos and the video of the starling, wonderful!

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  29. I remember searching for a Nene while on the island of Oahu. Finally found one on the north shore....I was elated.

    I don't think we've ever gone to the Honolulu zoo tho. I think we should go back there. lol

    {Went birding today and made sure I got some wildflower photos for your meme!}

    Thanks so much for using the linking tool this weekend at I'd Rather B Birdin'...it's appreciated!!!

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  30. I love Hawaii, especially to swim in the warm water. I haven't been to the zoo since I was an elementary school teacher over thirty-five years ago. The first graders went every year to the Los Angeles Zoo. My how time flies. - Margy

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  31. Hi Denise! I came back to see with more time to appreciate all these different creatures. The Purple Glossy starling is very beautiful,I enjoyed the vídeo so much. Have a good week!:)

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