COME FORTH INTO…

 

“Come forth into the light of things. Let nature be your teacher.”

~William Wordsworth~

 

I found the hummingbird while on a trip to San Diego in 2011, drinking nectar from a Canna Lily. I was admiring all the flowers at the time. 

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - POETRY IN MOTION

 The title came to me when I saw these birds walk, in total sync with each other, mother and child, poetry in motion. 

These are from my archives. I took my photo at the zoo in Norfolk, Virginia in September 2012. You can  enlarge the photo to get more detail.  The little baby is getting its feathers on the side of its wing I guess. The link below will give you more information.

Grey-crowned Cranes

Thanks for taking a look and 

I hope you have a Great Sunday. 

ZOO CRITTERS - HONOLULU, HAWAII 2008

This is an African Spur Thigh Desert Tortoise.  Its scientific name is Geochelone sulcata.  It’s relatives are the Galapagos tortoise and Aldabra Giant Tortoise.  Their origin is Africa and they like to live in desert and bushland.  Their life-span can be up to 80 years and their size ranges from 130 to 220 lbs.  

We were at the Honolulu Zoo at Christmas 2008. The zoo had been home to Spur-thighed tortoises since 1990. In the following four years almost 200 babies hatched here.

African spur-thigh desert tortoises are known by many names.   They are commonly called the African spurred tortoise, grooved tortoise, sulcata, or simply the spur tortoise.  Their names refers to the large overlapping scales on their front legs.   More information can be found at this link.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day. 

SNOW LEOPARD AND TIGER AT THE WOODSON ZOO IN SEATTLE - AUGUST 2010

These are a few photographs we took at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, in August 2010, in the Big Cat area.  I thought it so beautiful and for a hot summer's day, seemed very relaxed. In their own natural environment they are well adapted to their cold environment.  They can be found in the mountains of Central Asia, and its habitat extends through twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  Not sure how up-to-date this information is but the article I read said there are only between 3,390 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild.

They are medium-sized cats.  This means that they will be around 24 inches (61 centimeters) at the shoulder, and between 39 to 50 inches (99 to 129 centimeters) from the nose to the base of the tale.  A snow leopard will weigh between 60 and 120 lbs. (27 to 55 kilograms).  Their fur keeps them well insulated in cold weather.  It is nearly five inches long on their stomach, shorter on their back and sides.  It has short forelimbs, long hind limbs and a thick tail 31 to 39 inches long (around 89 centimeters).  The tail aids in balance and they also wrap their tails around themselves for added warmth.  

Interesting Facts about Snow Leopards

They are often called the "ghosts of the mountain" because they are so rarely seen and spend most of their lives in solitude.

They can't roar.  Instead they growl, yowl, mew and prusten (also called chuffing, a non-threatening vocalization made by blowing air through their nose).

A study recorded snow leopards living at the highest altitudes ever documented for big cats - 5,859 meters (about three miles) above sea level - about the same height as Canada's highest mountain.

Their thick, massive tails, which shield them from the harsh weather and help maintain balance, are almost as long as their entire body.

They can prey on animals up to three times their own body weight.

Their paws will be larger than an African leopards, or a cougars.  Their wide feet act like snow shoes.

Their fur varies from white to cream to pale yellow or grey, sprinkled with rosettes (open spots) of charcoal-grey to black.  In the wild they blend perfectly with the rocky slopes where they hunt.  Each snow leopard has a unique spot pattern, its own personal ID.

The snow leopard's tail is its most distinctive physical feature.  It is thickly furred and that makes it possible for them to use their tails as a kind of a muffler, wrapping it around their bodies for extra warmth (as mentioned above).  The long tail is also useful for maintaining balance in the steep, rocky terrain that snow leopards like.

There is a very interesting YouTube on this beautiful animal at this link.  And another here.

I enjoyed learning more about the amazingly beautiful Snow Leopard.  I hope you have too.  I will never see one in the wild (hopefully in my next lifetime if the world can keep them going).  I still consider it to have been an incredible gift and am so grateful that I actually saw one with my own eyes.

CHEETAH AT THE HONOLULU ZOO IN DECEMBER 2008

 For the rest of the week I thought I would share animal and bird photos seen in various areas we have visited over the years.  These were taken at the Honolulu Zoo in December 2008.  I have shared before, but not for a while.

She had such incredible grace, the first thing I noticed when she half walked-half ran passed our viewing window.

She was beautiful!

And as quickly she disappeared out of sight.

We caught several glimpses of her during our time at the zoo, each one a gift.

Interesting facts about the Cheetah.

Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus

It's name comes from the Sanskrit word chita, meaning spotted one.  A cheetah has a long streamline body, flexible spine, long legs, a long tail that acts as a rudder, an enlarged heart, large lungs and semi retractable blunt claws which aid the cats traction and turning ability at high speed.  Its eyes are physically adapted for speed, enabling it to spot distant prey and follow it with pinpoint precision before catching it.

The cheetah's body is specialized for speed and it is the fastest land animal.  The speed of a hunting cheetah averages 40 miles per hour during a chase.

The cheetah originated about 4 million years ago, long before other big cats, and was once common throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

You can read a lot more information at this website.

GIRAFFES AT THE HONOLULU ZOO IN HAWAII - DECEMBER 2009

Has anyone heard of Giraffe Manor in South Africa?  Has anyone actually been there?  It would be a fabulous experience to stay and see these beautiful animals as close as their guests do.  What a phenomenal experience that would be.  You can see what I am talking about at this link.  

The Giraffe is one of the most interesting animals.  I am sharing favorite photos taken of the ones we found at The Honolulu Zoo on our trip to Hawaii in December of 2009.

Interesting facts about the Giraffe:

A male can grow as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters), females up to 14 feet (4.3 meters).

Males can weigh up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms), females up to 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms). 

Their lifespan is between 15 to 20 years. 

Those bumps on its head are called ossicones, and both the male and the female have them.

Size at birth is 6 feet tall (1.8 meters), 100 to 150 pounds (45 to 68 kilograms). Gestation period is 14 months.  Age of maturity is 3 to 5 years.

A giraffe's foot is the size of a dinner plate - 12 inches across (30.5 centimeters).

They have the same number of vertebrae in their necks as we do, seven. Each one is just much bigger than ours and can be over 10 inches long (25.4 centimeters).

A giraffe's tongue is 18 to 20 inches long (46 to 50 centimeters), and is blue-black. Some people think the color is to keep it from getting sunburned.

Giraffes can moo, hiss, roar and whistle.

The record running speed of a giraffe is 34.7 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour).

Its range is in pockets of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert and its habitat is the savanna.

They have a spotted coat similar to a leopard, and for a long time people called the giraffe a

'camel-leopard', because they believed it was a combination of a camel and a leopard. That's where the giraffe's species name came from, "camelopardalis".

I found all these interesting facts, and more, here.

Also here.

THE PEACOCKS CONTINUED...

These photos were taken in the summer of 

2015, at Paignton Zoo in Devonshire.  

('Paignton' is one of those words with a silent 'g', and is pronounced Painton.)

When my father retired in 1965 my parents moved to Devonshire.  I had one year of schooling to complete and that school was opposite the zoo.  I walked by the zoo twice a day, the second time on my way into town back to the bus station, where I rode a bus home.  

After I married I went home as often as I could to visit my parents.  This was usually when hubby was on a six month, sometimes 8 month deployment.  If my parents didn't visit us for the summer, then I would take our son and we would stay with them. We all had a fun time visiting the zoo. It seems another lifetime ago now with a lot of great memories.  

 On this occasion in 2015, hubby and I were with my niece and nephew.  My niece remembered visiting the zoo with her parents when she was little, so there was a lot of nostalgia for both of us. 

 The peacocks were putting on quite a display I remember, which was one of the many things that made our visit memorable, along with talking about the old days.  As I was putting this post together, hubby and I enjoyed some of those memories.  We were sorting through a few things and came across a box of old photos, which gave me the idea for today’s (and yesterday’s) post.

Two maps to show you the location of Paignton.  Just like in many other areas, it looks like a lot of places are closed right now.

TODAY'S FLOWERS # 389 - March 4th, 2016

Today's Flowers opens up on Friday at 12.00 a.m., and closes the following Thursday at 11.00 p.m.   More information about this meme can be found here.

I am still sharing flowers I found while on vacation in December 2015 and January 2016.

Today's Flowers was created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. Thank you Luiz!  I have been its host for quite a while now. 

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

Hetty at Tuinverhalen (Garden Stories)
Nick at Floral Friday Fotos
Aquariann at Flower Friday
Judith at Mosaic Monday

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 1

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

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