Zoo Time

Some photos from a couple of zoos we visited on our road trip - Idaho Falls (small) and Portland (large).

I'm a fan of tortoises and this Aldabra African Tortoise was a big one.

Such a pretty cat.

The thinker.

Amazing color!

I like walk in aviaries because you can take photos without dealing with cages. But this one was so hot and humid that it took forever to defog my camera enough to take photos. And even then it was very low light.

Breakfast!

I like taking portraits, just not of people :-)

Zoos have their pros and cons but they always remind me of the amazing diversity of life on our planet. I pray that we don't destroy it all.

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Photo of the Day

I didn't see much on my last kayak outing. Just before heading home I spotted a Bald Eagle in the tree where I've seen one before. But it was mostly hidden in the branches and I couldn't get a good photograph. I was looking for the raccoons on the beach when I noticed a bird swoop down and grab something from the water. It was completely silent so I didn't think of kingfisher right away. Usually they're heard before seen. But when it landed on a branch I could see that's what it was. They tend to be very skittish so I immediately stopped paddling and moved slowly as I got my camera. Luckily the wind was behind me and I drifted towards it slowly enough that it wasn't bothered. That first perch was quite cluttered but it flew down and grabbed another fish and this time it landed on a more open spot. Kingfishers are hard to photograph so I was happy to get a decent shot. (This is a female, unlike most birds, they are more colorful than the males.)

Road Trip 6 - Upper Coffeepot

Upper Coffeepot is a nice little campground just outside the western edge of Yellowstone. After spending the day driving through the busy national park, it's a quiet spot to stop. Both times we've been here there have been lots of white pelicans a short walk up the river. The pelicans were on the other side of the river so they were calm about us observing them. Of course, I took a ton of photographs of them.

I assume the pelicans (and the people) are there because of the fish in the river. But later in the day when we saw them they were just relaxing, preening, bathing, and sleeping.

There were enough of them that there were usually a few flying in or out so I got to practice photographing them in flight.

When they land they "ski" in on their feet.

Later in the evening the gulls (Ring-billed?) were skimming the water and grabbing something - I assume small fish.

Some kind of flying insect was hatching in large numbers. I suspect they were the same as this one I found on the ground - some kind of mayfly, maybe a March Brown. Thank goodness they don't bite!

There were so many of them they made photography a challenge at times.

Speaking of insects, this interesting one landed on our picnic table. I think it's a Ribbed Pine Borer, a kind of long-horned beetle, although it doesn't have especially long antennae.

We also had a few chipmunks visit us.

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Road Trip 5 - Yellowstone

I've been home for a while, but I'm still going through photos from our road trip (in between taking and posting new ones). From Five Springs we went to Cody, spent the night, and then the next day drove across Yellowstone Park. National parks, especially popular ones like this, are way too crowded these days but they still have scenery and animals so it's worth a bit of a visit. We don't even attempt to stay overnight. I didn't take a lot of photos this time since we didn't see anything too exciting. (last time we saw a mother grizzly and cubs) We did see a couple of bears but they were so far in the distance they were just brown dots.

Of course, there's always water to photograph.

We were walking beside some rapids in the river and I was surprised to see a group of Harlequin ducks quite close to the trail.

At one point we were driving near a river and I thought I saw a Bald Eagle. It turned out to be a stick with a white patch on it. But this Savannah Sparrow posed briefly for us.

Our last stop in the park was at Artists Point to see Yellowstone Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

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Cooper's Hawk

As I went out the door to go running a bird flew up and into a nearby tree. It was larger than the usual sparrows. I thought it might be flicker. Looking up into the tree I finally spotted a Cooper's Hawk. I rushed back into the house and got my camera and telephoto lens. Unsurprisingly, it was gone by the time I got back outside. I took my camera back in the house and again went out to run. Scanning the trees one last time I spotted it in a different nearby tree. Back in the house, get my camera, and this time it was still there. It stands out in the photos but in reality it was hard to spot in the shady tree.

After lots of photos I took my camera back in the house and yet again left to go running. But as I walked away I saw that there was a clearer view from the other side of the tree. So back to get the camera once more. If the neighbors were watching they probably wondered what the heck I was doing. But I think this last photo is my favorite.

And yes, I finally did get out for my run!

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