Those amazing folks over at Let’s Be Wild have chosen the subject “Birds of a Feather” as this week’s challenge! Having just spent 4 1/2 hours at the San Diego Zoo with Russel from Russel Ray Photos, along with his partner Jim and my husband Paul, I was able to put together some photos of lovely birds! Not all are from the zoo, though…Let’s go and check out these lovelies and some not so lovely but still amazing birds!
One of the most colorful and beautiful birds that we observed at the zoo is the Mandarin Duck. They are brilliant in color and they are quite a sight to see!
Mandarin duck taking a break from swimming
The next really colorful birds are truly amazing! I was able to catch three flamingos lined up in a row napping!
A trio of flamingos sleeping
We saw a lot of babies at the zoo, and here is a cute little duckling out for a Friday afternoon swim! This photo is what my friend Penny would call an awww photo!
A baby swims
And the birds were nesting too! Here is a pair of cormorants with mother bird on the nest and father bird standing along her side!
Nesting cormorants
The newest bird at the zoo is the White Pelican. It is such an amazing bird that I will do a post featuring this bird at a future date! Be sure to check out the colors on this “white” bird.
A white pelican loaded with color
The herons were pretty amazing too! Here is one on the lookout followed by another shot of a different one. The second photo reminds me of a flasher, and that is because of the way it is holding its wings!
A gray heron
This heron is flashing!
I have no idea what type of bird this next one is, but it is looking right at me! I see a lovely regal lady wearing a hat and with the most beautiful eyes. What do you think? Thanks to Russel Ray for identifying the bird below! It is a Harpy Eagle!
Pretty bird!
Then we came across the condors! They are amazing birds, and I was able to catch this one as he stretched its wings! Check out the fur collar! You might want to double click on this photo to really see the detail in the face!
The condor spreads its wings
From the deck of the cruise ship we were on, I was able to catch a pelican as it flew by! This is indeed a lucky shot!
Flying high!
The above photo looks to be a bit grainy but it is actually the air that was really hazy!
The funniest thing I saw was on the deck of the ship in the pool area for the kids. I was lucky to find the deck empty of people and was photographing the seagulls on the deck rails. When I turned around, there were three gulls sitting at the edge of a water slide. Then one jumped in to take a bath! The entire series of photos will be another post, but here is a shot of this bird enjoying its bath!
A gull taking a bath on a Carnival Cruise
I hope that you enjoyed these lovely birds! Please look for the link to my post at the LetsBeWild Photo Challenge! Please feel free to leave a comment on their site for me!
I hope that you have an excellent Monday! Thanks for stopping by today!
Life in the Foothills 