Money Tree Flower

Money Tree

Pachira aquatica

(pak-EYE-ruh) (a-KWA-tee-kuh)

Synonyms: Malabar Chestnut, French Peanut, Bombax glabrum

Dreaming about Florida so here is the beautiful flower of Pachira aquatica. This is the tree that is often subject to braiding and being sold in a 4-inch pot. It actually turns into a fine looking big tree. Now I have never seen a captured specimen flower but am going to try and get mine to bloom in the greenhouse.

This shot of the Parrots is just for fun. I wasn’t sure if the blue and gold was going to peck my eyes out or give me a kiss. 

 

Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

Ara ararauna

American Flamingo

American Flamingo

Phoeniconais ruber ruber

Wordless Wednesday 

Blue Cap Cordon Bleu

Blue Cap Cordon Bleu

Uraeginthus cyanocephalus

Wordless Wednesday

Parrots

Parrots

No trip to Florida would be complete without a couple of exotic bird pictures. This is one area I was hurt by my lens selection there wasn’t anything longer than 70mm in my bag. I wanted to take my 80-200mm but thought it was just too conspicuous to use at the parks. Turns out I saw plenty of people using 70-300 and also the 70-200mm Nikon lenses both of which are pretty big. Disney really didn’t have any photo restrictions (except no flash on some rides) and that was nice. They have this amazing Photo Pass system of photographers roaming the parks and they were nice enough to use your camera or step out of the way for you to take shots.

The Green Parrot looked a little cold but came out with a big hearty “Hello” when I was taking his picture. It caused me a little chuckle and he didn’t seem to mind posing for a few snaps.

This bird is a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita). He was not as friendly but still consented to some photos.

Giant Hornbill

Giant Hornbill
Buceros bicornis
Synonyms: Great Indian Hornbill, Great Pied Hornbill

Another bird from the Bronx Zoo’s World of Birds. The Giant Hornbill is impressive at 130 centimeters and is beautifully colored. Their native range is Southwest India, the Himalayas to Southeast Asia and there is an isolated population on Sumatra. It is an important seed disperser that can consume seeds as large as an Avocado pit.

The current captive population is 70 individuals and they are under study for squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer that affects the hornbill’s bill (casque). There were a pair at the Bronx Zoo and this is the male of the species. The female looks similar but is smaller.

I haven’t been posting many flower pictures but hope to get some this weekend. Here is a picture of a Cosmos flower and a Syrphid Fly. Remember Syrphid Fly larvae are beneficial in the garden, consuming aphids.

Palawan Peacock Pheasant

Palawan Peacock Pheasant
Polyplectron emphanum
Numididae
Synonyms: Polyplectron napoleonis, Napoleon's Peacock-Pheasant

Yesterday I decided to drive down to the NYBG and on the way I saw a sign for the Bronx Zoo and decided to stop there instead. I haven’t done any photography at Zoos before so I thought that might be interesting. It was kind of funny as there were some people with huge lenses and really top notch cameras and there I was with my Sigma 28-200 on my D70 and the 50mm/1.8 on Karen’s D80. If you haven’t seen the 50mm it is very small and almost toy looking. The other shooters got a chuckle out of my equipment that is for sure. Despite my embarrassment and limitations I was able to get a few good shots. This was through glass with the D80 and the 50mm with a polarizer attached.

The Zoo wasn’t too busy and the weather was tolerable. A lot of the animals were out but I didn’t take the time to visit all the exhibits. I liked the World of Birds and that is where I got this picture of the endangered Palawan Peacock Pheasant. This is the male of the species. It inhabits the Central Philippines Island of Palawan and is under pressure from destruction of its habitat due to logging and mining on the island. Hunting has been banned but illegal hunting still continues for food and the live trade. There are fewer than 10,000 specimens in the wild and the Bronx Zoo has successfully bred the bird in captivity.

I had to clean out my brother in laws apartment this weekend. That was sad. We gave a lot of the stuff away to charity and sold a few things. We also kept some mementoes and furniture items. I was missing him greatly and we had some really emotional moments when we were going through his stuff.

Happy New Year!

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax

This is a Black-crowned Night Heron picture that I took at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray (thanks again for the shooting tips, Stewart). Part of the attraction of going to Florida is seeing all the birds and wildlife. It is always fun to try and shoot some bird pictures only the subjects are usually not cooperative and require a long and fast lens. You can see how close I was to this fellow as I used the D80 and a 60mm lens! Here is a link to more information on this bird .

Just a short post as I am going to work today (Hooray!!!) I can’t wait to get my hands dirty. I am not sure exactly what needs to done in the garden right now but I will find something. I looked at some pictures I took last year on March 15th and we were way ahead compared to this year. I am just hoping for a normal, average Spring. It is going to be a couple of weeks before I start getting any flower or garden pictures here in Connecticut.