April 29, 2016
A free Friday led to a first-time visit to the Philadelphia Zoo. Due to the many pictures this is part one of a two part series. In this one the visit will mainly concentrate on the reptiles, amphibians, and birds. For the mammals you will have to wait until the second diary.
For various facts on the zoo itself here is a link to the corresponding Wikipedia page: Philadelphia Zoo
Weather was cloudy with on-and-off rain and temps in the mid-50s. This meant that a lot of the animals were staying indoors. There were a few school groups about, but otherwise the crowds were fairly light and one could spend a bit of time looking at a particular exhibit.
The zoo is organized along the general lines of grouping animals by type (primates, big cats) or location (savannah, jungle). There are also secondary attractions including a carousel, pony rides, and even a balloon. And lots of children-friendly things such as face painting and a childrens’ zoo section featuring farm animals.
The balloon is aloft on most days once winter is over
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My visit started with the Reptile and Amphibian building. It was the most crowded area I encountered during the visit. And it was mainly full of fairly excited school children who seemed to enjoy the exhibits.
Lighting in these exhibits was tuned more for the inhabitants than for photos (as it should be.) And I should have taken some notes on what was what.
Eyelash Viper (h/t Lenny Flank)
Emerald Tree Boa
Giant Tortoise
The population of giant tortoises at the zoo are all named and split between Aldabra and Galapagos tortoises.
Green Anaconda
Rattlesnake — I forget if this was the eastern or western diamondback
Red Rattlesnake (h/t Lenny Flank)
Timber Rattlesnake (h/t Lenny Flank)
Panamanian Golden Frog (h/t Lenny Flank)
Monitor Lizard
Skink
Skink
Skink
Chameleon that shifted colors as the lighting changed
Dwarf Caiman (?)
Nile Crocodile (?)
A path between two of the enclosures ran past open displays featuring a number of different birds. And one place also had some mallards that had moved in and nested.
Black-necked Swan
Turkey vulture
Galapagos Penguin
There were a number of peacocks wandering about. You could occasionally hear them call.
Male peacock showing his wings
And he posed for a close-up as well
Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae)
Flamingos chattering at each other
Flamingos are sort of neat to watch since they pick up food out of the water with their heads upside-down.
Mallard duck and ducklings
Red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis)
A large number of birds were in the avian center. This area was organized by environment and was a walk-through set-up where most of the birds were free to fly around the visitors. This included an inquisitive duck who flew up and perched on a railing to look some people over.
Black-necked Stilt (?) — looks like it is wearing socks or casts
Magpie Shrike
Baltimore Oriole (I think)
Tanager
A small, but friendly, duck
Guam Kingfisher (extinct in the wild)
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Victoria crowned pigeons plot in secrecy
Sacred Ibis
Metallic Starling
Bald Eagle (the two eagles here are unable to be returned to the wild)
Coming up in Part 2 we see the lions, tigers, and bears. (oh my!)
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Now It's Your Turn
What have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.
Thank you.