Bush Lily / Clivia miniata, Calgary Zoo

            I am adding five photos from my archives this afternoon.  If I wrote a description under a previously posted photo taken on the same day, I will add it under today's uploads.

"The last time I had visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015.  I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter.  Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but have now been completed.  The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I have been waiting for this day for a long time.  This day was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!!  It was packed!  I decided to go before schools closed for the summer.  However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day.  When I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. 

My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies.  My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool.  I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad,  I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking.

My intention had not been to visit the Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up.  However, I was able to just walk in, which was great.  How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo.  They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course.  I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there.  Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept.  There was no glass in front of one of the Pandas, but two other Pandas, including the one in the previous photo, were in a glassed-in part of the enclosure.  Almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people.  

The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby, named Gobi - such a cute little thing, that they have named Gobi.  No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure.  One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal.  The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it.

A few hours well spent happily clicking.  Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter.  It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest"

Taken on: June 26, 2018

Tags:

Calgary

Alberta

Calgary Zoo

ENMAX Conservatory

nature

plant

flower

flora

tropical

Bush Lily

Natal Lily

Clivia miniata

yellow

cluster

indoor

26 June 2018

FZ200

FZ200#4

Panasonic

Lumix

annkelliott

Anne Elliott

Sets appears in: • Calgary Zoo 6 • Garden flowers 6

Groups appears in: • Panasonic FZ series • PHOTOGRAPHERS OF CANADA more » • Flower Photography • Flower Close-Ups • Tropical Flowering Plants • Calgary Zoo • Flowers&Colors • * Flowers or Foliage Detail • Jardins Tropicais - Tropical Gardens • Panasonic Lumix Lovers • Panasonic LUMIX FZ28/FZ38/FZ40/FZ47/FZ100/FZ150/FZ200/FZ70 • * Mad about flowers • Panasonic FZ 200 - Successor to the FZ 150 • Calgary Zoo Photography • Blumen, Blumen, Blumen ... Flower, Flower, Flower ... « less

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ200, f/4.5, 1/1600 sec, 54.5mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ200
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1600)
Focal Length:	54.5mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 12.0 Windows
Show full info

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