Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 8

The last bird to show from Bloedel is this Guinea Turaco (a.k.a. Sierra Leone Turaco) (Tauraco persa), which is probably one of the most cool-looking birds I have ever photographed. I was really lucky too because this bird seemed to prefer hiding in the foliage than out in the open. They belong in the family Musopagidae (meaning banana-eaters) and are found in the tropical forests of West Africa.

Now onto the weekend...

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 7

Finally the weekend has arrived! This afternoon was the office Halloween party. I dressed up as a pirate (with a pirate set and pirate hat bought from the dollar store), although some people thought I looked like a ninja and some even said a Viking. So I guess I was a Viking ninja-pirate. How cool!

Anyways, I hope the weather will be decent tomorrow for another outing - not sure where I am going yet though.

Pictures of the birds in Bloedel are almost all finished, just two more species to go. There were many Red-winged Laughingthrushes (Garrulax formosus) around, especially near the feeding areas, and I noticed that they seemed to travel in pairs running around in the low undergrowth.

The Laughingthrushes have lovely whistling songs and they are native to soutwest China and northwest Vietnam and belong to the Old World babbler family (Timaliidae).

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 6

Returned home later than usual today because tomorrow is the Halloween lunch party at the workplace and my friend and I stayed behind to make some "Monster Jellos". Should be a lot of fun tomorrow.

Well, this is Rosie, an African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), a native to Congo. They are considered very intelligent birds and can live up to 60 years of age. It does seem very smart indeed.

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 5

Twenty-four hours later, I am back posting again. Not sure about you guys out there, but time sure goes by fast when you are working.

The sun came out midday today. What a nice treat. I had a nice walk around Harbour Green Park and took some photos, but I haven't got to them yet, so I will continue posting these macaw photos from Bloedel.

This is Art, the Blue-and-gold Macaw (Ara ararauna). They are native to South America, and they have a powerful beak for breaking nutshells and for climbing up and hanging from trees (??). It can exert 350+ pounds of pressure per square inch. Wow!

That's a beak I don't want the bird to bite me - I had barbets and shrikes biting me before and I am sure they don't hurt as much as this guy.

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 4

Another wet day today. And I am exhausted right now. After this post, I am going to wash the dishes, shower, and possibly head to bed early.

Meet Nelson, a Hahn's Dwarf Macaw or Red-shouldered Macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis). A bird native to Venezuela and the smallest in the macaw family.

See the red shoulder patch?

And this is Monty, the Princess Parrot (Polytelis alexandrae). They are also known as the Splendor Parrot due to the pastel coloured plumages. They are "native to Central and West Australia...but rarely seen in the wild." From Quick Guide: Birds of Bloedel.

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 3

Raining almost the entire day today. Rain eased off as I arrived back home in Richmond. Continuing with the birds from Bloedel.

This is Casey, the Yellow-headed Amazon Parrot (Amazona oratrix), which is a species "said to be the loudest of all Amazon parrots. They can live to be 60 to 80 years old and are native to the Amazon Basin, Northern Brazil and the Eastern Andes." From Quick Guide: Birds of Bloedel.

Quite amazing to see a bird that does not belong in this part of the world...

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 2

Went to Steveston in this cloudy day (with some sunny breaks) to return a library book and buy some groceries. I also brought my camera with me, but I forgot to change out the battery from yesterday's extensive use so it was in low power today. But nothing too interesting to take pictures of.

Anyways, back to more birds in Bloedel Floral Conservatory (blog).

Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Bloedel Floral Conservatory - Part 1

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far. Not much to say during my weekdays - working and taking photos during my lunch hours (whenever the weather was good). The rain started on Friday and should continue for the week or so.

Today, I decided to go to Bloedel Floral Conservatory to test out my new lens on the exotic birds there. As I already know before I bought the lens, it is a sunny lens, i.e. it works well in good lighting conditions but in indoor conditions, it struggles with the autofocus. Nevertheless, I think I did a good job despite the limitations being indoors in a cloudy day - by turning up the ISO and taking as many photos as possible.

Since I took way too many photos, this trip will be blogged in several parts - so that I have something to post during my weekdays.

Nice fall colours. And surprisingly, there were still many flowers around too.

Inside the Conservatory ($5.35 for an adult - a reasonable price, considering that I walked around at least four or five times to get my money's worth).