Saturday's Critters #82

Saturday's Critters #82

It's Saturday and it's time to share your critters.. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who has linked up in the past and for those who are linking in on this week's critter party. And of course I always appreciate my blogging friends stopping by just for a visit.

I want to thank Mersad of Mersad Photography for mentioning my blog on his post titled 10 Wildlife Blogs to follow. I am honored to be included with this wonderful list of bloggers. Mersad, you are so kind. Thank you again!

I am sharing some more birds from our visit to the Homosassa Spring Wildlife Park. The birds are Florida native birds, most of which have been rescued and are being rehabbed.

The cool Crested Caracara

A pair of Roseate Spoonbills.

Brown Pelicans showing off their breeding colors.

Wood Duck with turtles.

Wood Duck, turtles and Florida's Great White Heron.

The Florida Great White Heron is seen with the pink legs.

Pink Flamingos,  juveniles and adult White Ibis. The Pink Flamingo is not native to all of Florida but has been seen in extreme southern end of Florida. I hope you enjoyed my critter post and now I am looking forward to seeing your critters. Thanks for participating, for your visits and nice comments. Have a happy weekend!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks to Tex Theresa aka Tex, I was able to add this link up button and thanks to  Jennifer for creating my photo badge.

<a href="http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/"><img src=" https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/15299083201_9709303697_m.jpg" width="185" height="240"></a>

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.

Curacao Pink Flamingos

 For Nature Notes and Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday   I am so happy Stewart has started the new World Bird Wednesday. On this post I am re-visiting Curacao and the Pink Flamingos. Did you know there are actually different species of Pink Flamingos? The Pink Flamingos I saw in Curacao were the Caribbean Flamingo and then there is the Greater Flamingo and the Chilean Flamingo.

The Curacao Pink Flamingos were found at a saltwater lake or what is called the saltpans.  I believe the Caribbean Flamingos can also be found on the southern tip of Florida. Some neat facts about the flamingo. They stand on one leg to conserve body heat. They can travel 300 hundred miles in a day to a new feeding site.

The Chilean Flamingo is considered threatened due to egg harvesting and and habitat loss. I read that the Chilean Flamingo breeds in temperate South America. But, there is a small population in Utah and California?  I guess they were a little off course or introduced to the US?

The Greater Flamingo is the largest of the flamingo family. The Greater Flamingo is found in Africa, Asia and Southern Europe. The male can stand as tall as 74 inches. The use their feet to stir up the mud and then suck up the water and filter out the shrimp and other food.

The juveniles are more of a pale grayish color. In this photo there are four adults, a juvie and way in the background a Black-necked Stilt.

Above are a few of the Caribbean Pink Flamingos and a few Egrets in the background.


It was a treat to see the wild Pink Flamingos, previously all my flamingo sightings were in zoos. I hope you enjoyed my post and thank for visiting.

To see more wonderful nature photos and watery shots please visit Nature Notes and Stewart's Wild Bird WednesdayThanks to Michelle of Nature Notes and to Stewart for starting the new Wild Bird Wednesday.

More Curacao birds

I am linking up with Camera Critters. 

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom blogging friends.

I have some more Curacao birds from our trip. On this day, hubby and I rented a car and drove around the island. At first it was more like we got lost, we did not know there was a detour and missed a turn. But, this turned out to be a good thing because we found the one of the Curacao birds that was on my wish list of birds to see.

Curacao has wild Pink Flamingos. I have only seen them previously in zoos, being a "birder" zoo birds are just not the same as seeing in them free their own habitat. So to seeing the Pink Flamingos in the wild was on my list of things I had to see in Curacao. Thanks to being lost we found the Pink Flamingos.

Another stop with the rental car was at the Shete Boka Nat'l Park. I was really enjoying the birds at the sugar feeder. Here are a few of the Bananaquits.

 A cute Yellow Warbler was also enjoying the sugar feeder.

Above is the Yellow Warbler and the Bananaquit. I had no idea that birds loved raw sugar. One of the park employees dumped more sugar in the feeder so I could watch the birds up close. The feeder at times was filled with all different birds all satisfying their sugar cravings.

I saw this American Kestrel in the park, he was trying to hide in this bush. I guess the Kestrel is seen all over the world? This post should actually be before my last sunset post it all took place on the same day.

I hope you enjoyed my Curacao birds. 
To see more cute and wonderful critters please visit: Camera Critters.  Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters and thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Happy Birding.

Pink Flamingos

For this weeks Mosaic Monday and That's My World I have Flamingo photos from my recent visit to the Smithsonian National Zoo in DC.

This past Saturday, hubby and his cousin and I visited the Smithsonian Zoo in DC. It was a treat to see a juvenile Pink Flamingo along side the adults. I usually like to post wild birds on my blog but this was the first time I have seen a flamingo chick and it was a neat sighting. Look at that bill and those legs and feet.

I learned something new about the Flamingos there are actually six different species: the Greater Flamingo is found in Africa and Asia, the Lesser Flamingo found in Africa and India, the Chilean Flamingo found in South America, James's Flamingo found in high Andes Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, the Andean Flamingo also found in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina and the last one is the American Flamingo found in the Caribbean and Galapagos islands.

Flamingos eat brine shrimp and brine flies which give them their pink color. Flamingo pairs make mud mound nests and incubate one egg for about thirty days. Chicks leave the nest after ten days and join other chicks and watched by the adults.

Flamingos are 42 inches tall from the tip of their head to the tip of their tail. And can stand as tall as 5 feet. They weigh 5 or 6 pounds. Doesn't seem like much does it?  And their wing span is 55 inches.

And to show the Pink Flamingos moving around with the chick I am linking up my youtube video.'

I hope you enjoyed my Flamingo post and to see more wonderful mosaics please visit Mary's Mosaic Monday  and visit That's My World for photos from around the world. Thanks to Mary and to the hosting gang of That's My World.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by for a visit.