Saturday's Critters # 555

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

I am away from my computer at this time, I want thank everyone who links up and shares their critters,  to everyone who visits and for all the nice comments.  I will be visiting and commenting as soon as I can. 

1. These photos and critters are from our Arizona trip. I am still trying to catch up sharing more recent photos. On April 27th after we left the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, we decided to check out the adjacent Reid Park. We walked the loop around the lake and of course I was looking at all the birds and critters.

2. Below are a few turtles, a Cormorant and some domestic Geese.

3. A view of the lake, pretty sky and some ducks and pigeons.

4. Below are two hummingbirds hard to tell their id due to the lighting and angle of the photos. The Gila Woodpecker and a Great Horned Owl on a nest.

5. Not sure but this could be a Costa's Hummingbird.

6. This looks like the female Gila Woodpecker, I think it looks very similar to our Red-bellied Woodpecker. There is also a Golden-fronted Woodpecker and a Gilded Flicker that are similar.

7.  I was able to zoom in on a nest in a distant tree, It wasn't until I was home looking on the computer that I noticed I captured a profile of the Great Horned Owl sitting on the nest.  I see the ear tufts close to the top right side of the photo. 

8. This cute dog was patiently waiting for his/her human to continue on their walk. 

9. A couple of Cormorants were swimming in the lake.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Saturday's Critters # 554

Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

I have just two more days of Arizona photos, more critters for you to enjoy. These are from April 27th and the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. It was a great zoo, I enjoyed seeing lots of wonderful animals and even some wild birds seen in and around the zoo.

1. The Chilean Flamingo, it is said these flamingos are in the decline. The disturbance of the nest and illegal taking of the eggs. Also water levels and climate change have an affect on these wild birds. 

2. The Chilean Flamingo exhibit was nice, they are lovely birds. 

3. In the Aviary, I saw two Sun Bitterns, Motmot, Roseate Spoonbill and a Black-necked Swan. There were lots of birds, flying around and very hard to capture with my camera.

The wild birds seen flying free at the zoo were the Vermilion Flycatcher, various hummingbirds, a raptor and the Black-crowned Night Heron. 

4. The young giraffe below born to Penelope (Penny) is named Moyo was born on January 15th and was the first giraffe born in the zoo in 24 years. The Reid Park Zoo is doing their part in saving animals from extinction. 

5. The young giraffe named Moyo with it's Mama Penny.  Moyo is the Swahili word for heart.

6. The Reid Park Zoo is committed to the conservation of endangered African elephants. The baby elephant's name is Meru, named after Tanzania's Mount Meru the 5th highest peak in Africa.

7. The baby elephant Meru was born March 8th 2024, weighing I assume a healthy  265 pounds. The baby elephant is well cared for by Mama Semba and big sisters Nandi and Penzi. 

8. A Meerkat portrait, adorable zoo critter. The Meerkat is a member of the mongoose family.

These are called Aldabra Tortoise, endemic to the island of Aldabra off the coast of Africa. 

The Lion reminded of Iris's Henry the lion. 

I will do a part two later sharing our visit to the Reid Park. I hope you enjoyed my critters.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Saturday's Critters # 552

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Update, this is also my 15th Blog Anniversary.

I am taking you back to Arizona, on April 26th we were up early to do some birdwatching at the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. Sweetwater is a water treatment facility and an urban wildlife habitat. It is also a birding hotspot, it is said over 320 bird species have been found at this spot. It is an easy walk on the trails around several ponds, marshes, native trees and shrubs. We saw lots of lizards, a cute turtle and a rabbit.

Below are some of the waterfowl we saw while birdwatching at Sweetwater Wetlands; the Common Moorhen, American Coots, Pied-billed Grebe, Cinnamon Teal, more American Coots and a few Cormorants.

Common Gallinule or known as the Common Moorhen until July 2011, it has a bright red shield on it's head and a red bill with a tip of yellow. 

The adult Cinnamon Teal has a red head and body and has a brown back.

Below are the Verdin, Yellow Warbler, Abert's Towhee, Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Lesser Goldfinches and a second Yellow Warbler. 

The male Lesser Goldfinch, has a dark head and back and bright yellow underparts. 

The male Yellow Warbler is a  brilliant yellow and has rusty red streaks on the breast.

Below are the Vermilion Flycatcher male and female, White-crowned Sparrow, Gambel's Quail, Red-winged Blackbird and am I guessing a Broad-billed Hummingbird. 

The Abert's Towhee, reminds me of the female Cardinal. They have a long tail, a dark face and brown plumage.

The White-crowned Sparrow has gray face and black and white streaks on it's head. 

 The Vermilion Flycatcher is one of my favorite birds. It is not a lifer on this trip, I first saw this bird in Belize. The male is a brilliant red with Brown-black back and wings. 

Not critter related but here is my beautiful granddaughter Sophie. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"The sky is a canvas and every cloud is a stroke of the brush."

Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona

"I am a blue sky thinker and dream big."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"If a flower can flourish in the desert, you can flourish anywhere."

Saguaro National Park, Tucson Arizona.

"The magic of the desert is hard to define."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!