feng_shui_house (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
feng_shui_house) wrote2017-02-12 11:24 am
feng_shui_house) wrote2017-02-12 11:24 am
The Water is Fowl (pic spam)
Ok, 2 posts of pic spam is enough for one day. More photos tomorrow.
The Chinese goose, despite the name, is a domestic breed that originated in Africa.
This coot got the munchies and dove for a beak ful of greens.
Judging from the hooked tip to the beak, this is a cormorant. There are also anhinga in my area which are very similar, but have a straight beak. The cormorant has oil glands, and so it can waterproof its feathers. The anhinga is a much more primitive species and lacks the gland, so it must hold out its wings to dry them in between swimming, or else it would sink.
Domestic geese were once used as guardians. The big males in particular are wary of strangers. This fellow, living in a park with a constant influx of new humans, was just making sure I didn't get near his girlfriend, but wasn't being aggressive.
Found an isolated corner in the 'farm' area (I can't call it a farm- it has a herd of goats, 7 shaggy ponies, and a wire enclosed shed so dark you can barely see the 4 chickens inside). Two minutes walk away from the bare sand of the goat enclosure there's a building with a restroom where I washed my hands after goat petting and behind the building is a water feature that flows over coral rocks and meanders down to a giant banyan tree and then on to join one of the many lakes. And there were two pretty ducks snoozing in a patch of sun.
At first I thought this was a great white egret, and then I saw the yellow feet and the yellow at the base of the beak. This is a snowy egret. I couldn't get very close, alas.
More photos tomorrow. You know, I only look at the one small area of the park and that still takes me 3 hours to see everything. My regular taxi guy couldn't pick me up, so he sent a friend who was apparently not familiar with the exit (turn right around where he came in - a minutes drive) and we wound up going most of the length of the park on the internal road I'd never gone by. I had known they had an extensive dog park, and tennis courts, and buildings for indoor sports, and a bike trail, but I didn't know they had a big lake set up with pylons and cables to pull people on water skis! This park is really, really full of stuff. I like my quiet corner with the unplanned wildlife. :^)
The Chinese goose, despite the name, is a domestic breed that originated in Africa.
This coot got the munchies and dove for a beak ful of greens.
Judging from the hooked tip to the beak, this is a cormorant. There are also anhinga in my area which are very similar, but have a straight beak. The cormorant has oil glands, and so it can waterproof its feathers. The anhinga is a much more primitive species and lacks the gland, so it must hold out its wings to dry them in between swimming, or else it would sink.
Domestic geese were once used as guardians. The big males in particular are wary of strangers. This fellow, living in a park with a constant influx of new humans, was just making sure I didn't get near his girlfriend, but wasn't being aggressive.
Found an isolated corner in the 'farm' area (I can't call it a farm- it has a herd of goats, 7 shaggy ponies, and a wire enclosed shed so dark you can barely see the 4 chickens inside). Two minutes walk away from the bare sand of the goat enclosure there's a building with a restroom where I washed my hands after goat petting and behind the building is a water feature that flows over coral rocks and meanders down to a giant banyan tree and then on to join one of the many lakes. And there were two pretty ducks snoozing in a patch of sun.
At first I thought this was a great white egret, and then I saw the yellow feet and the yellow at the base of the beak. This is a snowy egret. I couldn't get very close, alas.
More photos tomorrow. You know, I only look at the one small area of the park and that still takes me 3 hours to see everything. My regular taxi guy couldn't pick me up, so he sent a friend who was apparently not familiar with the exit (turn right around where he came in - a minutes drive) and we wound up going most of the length of the park on the internal road I'd never gone by. I had known they had an extensive dog park, and tennis courts, and buildings for indoor sports, and a bike trail, but I didn't know they had a big lake set up with pylons and cables to pull people on water skis! This park is really, really full of stuff. I like my quiet corner with the unplanned wildlife. :^)