Barn Owl, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Barn Owl, Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
When we go to Sydney to visit family, we always try to fit in a visit to the wonderful Taronga Zoo. I would recommend this world-class zoo to all visitors to the city. Set aside a whole day as the collections of birds and animals are extensive.
As a part of your visit schedule in one of the Free Flight Bird Shows. These are held daily at 12 noon and 3pm. The keepers give a running commentary while free flying birds from the zoo’s collection do various tricks and displays. On this post I have featured a Barn Owl, a well-known Australian bird found throughout much of Australia. In the photo above the owl is rewarded with a morsel of food hidden behind the rock in the photo. Its signal to “capture” its prey was the recorded call of a frog from a speaker hidden in the rock.
Barn Owl, Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Barn Owl, Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Views from Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Sydney from Taronga Zoo
Anyone visiting Taronga Zoo in Sydney will not only enjoy the animals and birds of the zoo, but also to excellent views of Sydney, the harbour and the bridge. The photos on this post were all taken while waiting for the Free Flight Bird Show to start. This show is an excellent presentation about some of the birds of Australia, all done against the backdrop of the harbour and the city.
The Free Flight Bird Show runs twice daily at 12 noon and 3pm and is free with your entry to the zoo. The amphitheatre holds several hundred people but we always arrive early as seats fill quickly. There are opportunities to get up close with some of the birds after the show.
For more information about the bird show click here. In coming days I will be showing more photos of the latest bird show we witnessed.
Meanwhile – more photos of the harbour and city.
Sydney ferry from Taronga Zoo
Sydney from Taronga Zoo
Sydney from Taronga Zoo
Christmas Greetings
Ama Dablam, Nepal
Christmas greetings to all of my regular readers.
I really appreciate those of you who are my regular readers. This site started from humble beginnings – but with grand plans. It took a little while to gain momentum but over the last year the number of readers has grown dramatically. I thank all of you who come back over and over; you all make it worthwhile.
Over the last year my posts here have been somewhat sporadic. I have been extremely busy completing my Masters degree. Now that it is finished I can devote more time to this and my other blogs, Trevor’s Birding and Trevor’s Writing. 2011 can only be bigger and better, with more wonderful photos and experiences to share.
How about leaving your own Christmas greetings in the comments section?
I’d be really pleased if you did.
Manly Beach, Sydney
Australian Pelican, Mallacoota, Victoria
Striped Honeyeater, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
Striped Honeyeater, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
Australia has many dozens of different honeyeaters. In my home town of Murray Bridge we have at least 12 different species, most of them resident year round.
The Striped Honeyeater is one of them, but it is a breeding migrant in this area, arriving in the spring and leaving late summer. Only on one occasion over the last 26 years has it actually nested in our garden.
The bird shown in the photo above was in an aviary at Taronga Park Zoo where we visited on a holiday earlier this year.
West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park
On our trip to Sydney earlier this year we went for a drive from my son’s home to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. It had been a rainy morning but the sky cleared around lunch time so went headed off, deciding to take a chance on the weather. As we drove north the sky cleared even more and we ended up having a very pleasant visit for the afternoon.
The West Head Lookout gives good views over the Pacific Ocean, parts of the northern beaches area of Sydney as well as the many inlets on this part of the coast.
View from West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
View from West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
View from West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP