November At Brookfield

Last month, when the weather was still relatively mild, I made what will most likely be the last trip this year to Brookfield Zoo.

As usual, I head straight to the big cat section, hoping to catch them before they take their morning nap. Ideally, I’d like to get there earlier in the day but zoo hours don’t start till 10am so the lions are already asleep. Inside, I get to see a little Arabian Sand Cat. while outside, the Amur leopard is tucking into a mid-morning snack and the tiger is sizing me up as a possible prospective lunch item.

Meanwhile, the pelicans are overseeing a gigantic construction project that will provide the primates with a much-needed update to their habitat. Tropic World is definitely starting to show its age and is looking decidedly dreary, so I’m sure the gorillas, for one, will appreciate the improvements.

On to the Mexican Grey Wolf enclosure where the pack is roaming around expectantly. Maybe it’s getting close to feeding time.

Over at the Habitat Africa section, the African Painted Dogs have been disturbed from their nap and rush outside to see what’s happening. After looking around and finding nothing in particular, they have the look of having been woken up for no good reason and return in a huff to their den. Across the way, the baby giraffe that was born in August is getting lots of attention.

In the Australia section of the zoo, the kangaroos appear quite active for a change. This could be due to the fact that a keeper is inside the enclosure, checking them out, closely watched by an interested spectator.

Last stop on this trip is the Pachyderm section where I find the pygmy hippo wandering around looking for something to nibble on. Although not exactly handsome, like all the other creatures here, it has its own special kind of charm.

If you haven’t done so already, I hope you will join me on my other blog, Getting The Picture, for parts one and two of a series of posts on my recent visit to the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington, Illinois, Setting the Stage and Lights , Camera, Action!

April in Brookfield

Who would have expected 80F temperatures in April, here in the Chicago area? Well, anything can happen with our crazy climate, so I took the opportunity to make the most of this phenomenal weather and visited Brookfield Zoo last week. The lions were definitely enjoying the warm sunshine, while the snow leopard took advantage of a shady spot to cool off.

A Guineafowl was kicking up quite a racket as it walked along a nearby parapet, which in turn prompted a passing peacock to respond with a magnificent display of tail feathers. It strutted up and down for quite a while, turning this way and that, in order to give us the full benefit of his admirable qualities. While the peacock appeared happy to make the most of the warm weather, the bald eagle insisted on giving me the cold shoulder.

Meanwhile, over in the Tropic World area, the sun had brought out the sloth for a slow crawl from one sleeping area to another. And although the new, great silverback gorilla appeared to be asleep and blissfully unaware of everything that was going on around him, I noticed, every once in a while, a watchful eye open to check that everyone was where they should be.

In the Great Bear Wilderness, the grizzly was keeping cool in the pool. Who would think you would need to cool off in April. Not to worry, things are back to normal today. There’s snow on the ground.

Autumn In The Grove

Since I was last at The Grove in Glenview, almost a year ago, the little pools and ponds all seem to have dried up or become overgrown. The area shown in the first picture used to be quite a sizeable pond near the Interpretive Center. Now, the deer are using the grass that grows there as camouflage while they take a rest.

Despite living relatively close to the city, we are lucky to have such areas so close at hand. It’s nice to see the wildlife in their natural habitat thanks to various park districts and forest preserves. The Grove is managed by the Glenview Park District and covers 150 acres of woodland.

There are plenty of squirrels and chipmunks scurrying about, stocking up on supplies for the winter. And there’s plenty for all, with oak trees and other sources of food in abundance.

At one point, during our walk, I noticed a deer quite close to the trail. I kept as still as possible so it could get used to me being there and gradually it came closer and closer until it was almost within touching distance. But then, a toddler accompanied by his mother came along the trail and the spell was broken. Still I was lucky enough to get a few good shots.

The Potawatomi settled in this area in the mid-18th century. They had numerous camps in Northern Illinois including one at The Grove. Kennicott legend references a peaceful interaction between the family who settled in The Grove and their Potawatomi neighbors. The Grove was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Shalom Wildlife Zoo

On a recent visit to Wisconsin, we stopped in at a place we’d heard a lot about but never seen before, Shalom Wildlife Zoo in West Bend. Shalom covers about 100 acres, all in a lush, natural setting. The gravel path that winds for 4 miles through this animal sanctuary is not the easiest to traverse but golf carts are available for rental, although we were feeling adventurous and made it around on foot, led by our tour guide who also showed us how and which animals to feed.

The spacious enclosures are in mostly wooded areas and the animals seem quite at ease here. The fences are minimal, where appropriate, and allow easy access for photography and little hands to feed the deer and other creatures that inhabit the sancuary.

Birds are plentiful and include ducks, geese, peacocks and some rather strange-looking emus (do not feed) that gazed at us curiously through the fence.

Their breeding program seems to be thriving as their white tiger recently gave birth to 4 cubs which have yet to put in a public appearance. We did see two other tigers but when your group leader is an active 4-year-old, you’re not allowed to linger too long in one place so I wasn’t able to get a usable shot. I was, however, able to capture a llama that looked please to see us, two tortoises that were up to some hanky-panky and a prairie dog that stood sentry duty while another attempted to dig his way out of the enclosure.

Shalom Wildlife Zoo is home to 75 species and more than 750 animals, including wolves, bison, bears, camels and zebras. The sanctuary is open on weekends January through April when you are allowed to drive your own car through the grounds. They are open daily May through December.

I hope I get another opportunity to visit Shalom as it was a most enjoyable experience, although next time I will be sure to wear more comfortable walking shoes.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – The Letter A

This week, Patti is looking for The Letter A for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. Here are a few images that seemed to fit the bill. In order of appearance; antlers, argiope, ant-eater, apes and amphibian.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – White or Cream

This week, Cee is looking for White or Cream for her Fun Foto Challenge.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

This week, guest host Ana from Anvica’s Gallery, recalls the song ‘The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow‘ as the theme for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.

Last week we were blessed with some exceptionally fine weather for November and everyone seemed to be enjoying the warmer temperatures. There also appeared to be some leg and wing stretching exercises in progress in preparation for those long winter days ahead. The first two images were captured at Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg where there were a few mallard ducks, a couple of frogs that refused to be photographed and a lone turtle doing some calisthenics.

The creatures at Brookfield Zoo were certainly making the most of this late autumn reprieve and were soaking up the rays with evident pleasure.

Meanwhile, at the Chicago Botanic Garden, a tardy heron, who should probably have already been on his way south, stopped for a wash and brush up and gave his wings a bit of a stretch while an armada of geese sailed calmly by.

The sun may come out tomorrow but it probably won’t get much warmer and will definitely get a lot colder than this in the months to come.

Flurries

We have seen quite a flurry of activity in our garden recently; birds flying south, and who can blame them, while critters get ready to hunker down for the winter along with the rest of us. Robins have flocked here by the dozens, attracted by the red berries in the shrubbery, that also appealed to some passing starlings.

My arch-nemesis, the rabbit, and his pals have been frequent visitors, as have the squirrels. The rabbits just get on with the job of eating whatever’s there, while the squirrels rush about like mad things, nibbling at tasty morsels and burying the rest, then looking around in puzzlement, scratching their heads and wondering where they left it. No wonder random plants keep popping up all over the garden! Squirrels are the first ones up to the buffet in the morning and the last to leave at night. They believe in getting their money’s worth.

Although I’ve often heard and glimpsed the flicker flying around the neighborhood, going from tree to tree, I’ve rarely seen it on the ground so I was quite happy to get this shot, even though he stubbornly refused to turn around so I could capture the black medallion on his chest.

Another fairly rare sighting in the garden was this woodpecker. We usually see the smaller downy woodpecker that shows up when I hang the suet basket out.

The blue jay caused a flurry as it usually does, squawking and making a fuss, so unlike the placid mourning doves that go about their business with just the occasional mild “Coo.”

Mr. & Mrs. cardinal arrived one afternoon, watched closely by a line of sparrows. Later, what appeared to be a dialog between the male cardinal and a male sparrow ensued. Perhaps they were sharing a joke.

Sparrow-: “Have you heard the one about the bishop and the actress?” Cardinal-: “Haha! Nice one!”

Sparrow-: “I figured being a cardinal, you’d appreciate that one. Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.”

The juncos, goldfinches and purple finches snuck in when the sparrows were not hogging all the food. I think I identified them correctly but welcome any input if I didn’t.

Normally, at this time of year, if I saw these swallowtail caterpillars, I would bring them inside to await the emergence of some beautiful butterflies in the spring, but since the last batch produced almost nothing but parasitic wasps I decided to let this lot fend for themselves. Sorry!

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Inspiration

This week, Tina has chosen Inspiration as the topic for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. With so many places closed down, travel restrictions in place and family gatherings limited because of Covid, and trips to the city put on indefinite hold because of increasing violence, I’ve been finding it hard lately to get motivated enough to get out and take pictures. I decided to look to the younger generation for some inspiration. Youngest granddaughter loves going to the zoo and great-grandson adores dinosaurs so yesterday I took my cue from them and headed over to Brookfield Zoo where by happy coincidence they are featuring a dinosaur exhibit. I think the kids would have approved.

Although the place was quite busy, most people wore masks and practiced social distancing and it was good to see families out there enjoying themselves, taking a break from all the turmoil that health, politics, social injustice and natural disasters has thrown at us this year.

Although the zoo itself is open, not surprisingly, all the indoor exhibits are closed which meant no pictures of gorillas in Tropic World and only a limited view of the bears. Add to this the fact that most of the animals were sleeping (when aren’t they?) and with the usual challenge of trying to get a decent shot through the intervening fences and wires, it proved to be an interesting exercise in zoo photography.

Despite so many of the attractions and services being unavailable, the zoo more than made up for it with the addition of the Dinosaur Exhibition. These prehistoric giants looked quite at home in their various settings and the animatronics and sound effects had all the kids (and some of the adults) squealing with excitement.

 

 

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – The Spring in Spring Valley

This week, Tina is celebrating Spring for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. One of my favorite local places to visit is the Spring Valley Nature Center and Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg. Sadly it wasn’t open this Spring for obvious reasons and and will remain closed at least through August. That being the case, here is a nostalgic look back at Spring in Spring Valley.