A young teen clutching a camera said to me yesterday inside the Butterfly House at the Calgary Zoo, "I wish these butterflies would stay still"! There is constant flutter but, on the rare occasion, one will land and be still for a few moments.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo Butterfly House Conservatory nature insect Butterfly IMG_4770 annkelliott SOE Shield of Excellence NaturesFinest Nature Watcher Explore interestingness#429 explore2007October28 i500
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"Just" a male Mallard swimming on open water at the Zoo yesterday, but I always enjoy seeing how much colour and detail there is in the feathers.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo nature bird duck Mallard Anas platyrhynchos IMG_5042 annkelliott SOE Shield of Excellence
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There are more than 500 species worldwide in the Loosestrife family. This plant was growing among the bushes at Pearce Estate, where the light was not very good. Pretty though it is, this plant spreads rapidly and prevents native plants from growing. In most of North America, it is known as a noxious weed.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Pearce Estate nature flora flower wildflower Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria Loosestrife family Lythraceae Noxious weed P9090106 annkelliott
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It snowed last night, so guess where I went today. The Calgary Zoo, to try and find some bright, cheery things to photograph : ) I was unusually lucky this time, as some of the birds happened to be closer than usual. I don't usually post photos of things like this Inland Bearded Dragon, but I liked the cheery yellow.
These are only found in Australia, widely distributed throughout the interior of the eastern states to the eastern half of South Australia and southeastern Northern Territory. Their conservation status is "Not threatened". They may live about 10 years in Zoos.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo wildlife reptile Order: Squamata Family: Agamidae Pogona vitticeps Inland Bearded Dragon nature IMG_5005 annkelliott SuperShot NaturesFinest
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These are some of my favourite birds and I never miss going to see them when I go to the Zoo. Today, the Burrowing Owl in this photo made my day when it flew up to perch on a railing just a few feet from me and just posed. This had never happened before - usually they are half hidden in one corner area or else perched on a high window ledge.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo nature bird Owl Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia IMG_4737 annkelliott SuperShot Bird of prey SpecAnimal
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