Wildwood Animal Park

Tawny Owl .

 Crispy fungus on a log.

Stork and reflection.

Project 365 day 100

Robin.
The UK's favourite bird - with its bright red breast it is familiar throughout the year and especially at Christmas! Males and females look identical, and young birds have no red breast and are spotted with golden brown. Robins sing nearly all year round and despite their cute appearance, they are aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away intruders. They will sing at night next to street lights.

 I was out with my family today at Wildwood Animal Park and while we were eating lunch this little guy came and sat next to us so I could not resist grabbing my camera and clicking away before he flew away. I shot this with an aperture of f/5 for 1/42sec. I captured a lot of photos that I expected of the animals in the park but didn't expect to get this one which is why I think it stands out so much to me hence me picking it for my photo of the day.

Alphabet Project day 10

J is for Jelly Babies and Jaffa Cakes. I shot this in manual mode with an aperture of f/3.2 for 1/8sec. the shot is lit with a 10led torch held above and shone straight down. The base is a black glass place-mat to provide the reflection and the background is a piece of A4 black card.
Explore 10th April number 38

Project 365 day 99

All cut up. I decided to get back to my toolbox project again today with this shot of my Stanley knife and blades. I took this shot in manual mode with an aperture of f/3.2 for 1/160sec i lit the image with a macro led ring light held just above the lens of the camera.

Alphabet Project day 9

I is for Ink, Indent and Italics. I shot this image in manual mode with an aperture of f/4 for 1/25sec and I used an led macro ring light to light the paper from above.

Wingham Wildlife Park 08/04/2013

 Left:
Captured in the Reptile House of Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Right:
Butterfly captured in the Tropical House of Wingham Wildlife Park. Not many butterflies in there yet as it is still a bit early in the year.

 Left:
Tiger captured at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Right:
Penguin captured at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Left:
Ring tailed Lemur captured at the Lemur walk through at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Right:
Tiger captured at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Left:
Peacock displaying its magnificent plumage at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Right:
Birds of prey captured at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Left:
Penguin captured at the Penguin pool at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Right:
Common Buzzard captured at Wingham Wildlife Park.

 Left:
Chilean Rose Tarantula captured at a meet the animals session in the Education Centre at Wingham Wildlife Park.

Right:
Feeding time for the Ring Tailed Lemurs at the Lemur Walk Through at Wingham Wildlife Park.

Project 365 day 98

I was out and about today on a family trip to Wingham Wildlife Park and after many photos I've decided on this Harlequin Macaw for my photo of the day because of all its bright colours and distinctive sound.

A Harlequin Macaw is produced by crossing a Blue and Gold Macaw with a Green-Winged Macaw. The scientific name of the Harlequin Macaw is: Hybrid, (cross between Ara Ararauna and Ara chloroptera). Harlequin Macaws are not found in the wild.

Green-Winged Macaws originate in northern South America, ranging from Panama to Paraguay to Argentina. The Blue and Gold Macaw also originates from northern South America, covering almost the entire region.

It is reported that the coloring of the male parent will dominate the coloring of the offspring. Other reports state that the Harlequin will inherit the body type of the Green-Winged Macaw and the coloring of the female parent. A Harlequin is often colored identically to the Catalina Macaw, another hybrid macaw. The chest feathers of a Harlequin are often reddish-orange, edged with a brighter yellow-orange.

Harlqeuin Macaws are very colorful full-sized macaw. An adult will measure up to 34 inches in length and they can weight over two pounds. They can talk and can have a vocabulary of 15 or more words or phrases.

While the color of the Harlequin will be determined by the male parent, the temperament is generally a combination of the green-winged parent, which is docile, much like the hahns macaw, and the blue and gold parent, which a natural clown. The Harlequin will have the high level of intelligence inherent in all macaws.

Harlequin Macaws can be very noisy and very loud.

There is some opposition in the macaw breeding world to hybrids such as the Harlequin Macaw. Because of the increasing endangerment of wild macaws there are some breeds that are becoming extinct. Some breeders feel that hybrids like the Harlequin may contaminate the bloodlines of pureblood Green-Winged and Blue and Gold Macaws because it is often difficult to distinguish between the hybrid and the pure blood birds.

I took this shot with an aperture of f/5.6 for 1/28sec.