Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Lophophorus impejanus

Wish I could say that I saw this incredible bird out in the wild, but, I can't : ) I have seen them a couple of times before, but they are so difficult to photograph, especially the male, who likes to hide. The last but one time that I visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but have now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I had been waiting for this day for a long time. June 26th 2018 was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I had decided to go before schools close for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. Also, when I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking for a while. They vary from day to day, as new butterflies emerge from their chrysalises.. My intention had not been to visit the newly arrived Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I could see that there was no line-up at all and I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. Part of the enclosure has glass, which made it almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people. The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby, named Gobi - such a cute little thing. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it. A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal

Wish I could say that I saw this incredible bird out in the wild, but, I can't : ) I have seen them a couple of times before, but they are so difficult to photograph, especially the male, who likes to hide. The last but one time that I visited the Calgary Zoo was on 6 October 2015. I used to go fairly often, but my usual parking lot and Zoo entrance then closed for the winter. Since then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on, but have now been completed. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I had been waiting for this day for a long time. June 26th 2018 was THE day - for me and for half the people in the city!! It was packed! I had decided to go before schools close for the summer. However, I suspect some schools had end-of-term Zoo visits on this day. Also, when I checked the weather forecast, rain was in the forecast for the next six days, so I knew i needed to go straight away. My visit only covered about half the Zoo, as I usually spend a lot of time in the Conservatory, enjoying the plants and tropical butterflies. My daughter had taken a photo of a gigantic lily pad, Victoria Water Lily / Victoria amazonica, and I really wanted to see it. There were three or four of these in a tiny pool. I love the pattern on the underside of the upturned edge of each lily pad, I didn't see a huge variety of butterfly species that day, but there were enough to keep me happily clicking for a while. They vary from day to day, as new butterflies emerge from their chrysalises.. My intention had not been to visit the newly arrived Panda family, as I was sure there would be an extremely long line-up. However, I could see that there was no line-up at all and I was able to just walk in, which was great. How lucky we are to have these four amazing animals visit our Zoo. They were in an inside enclosure, full of plants - and Bamboo, of course. I'm not sure how many hours a day these animals sleep, but two of the three that could be seen slept for part of the time I was there. Had to smile at the very uncomfortable positions in which they slept. Part of the enclosure has glass, which made it almost impossible to get photos without the reflections of the crowds of people. The Bactrian Camel had recently given birth to a baby, named Gobi - such a cute little thing. No sign of the Red Pandas when I passed their enclosure. One of the birds I love to see - though these birds tend to hide! - is the amazing Himalayan Monal. The male, especially, takes my breath away each time I see it. A few hours well spent happily clicking. Hopefully, it won't be almost three years before my next visit, though the west entrance does close each winter. It felt so good to once again be back in a place full of colour and interest. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal

This amazing Himalayan Monal takes my breath away each time I see it! It is a fairly recent addition to the Calgary Zoo, along with a female who, of course, is much less colourful. I will add a previously posted photo of the female in a comment box below. In November last year, I had managed to get a couple of shots of the less-colourful female, but the male was more or less in hiding. Then, on 21 September 2015, the male was out in the open, to my delight. What a magnificent bird it is, with its feathers of many colours. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal

This photo was taken at the Calgary Zoo yesterday, 21 September 2015. In November last year, I had managed to get a couple of shots of the less-colourful female, but the male was more or less in hiding. Then two weeks ago, I was able to get a really poor photo of the male. Yesterday, however, the male was out in the open, to my delight. What a magnificent bird it is, with its feathers of many colours. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal

This photo was taken four days ago, on 8 September 2015. I have only taken photos of a female before - I find the male to be almost impossible to photograph, so this is a poor photo. However, it does give you an idea of the amazing colours of its feathers. The IUCN Status: Least Concern. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal In the morning, I joined a group of friends for a three-hour stroll at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 38 bird species were seen, though I didn't manage to see any of the tiny, fast-moving Warblers. It was good to see 28 Wood Ducks, but they were far, far away, in an area that is still closed due to devastating flood damage. The Sanctuary had been closed for about two years for this reason and only very recently re-opened just a part of the area. The Calgary Zoo is very close to the Sanctuary, so after our morning walk, I decided to call in at the Zoo. I hadn't been for about a year and I really missed going there. Of course, many of the garden flowers were past their prime, but I did find a few that were fit to photograph. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk far, having already been walking all morning, but I really wanted to get to the ENMAX Conservatory to see what was going on. I had been longing all summer to see the tropical butterflies and plants. The butterfly season will be coming to an end for these tropical beauties, but there were still plenty of them to be seen. Also, this month, the parking lot that I use will close for the winter and I don't like the drive back home from the north parking area, using Deerfoot Trail, so tend not to go to the Zoo all winter. There was so much activity going on at the Zoo the other day. People everywhere, carrying large animals wrapped in white, protective coverings, preparing for the upcoming ILLUMINASIA, Lantern & Garden Festival. Each animal is an individual lantern and there are so many of them. I noticed that several of the real animals in their enclosures were watching all the unaccustomed activity, which made me smile. A good day, despite the overcast sky, and plenty of photo opportunities. Recently, I have been finding far fewer things to photograph, with fall on its way, so a day like this was more than welcome.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all Americans today, whatever part of the world they may be living in. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on 13 October 2014. We have so much to be thankful for, even when times are tough. On 3 November 2014, I spent a few hours at the Calgary Zoo with my youngest daughter. Snow was in the forecast again, so we thought we’d better fit in a visit while the sun was shining. I still had to clear the snow off my vehicle before I left home. The snow had been melting and now formed a thick, solid layer that had to be chipped away, banged, pushed, shoved, levered, until it finally broke up into fairly large slabs that simply slid off my car. Oh, the joys of winter. This irritated the inflammation of the rotator cuffs in both my shoulders yet again, just as I feared it would. One of the fairly new birds at the Zoo was this Himalayan Monal. The male, which of course is far more colourful, didn’t stop once while we were there, pacing or running back and forth, making it totally impossible to get any photos. He's such a beautiful bird. Oh well, maybe another time. The female ended up on a tall piece of dead wood for a few minutes, so I was able to get a few shots. Such beautiful feathers and that wonderful blue around the eyes. The IUCN Status: Least Concern. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal

Yesterday, 3 November 2014, I spent a few hours at the Calgary Zoo with my youngest daughter. Snow is in the forecast again, so we thought we’d better fit in a visit while the sun was shining. I still had to clear the snow off my vehicle before I left home. The snow had been melting and now formed a thick, solid layer that had to be chipped away, banged, pushed, shoved, levered, until it finally broke up into fairly large slabs that simply slid off my car. Oh, the joys of winter. This has irritated the inflammation of the rotator cuffs in both my shoulders yet again, just as I feared it would. One of the fairly new birds at the Zoo was this Himalayan Monal. The male, which of course is far more colourful, didn’t stop once while we were there, pacing or running back and forth, making it totally impossible to get any photos. He's such a beautiful bird. Oh well, maybe next time. The female ended up on a tall piece of dead wood for a few minutes, so I was able to get a few shots. Such beautiful feathers and that wonderful blue around the eyes. The IUCN Status: Least Concern. “This colourful bird is commonly called the Impeyan after Lady Impey, wife of the British chief justice of Calcutta, who first kept them in captivity on the grounds of their estate in the late 18th century. Lady Impey kept extensive notes about habitat and behaviour which were of great use to biologists in their work on native species. These beautiful birds have a very large range throughout Asia in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. However, in some areas they are threatened due to poaching and other human disturbances to their environment. They are to be found primarily in mountainous regions; in summer, they are found in rocky, grass-covered meadows and winter in coniferous and mixed forests. Their diet includes seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae. They dig extensively with their bill, up to 25 cm deep, creating distinctive dug-over areas in their territory. They forage throughout the day.” From the Calgary Zoo. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_monal