Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Lantana

This flower looked a whole lot better in a smaller size - I think it's a little overpowering when cropped! Photographed at the Calgary Zoo on 25 September 2012, and posted because today is supposed to be cloudy and rainy. "Lantana's aromatic flower clusters (called umbels) are a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and white florets. Other colors exist as new varieties are being selected. The flowers typically change color as they mature, resulting in inflorescences that are two- or three-colored." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana We certainly had a mix of weather the last two days. Saturday, it was snowing with poor visibility. A few of us had gathered to go on a birding drive south of the city, but weren't sure whether to cancel the trip. We drove to the edge of the city to check out a huge pond, but it was decided that the visibility was just not going to be good enough, so the trip was postponed. Two of us did drive some of the backroads just south of the city and the snow did stop for a while, but the light was not good. I really appreciated the drive, though, as we went on a few roads that I don't drive, but now will feel confident to do so. Thanks so much, Terry! We had a few nice sightings, including a Moose, a Snow Goose (possibly a Ross's Goose) that I didn't see, and a distant flock of about 60 Mountain Bluebirds which was a real treat. The Yellow-headed Blackbirds are now back, joining the Red-winged Blackbirds that I believe arrived first. Yesterday, Sunday (27 April 2014), I went with friends to Frank Lake for the day. It started off extremely foggy with a touch of hoarfrost. Perhaps not the ideal weather for seeing birds, but the fog did eventually clear and the sun came out. It turned out to be a beautiful day and most enjoyable. We saw 53 bird species - all, except for two owl nests, were extremely distant, so any photos I took are so far away. Have to admit that I was fascinated by the hoar frost and (melting) ice crystals, so I spent some time taking photos these while my friends checked out the lake for distant sightings of birds. Caught a distant glimpse of two White-faced Ibis, and several Snow Geese flew over. Greg Wagner from High River came to check out the lake while we were there, and he drew our attention to a Clarke's Grebe, which was a great sighting. Thanks, Greg! Three of the owl nests had young ones that could be seen, but through a tangle of branches, so useless for photos. The one nest had very young owlets, still with white feathers. Thanks, Tony, for leading this trip to one of my very favourite areas! Your trips are always very successful and so enjoyable.

Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on April 27th. "Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both herbaceous plants and shrubs growing to 0.5–2 m (1.6–6.6 ft) tall. Their common names are shrub verbenas or lantanas. Lantana's aromatic flower clusters (called umbels) are a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and white florets. Other colors exist as new varieties are being selected. The flowers typically change color as they mature, resulting in inflorescences that are two- or three-colored." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana

One of the beautiful, larger butterflies on dispay in the Enmax Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo a couple of days ago. Sorry I'm posting so many Zoo images at the moment. I know some of you are not too interested in nature that's not wild, but I'm just not getting many photos of wild things at the moment. Spent the morning walking in the woods at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, looking at Lichens with friends - no idea how I will ever learn the names and be able to ID them, LOL. I must admit I prefer fungi, but those won't be growing for ages yet! The rest of the day has been rainy and snowy - and cold! "Siproeta epaphus is a New World butterfly that lives all year in tropical habitats. It has large wings, averaging 10 cm/3.9 in, that are black on the center and brown on the undersides. S. epaphus is found throughout Central America, where it is one of the most common butterfly species. Its distribution extends from southern North America to northern South America." From Wikipedia.

Finally got a reasonably sharp photo of a Lantana flower at the Calgary Zoo. I love their design, even though they are pretty "common" and lots of us take photos of these beautifully designed flowers.