I’m still in Southern California taking care of routine maintenance and  taxes. Spring has finally arrived with temps in the 70′s and 80′s. Have not seen any rain for several weeks.

Above pictures are of sculptures on Galleta Meadows Estate in Borrego Springs. Dennis Avery, of Avery Labels, has a winter home in Borrego Springs, California and owns a lot of land. He had artist Ricardo Breceda create  and place sculptures of creatures and people from Borrego Springs’ past all around the area. I tend to be drawn to the nearby Salton Sea when I’m in this area, because of the birds, but know I’ll be back to stay in Anza-Borrega State Park and Borrego Springs.

The herons are still adding twigs to the two nests at Rancho Jurupa Park. They have been through some strong winds and rain. Glad to see they are still there.

Below, panda mom, Bai Yun, takes a mini nap while laying on her back eating bamboo.

After going to the San Diego Zoo five days in a row and visiting the panda exhibit multiple times each of those days, finally saw some activity from Yun Zi.

A zoo keeper shows Bai Yun an empty treat container to let her know there are none left. She then goes and searches for them in her exhibit. Think this is a daily routine.

A Sulawesi Tarictic Hornbill found in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Mandarin ducks

A victorian crowned pigeon found in North New Guinea looking into the fish tank.

Breeding hooded merganser

Below, Janey, the orangutan, looking through the glass at a woman whom she knows.

Have been in San Diego to visit  Bai Yun and her young cub, Yun Zi at the zoo. He sleeps a lot so there are not a lot of photo ops, unless your lucky enough to be there when he is active. So far I haven’t.

Su Lin, the 4-year-old sister on Yun Zi. She is supposed to go to China sometime in the near future.

Mandarin ducks. They are related to wood ducks and have to be one of the most beautiful duck there is. These two bent over in unison to get a drink of water. There are some birds and ducks that fly into the zoo grounds, this isn’t one of them. They are definitely specimen ducks.

Male and female wood ducks.

I have really enjoyed visiting the zoo’s walk-in bird aviaries this visit. In the late afternoon, birds are flying all around you as they prepare to roost for the evening, eating and taking baths in the waterfalls.

Above is a White-bellied-Imperial-pigeon that has an incredible bass two note song. He bows each time he says “who who”.  He does this for a long time, then has to stop to get his breath. Everyone that came in asked “Is he making that sound?” I recorded a short video and will try to upload it later.

Update: Got the video of the white-bellied-imperial-pigeon, but the stream with it’s waterfalls that runs through the aviary drowns out the low bass sound the pigeon makes.

Nicobar pigeon

Grand eclectus parrot

White breasted kingfisher. There is an fish tank in the aviary. Guess the kingfishers can catch their own dinner.

Below, an African lion let out a loud growl when an animal keeper walked in front of him after giving a talk about the lions.

Above: Su-Lin, the 4-year-old sister of Zhen Zhen.

I have spent a week in San Diego, going to the zoo almost every day. Finally getting to know my way around. Hope to return in January or February to see the new male panda cub. Believe he will go on exhibit in December.

Top: Koala

Lower: meerkats

It is so much fun to watch Kalluk play ball. He bounces it both upwards and downward through the water.

Silverback gorilla. “All I get is lettuce to eat?”

Chinese Snow leopard

Two-year-old Zhen Zhen.

Kalluk, on the right, got out of the water and went up to Tatqiq, on the left, and tagged her to come and play. She followed him into the water for one of their play sessions. Kalluk first lets his sister attack him, but he gets rougher as it goes on. They eventually separate to different areas.

The zoo has a new elephant exhibit for Asian elephants. The inside area where elephants receive care is where the public passes by and can observe. Above, one keeper gives an elephant treats while another works on the elephant’s foot.

Below: secretary bird.

Have been enjoying the San Diego Zoo the past few days. I follow the polar bears and the pandas via their webcams and it’s good to see them in person. Also, you get a good workout walking around the zoo, as you are always either going up or down a hill.

Above: Kalluk, the adult male polar bear with a mouth full of carrots.

Top picture: a gorilla striking a pose.

Lower picture: Frank, a one-year-old gorilla that all the gorilla’s have been helping to raise. He had been watching an adult eat a green pepper. He may be holding part of a green pepper plant and not sure he likes the taste.

Some zoo employees were leading two camels down a road. The camels would stop every few feet and need some coaxing to proceed.

A number of herons and great egrets are fly-in guests of the zoo.

Below: Su Lin enjoying her bamboo sitting in a tree.

Have started backtracking, to slowly start making my way south. Stayed two days at  St. Mary Campground at Glacier National Park with the goal of walking the Hidden Lake Overlook trail from Logan Pass. Took the shuttle up to Logan Pass at 8:00 am. There were not a lot of people there that early and the weather was fantastic. When I stopped by here about a month ago, it was really hot.

Top picture, Hidden Lake as viewed from the overlook.

Second picture, some people take advantage of a photo opportunity at the start of the trail. The trail is 90% on a wood boardwalk.

Third picture, the wildflowers were just breathtaking.

One of the reasons I wanted to take this hike, was to see some mountain goats. You are rewarded after a 1.5 mile uphill hike by both the view and by mountain goats. This mother and baby must be the site mascots. They stay at arms length and don’t beg, but they are definitely used to people. The mom was shedding her outer coat.

Hoary marmot

Looking down the trail as a mist rolls in. It is just 1.5 miles (3 miles roundtrip) to the overlook, but it really had me huffing and puffing. Had to sit down a few times. On the way down, when it was getting crowded with a lot of people just starting the hike, saw I was not the only one to be challenged. Definitely glad to have had the cooler weather.

Read an article in the Los Angeles Times that listed Glacier National Park as one of the lesser known and visited national parks. You could not tell this by the crowds that I saw. When I took the shuttle back down to the campground from Logan Pass, the parking lot was jammed, with a lot of honking horns. All the turnouts were also filled with cars. You have to get out early or late to avoid the crowds. The campgrounds also regularly fill up. They have a website that shows the open and full campgrounds in real time. It would be good to check this out before you come.

I might have stayed more than two days, but there was a severe weather alert for 2 to 7 inches of rain, hail, and thunderstorms. Next year would like to stay a week or two.

Congratulations to Bai Yun, the 17-year-old female panda at the San Diego Zoo. She gave birth to her 5th cub this week. The zoo has a webcam of her and her newest offspring. The picture above is of her and Zhen Zhen (her 4th cub).

Kalluk, the 1000 pound male polar bear, showing some basketball moves. Caught a short clip on video. He then trys to put the ball in a hole in the wall underwater. All the bears always check out this spot and spend endless time tying to put things in or take things out.

Kalluk is in the water and one female polar bear is resting on the deck. The other female bear comes around the corner and chases the resting female into the water. They fight/play till one escapes to a small ledge. The remaining female then goes after Kalluk. He has to lie down at the bottom of the pool to let the female know she “won”. She then floats up and the fight is over.

This is a long clip, close to 4 minutes.

Bai stops pacing and sits down for a few minutes while waiting for her caretakers to bring in fresh bamboo and treats.

Gao Gao, Zhen’s father.

Finally have learned my way around the zoo. Next time I come, want to spend some time watching the orangutans and the gorillas. A volunteer or employee was working with the above orangutan through the glass, blowing bubbles for her and doing other things to get her attention.

Picture above taken after nursing session shown below.

White-faced whistling ducks grooming each other.

Cattle egret.

The weather finally cooled off a little and Zhen Zhen, the baby panda, became more active. Zhen will be weaned from her mom, Bai Yun, in just a few months. A zoo employee at the exhibit said Su Lin, Bai Yun’s 3-year-old cub and Zhen’s sister, will not be returning to China any time soon. China is still recovering from the earthquake and its’ zoos are full.