I usually see red bellied woodpeckers in the trees right before the zebra and giraffe exhibit. I didn’t think to check earlier to see if they had nested this spring. I hadn’t gone to the zoo in a while and then as I walk through I see a juvenile woodpecker. He was hopping pretty good from branch to branch but I didn’t see him fly. He doesn’t have any red on his head or belly yet.

He was still being fed  by the parent. You can see the red belly on the woodpecker on the left. The young one doesn’t have that yet.

Both parents were flying around looking for bugs.

Close up of the baby.

A baby tricolored heron was in a nest over the alligator exhibit. Waiting for Mom to bring food.

A young little blue heron hanging around. Most of the great egret and blue heron babies are all grown up. They were still hanging around the nest area though. This guy will have dark blue feathers in a year.

Nice butt shot. This was the only shot I could get of the baby cardinal. He moved around to the back of the tree which went into another exhibit. I waited a while hoping he would come back around but Mom brought food back and they disappeared.

Flowers in bloom.

Funky plant at the zoo. I’ve seen this plant at the Botanical Gardens but can’t remember what kind it is. It’s in the fruit section.

It was a hot day at the zoo. I went early in the morning just to walk around and get some exercise not expecting too much. It was fun watching the woodpecker family bouncing around in the trees. I was hoping to get some grasshopper shots. They are usually all over the zoo but I couldn’t find any on this trip. I wonder if they spray to keep them from taking over. They ruin the plants and flowers. I don’t get them in my yard and I guess I wouldn’t want them there but they are pretty cool looking.

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Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention  for