Checking out some pretty white pigeons at Horsepower for Kids (rescue/animal sanctuary/petting zoo/farm) in late June. They weren’t in a cage but they were banded. I guess they know they can get a handout here.
Some of the funny faces.
Looks like this is a baby emu. I wonder where they got this from. They take in all kinds of strays or abandoned animals.
It’s always fun seeing the peacocks running around.
“No, I’m not giving you a kiss” I told him. I was there early so once the kids get there he’ll get lots of attention and snacks. He loves a good scratch.
The last time I was at Horsepower for Kids petting zoo/animal sanctuary was in early March. At the end of May I stopped by right after they had re-opened up. I figured this was a good place to get out and stretch my legs and it wouldn’t be crowded. Everything is pretty spread out and there were only a few other people there first thing in the morning. These above juvenile geese were growing up in the safety of a pen with a small pond before being released in the big lake. I realized that they were just eggs when I was there in March and now they were almost grown up. It would have been fun to see them as tiny fluff balls but at least they were growing up to be handsome loud annoying big geese.
The best was seeing the baby peacocks although they were pretty shy and stayed under the bushes. I”m sure the neighbors close by wouldn’t think more peacocks were the best though. So cute!
This goose let me know to stay back (taken with my 400mm lens and cropped).
I only saw one baby chicken wondering around with the adults and she was pretty big.
A few of the other smiling faces.
This beautiful bird was a rescue that the sanctuary had recently taken in. It was a former pet and was very friendly.
Pretty things in the drizzle at Noccalula Falls in north Alabama. We were lucky that the rain had stopped while we walked around the park. A little drizzle for a short time but at least the pouring rain had stopped. It was still a beautiful place even in the gloom.
The petting zoo animals were having fun in the mild weather.
I would like to get back there in the fall when the leaves are changing.
I know they are just pigs. When we see the adults at the reserve we think yuk. They tear up the landscape digging for bugs and leave big holes on the trail. But those little piglets are so cute. I think there was 7 when they were first sighted. When I got to see them a week later there was only 4 left. We rarely see the feral hogs near the trails during the day. They usually hide but this Mom was not shy about parading her babies down the trail.Everyone was enamored by how playful and curious they were.
Mom wasn’t quite as close as my zoom lens makes it look like here but she was still aware of what everyone was doing.
Off they went down the trail sticking close together and following Mom. I caught a tree swallow flying by in that last picture.
There was a small fish kill on the lake due to the freeze we had for several nights in January. Even thought it got just below freezing here, the fish aren’t use to the cold and there was a small amount of fish floating near the trail per the last picture. The clean up crew (vultures) at Circle B Bar Reserve moved in quickly and were dragging the dead fish up on the trail and feasting away the weekend I was there. They didn’t even bother to move as we walked down the trail. Just kept eating.
The trees were full of fat and happy vultures.
Several alligators were up on the trail. The vultures didn’t move away when the alligators came up.
This was Momma pig right before she had her babies when she was hanging around the nature center. She walked by so close I could only get her face in. She has since had a litter. More on that to come.
The barred owls were still hiding under the palm tree in mid January. They have since moved to the nest in the hole in the tree.
Vultures are usually plentiful at Circle B Bar Reserve but in mid January the place was covered in them. They were in the trees all along Marsh Rabbit Run Trail and along the trail feasting on the dead fish. The smell was a little ripe in some places but they were busy cleaning up the place. I went back several weeks later and there was no sign of any dead fish.
I hadn’t been to Horsepower for Kids horse farm/sanctuary in a while so I stopped by on the way home after a walk at Chesnut Park. It had started raining so I walked around with my umbrella since the weather had cooled off.
Said “Hi” to the chickens and pigs. The one above came over to give me a snort.
The mandarin duck family seems to be growing there.
The kids out for a ride did not seem to mind the rain.
The top chicken was giving me the stink eye. The bottom one was too busy picking at his feet.
The cormorant and bluebird are wild birds just stopping by for a visit. The finch was an escape bird that didn’t really want to leave. He just sat on the top of the cage.
Pretty fungi in the parking lot.
A house down the street from the horse farm had a small pond in the front yard and robins had taken over.
I was watching some of the volunteer kids chasing after a crazy rooster that had gotten free and was driving all of the other animals crazy. That rooster was pretty slick and kept them running for a while. It’s always entertaining there.
What is it about having chickens and roosters running around that make me want to go live on a farm? Maybe it’s a case of wanting what you don’t have (or didn’t grow up with).
Faces only a mother could love. The first turkey looks like she has a crocheted scarf over her head.
None of the animals were really paying attention to me which is fine.
I spent a recent morning at my favorite neighborhood petting zoo/horse farm. Not much has changed since I was there last spring. No early spring babies there yet. HorsePower for Kids, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization who provides a farm and petting zoo for people who would benefit from interaction with animals and horses. They are a wildlife/rehabilitation farm and most of the animals were rescued.
