Himalayan monal / Lophophorus impejanus male

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