The Amazing Free-Flight Bird Show of Taronga Zoo
Tutubi, a frustrated birdwatcher, arrived a little late at the bird show venue due to his return trips to the lair of the evasive tasmanian devil, a nocturnal creature that evaded him like the duck-billed platypus. Arriving late has it's advantage that he was able to position himself standing on the rim of the open amphitheater thus was able to move to get close to the action or a "bird's eye view" of the place.
Taronga Zoo's amphitheater for the free flight bird showThe free flight bird show was an interactive one that required audience participation to volunteer for various simple tasks like standing still at a certain part of the amphitheater or holding high a coin for birds to snatch. One of the first act was a an australian owl that landed on a volunteer girls arm when signaled by the bird trainer/host.
an australian masked owl about to land on the little girls arm
this little girl was brave enough to volunteer to be the target of this australian owl that perched on her arm
Taronga zoo's amphitheater with Sidney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House in the backgroundSucceeding acts were fly over by a wedge-tailed eagle while another show by Jojo and Jasper, a pair of galahs (rose-breasted cockatoos), wowed the audience when they snatched coins held by a volunteer but returned them to the volunteer when instructed to do so by the trainer. Other performing stars of the show were andean condors, black-breasted buzzard and black kites.
the coin-snatching cockatoo freely flying over the crowdIt's a good thing that Tutubi's strategy to stand on the outer end of the amphitheater enabled him to get close to the trainer and volunteers for close-up photos of the birds in flight.
Taronga's birds were so well-trained that they didn't try to escape; what's more they didn't try to eat the dragonfly, Tutubi, for their afternoon snack :P
Labels: Australia, Beyond Asia, Sydney
posted by backpacking philippines @ 9:35 PM,
10 Comments:
-
At Aug 16, 2009 5:15:00 PM,
Charles Bjørnsen Ravndal said...
-
That's very nice and also what a majestic looking bird. Well, Sydney is one of my future destinations and I am excited to see Australia's indigenous animals.
-
At Aug 17, 2009 10:05:00 AM,
The Nomadic Pinoy said...
-
Great location for a bird show - overlooking the Sydney harbor, the opera house and the equally famous bridge. You do have a great shot of the owl!
-
At Aug 17, 2009 12:12:00 PM,
pieterbie said...
-
These bird shows are usually pretty good.
Good looking woman as well :-) -
At Aug 17, 2009 10:56:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
-
charles, suggest you google philippine eagle to see a more regal bird :p
nomadic pinoy, the owl and the pretty trainer :P
pieterbie, yeah...the birds and the girls ;p -
At Aug 17, 2009 11:18:00 PM,
Cza said...
-
Wow! The owl looks amazing.. I'd like to have a close encounter with one too. :D
-
At Aug 18, 2009 9:59:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
-
cza, afaik there's nothing like this bird show in pinas but we have so many birds in the wild for serious birdwatching adventure in the wild. some bird species may need to be discovered too
-
At Aug 19, 2009 2:24:00 AM,
fortuitous faery said...
-
i can imagine these owls sending hogwarts international mail to little wizards in australia. haha.
-
At Aug 19, 2009 5:27:00 PM,
dodong flores said...
-
Hehehe! It's good that you were not eaten by those birds :D
Seriously, I could have wanted to visit similar shows here in the Philippines but I didn't know if we have that here. What I only witnessed once was a dog show in La Paz plaza in Iloilo.
Galing ng kuha ng flying bird in the second photo. Kahit nakalipad siya, sharp pa rin ang kuha... -
At Aug 19, 2009 10:29:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
-
fortuitous faery, you really are a magical creature :P
dodong, i set the ISO to acceptable 400 to get a faster shutter speed since i know lots of movement involved here :P -
At Aug 20, 2009 1:48:00 PM,
ace said...
-
what a cool owl!!! :D
Post a Comment
If you're not using Blogger or any OpenID, Tutubi recommends selecting Name/URL on the form field below so Tutubi can return your visit (Remember to use http:// in the URL field).
Tutubi welcomes critique of photo, negative feedback, reactions and corrections but please do so in a civilized manner. Also, if you're commenting just to advertise "house and lot for sale/lease," "apartment for rent," or "sex scandal videos," you're just wasting your time. Tutubi welcomes, however, tips on free wifi Internet access, free beer or other desirable stuff ;P