{I Wish} We Bought a Zoo

Over our Christmas break, as I call it, we went to see one of my new favorite movies–We Bought a Zoo. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, GO! If you have a soft spot for animals and kind humans, bring tissue.

My favorite take away message from it…

“All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage…and I promise you, something great will come of it.”

Here’s the trailer…

This weekend we made a spontaneous trip to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison.

We enjoyed the herpetology building….

I could’ve spent hours with the giraffes. This big guy was showing off {I think}.

This Siberian Tiger seemed to enjoy basking in the crisp, 28 degree sun.

Orangutan

Chimpanzee

It took at least 20 minutes for me and my camera gear to acclimate to the very hot and humid aviary. But it was well worth the wait!

Sunbittern

These Blue and Yellow Macaws were showing off and imitating each other. I was definitely in the right place at the right time to capture this Blue Crowned Motmot enjoying some lunch. A very delicate Croaking ground dove. A very vibrant Green-winged Macaw. A shy Grey Necked Wood Rail Red capped cardinal And of course we had to get in some local birding…we made a stop over by Lake Monona and found some open water. Lots of Canada Geese, Mallards and some swansThe elusive Snow Goose? Still trying to identify all of the varieties we saw in this group. Any ideas?

A lovely day with the animals. Now if only there was a zoo for sale in Southwestern Wisconsin. 😉