I Know, Another Post About Animals....

I know I have blogged many times about our trips to the wildlife parks so I am going to try not to repeat myself with this one. Instead, I will share some new things we saw and the cute/funny things the boys did.  Hope that works!

We took the train to Featherdale Wildlife Park this morning. This was our 4th visit there, I think. I really wanted to take my mom there since I think it is the best place around to see native Australian wildlife.  The train ride was about 35 minutes and then a short 10 minute bus ride. All went seamlessly until the bus arrived and the bus driver couldn't quite figure out how to charge us.  That was a little irritating. Oh, and the fact that many buses here still have stairs for boarding. I cannot believe that this day in age ANY public transportation would have stairs.  It is such an ordeal to unload the stroller and fold it up for a short 10 minute ride not to mention unbuckling Tucker and letting him "free" on the bus. Ugh. Anyway, back to the good stuff.

So we arrived and it was just as awesome as I remember it being.  So many animals roaming about to be fed and touched!  The emu was a big hit this time. Last time, Coop had to have a "talk" with the "naughty" emus. This time he was chatting away with them about their lives and showing them around their enclosure. He fed one a little bit and then told that one that he was going to feed his "friend," but he would "be back."  It was so hilarious!

such silly looking creatures

Coop chatting with the emu

I still cannot get over wombats. Seriously all they do is eat and sleep. This particular picture reminds me of the Pugs when they eat.  And aren't their faces just adorable?  Remember, I think Pugs are adorable too... :)

There were not as many kangaroos there as last time, but there were a few and a ton of wallabies as well.  I took this photo and then thought, hmmm, is this wallaby porn or is that its pouch. (Kate- can you help me on this one???)  Hee.  There was another wallaby nursing its baby (see photo below). That is always an incredible sight.

I think Tucker tried to scale every fence we came across. Luckily, he is not that coordinated yet.  It was fun to watch, though.  He is so determined!  Here he is trying to join the wombats in their pen.

Probably the biggest excitement of the day was this-- Cooper got to pet a kookaburra. He has been dying to pet a bird. He cannot understand why birds keep flying away from him when he approaches. He has probably asked me a million times why they won't let him pet and cuddle them.  No explanation we have given seems to satisfy him. So today, he finally petted a bird and he was so happy. The look in his eye alone made the entire day worth it.  Thankfully, the kookaburra was a willing participant.

 I called this kookaburra the "Tofie kookaburra." It obviously had a broken wing and it worked so hard to move from place to place and it reminded me of our little Tofie working so hard to get around our apartment.  

So sad and so sweet.  

This was a new bird to us. We are very used to seeing the White Ibis (also know as the Australian Ibis and the Sacred Ibis or the Crazy Bird as we call it), so this was a feast for the eyes! This is a Straw Ibis. The stick-like feathers that stick out from its neck look like straw hence the name.  The cool part was that its feathers are iridescent! You can sort of see it in this photo.  

Here the boys are looking at some snapping turtles also called, bungaroos.  They met two other boys about the same age as Coop and were chatting away.  

Another sweet moment.

The last fantastic bit was the baby peacocks. There were three of them and they were just walking around with their mom.  They were making all kinds of mischief, but the mom just kept on keeping them together and moving on. None of the pictures I took of the chicks came out very well, but you can stil see the little tuft of feathers on top of its head. 

Funny looking little fellows.

mom peacock