Africa Rocks Aviary at San Diego Zoo

It’s time for another big life change - we’ve made the move from San Diego in California to Baltimore, for a new postdoctoral position I’ve taken up. As we take the time to settle into a new city and get accustomed to our new surroundings, I will take the next couple of weeks to share some photos from my archives. In particular, I am excited to share some animal photography from the world-famous San Diego Zoo, where I spent many sunny days chasing birds with my telephoto lens. This weekend, I am sharing images from the African Rocks Aviary, featuring an assortment of species that inhabit the African continent, from the elegant North Carmine bee-eater to the oddly-named red-cheeked cordonbleu.

Pancake Rocks and Their Inhabitants

These rock formations in New Zealand’s West Coast are, of course, named after their looks - they look like stacked rounded layers somewhat resembling pancakes. Pancake Rocks even boasts a suitably-themed pancake-serving café near the entrance to the park. I visited on a stormy evening and, although the weather left much to be desired, the white-fronted terns (Sterna striata) that inhabit this location more than made up for the moody skies.

Lighthouse on a Hill

Nugget Point Lighthouse is another iconic location along the South Island’s rugged coast. It is one of New Zealand’s better known lighthouses, as it is perched on a picturesque hill overlooking the ocean and the “gold nugget” rocks, named by Captain Cook. The skies here did not help much with the sunset, as it was heavily overcast, but even so it was worth a visit!

Onto the Desert

The way from Uyuni to the Andes is a bumpy but magnificent one. It’s a long drive through the surreal landscapes of Camino de las Rocas until you reach the Siloli Desert in the Eduardo Abaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. I will cover this scenery in a few separate blog posts over the next couple of weeks, as I came away with too many spectacular images to fit into a single post.

Here are some highlights from the road and Árbol de Piedra (stone tree) in the Siloli Desert.