Wednesday, January 25 - Field trip!

This waterfall was in the enclosed area near the birdshow stage. It's probably about fifty feet tall. It was simply splendid!
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Today we took the students for a field trip to the KL Bird Park! It was beautiful and so lush! The park was, of course, quite tropical, with towering foliage and pools of water everywhere. As we walked in, I couldn't help but notice the many peacocks wandering about - across the paths and on the grounds. A couple of them even fanned out their tails for us. The students loved it!

There were certain areas designated for land-bound birds, such as the crazy-haired chickens (check out the photo!) and the peacocks, and then there were other areas that were enclosed by netting for the birds that were more likely to fly off if given the chance. In one of these areas was this huge waterfall that was just gorgeous!

The bird park workers set this big guy on my shoulder. I couldn't believe how tame all these birds were!
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Several students took the chance to hold birds, which was only RM5 per person! (Keep in mind that one US dollar is equal to RM3.70 right now....) They placed on my arm a beautiful red parrot, and then on my shoulder they set this gray bird that I think looks almost fake in the photo.

I also got to pet a white cockatoo, Albert, who kept rubbing his head against my arm. I wonder if he thought my arm was another white cockatoo, since I was wearing white! He was so adorable... Some of the students thought holding the birds was great, while others were kind of squeamish while they were holding them. It made for some pretty amusing pictures...

I'd never seen a white peacock before, so I just had to get the picture. The down behind his tail feathers looked like the makings of a pillow - so soft...
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After lunch we went to see a bird show in which they showed off some of the birds that had been trained to do tricks. One of them flew through hoops, while another did a "magic trick" where he was able to tell under which dish a multi-colored cube was hidden after the dishes had been shuffled around; another bird "drove" a miniature car and even stopped the car to check under the hood. It was too cute!

On the drive home we talked about which bird had been our favorites; I did love the peacocks, but my best favorite was affectionate little Albert... It was a day I won't soon forget!