The gardens are home to wild ibises…
… and to many, MANY wild cockatiels.
They seem to spend their free time picking at and eating the grass, which makes a curious sound, but the occasional cockatiel can also be found hanging out in the trees.
Andrew succeeded in getting a cockatiel to sit on his hand with gentle coaxing.
Oh hai! I like to think he’s waving. One of the many, MANY giant fruit bats (flying foxes) that inhabit the majority of the trees in the gardens. This guy was high up in a tree, maybe 20 ft up. Imagine my surprise when going through my photos to realize he was staring dead at me.
The bats hang like little leathery xmas ornaments. They progressively kill the trees they roost in. Roost? Do bats roost? You know what I mean… hang from.
This may be my favorite photo of those I’ve ever taken. It’s like a traditional Japanese illustration, with an extra furry surprise… a little sweet, a little sinister.
Not a great video, but this should give you an idea how damn active and LOUD these fruit bats are, even during the day.
This bird had the most expressive eyes I’ve ever seen.
Who knew watching a wallaby scratch itself would be this cute?
