Ian Lambert's photostream

A bleak looking Blea Tarn from winter 2011

Blea Tarn is one of my favourite locations in the Lake District, set in a superbly panoramic location beneath the shadows of the rugged Langdale Pikes, the tarn stands 700' above sea level. The shores are awash with a carpet of wild alpine flowers in the spring and summer. The tarn is small, the circuit footpath, which makes an enjoyable walk, takes only about twenty minutes to complete

On the 11th December 2011 I was Zoo Keeper For The Day at the South Lakes Wild Animal Park near Dalton-In-Furness, Cumbria. It was with out doubt a day I will never forget. Most of the day was spent with an excellant Zoo Keeper looking after the big cats, it involved getting stuck in with a lot of hard work and getting very dirty.
The highlight of the day, was getting up close to the Lions, Tigers and of course, my favourites, the 2 Jaguars.
There wasn't much time for taking photos, I was too busy preparing the next meals or helping out in the Big Cat enclosures (cats locked up in their pens and we had the only key), however, I did manage a few up close shots, and this sight alone, made my day, the two Jaguars, looking straight at me from only 10 feet away.

Happy New Year to everybody.

One of the many free flying Macaws at the South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Cumbria, this one, along with a few other Macaws are free to fly anywhere rather than just the very large walk through avary. They can be seen at different times during the day flying around the Animal Park and roosting in various locations. This one had roosted near the cafe at lunch time.

The Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna), is a member of the group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It breeds in forest and woodland of tropical South America from Trinidad and Venezuela south to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. It extends slightly into Central America, where it is restricted to Panama. It is an endangered species in Trinidad, and is on the verge of being extirpated from Paraguay, despite this, it still remains widespread and fairly common in a large part of mainland South America.
These birds can reach 76 to 86 cm long and weigh 2.7kg to 3.9kg they use their powerful beak for breaking nutshells, and also for climbing up and hanging from trees.

The Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula) is very common in the tropical waters of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ccean.
Growing to a maximum size of 15cm and its vibrant colours make it a very popular fish to be kept in the Marine Aquarium.

King Penguins at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland

King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are found on sub-Antarctic islands. They are closely related to the larger Emperor penguins. Both species lay one egg and incubate it on top of their feet, but unlike the Emperor penguin, both the male and female King penguin will share incubation duties and take care of the chick when it hatches.

They eat small fish and squid diving up to 100 metres (350 feet) to hunt their prey.

King penguins were one of the very first species to be kept at Edinburgh Zoo. They were first bred at the Zoo in 1919, which was the first captive breeding of this species anywhere in the world. For these reasons, a king penguin can be seen on the Zoo’s logo and on the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s crest.