Bloedel Conservatory, Vancouver BC

THE BLOEDEL CONSERVATORY

   I love nature a lot. On my vacation to Canada, in the month of April, I decided to visit the Bloedel Conservatory which is a beautiful place. I especially love birds and I was looking forward to this visit. The conservatory is situated in Queen Elizabeth Park. To reach Bloedel, you have to walk up a small track. Then you have to walk into a big dome and at the entrance, there is a ticket counter where you can book you tickets. And that was exactly what me and my mother did. There are different exotic plants wherever you look. Tiny birds and butterflies whiz past you. The flowers are also very pretty.

There was a special plant. The Voodoo Lily (Amorphophallus konjac). The Voodoo Lily is considered to be a very long living plant. It can grow upto 6 feet tall. It is a shade of dark purple. It is toxic to humans. The Voodoo lily blooms in the time of winter.

Voodoo Lily

The main attractions at Bloedel Conservatory were the macaws and cockatoos. Unfortunately, at the time I visited, the conservatory's oldest member, the blue and yellow macaw who is 46 years old, was at the spa. But the moment I entered; I heard the joyful squeaks of the Green Winged Macaws. 

Me, Maria and Carmen

There are two of them. Maria & Carmen. Both of them were born in 2000 and were from South America. They were helping each other take care of their feathers and that was so adorable! It was very hard to identify who was Maria and who was Carmen, but it was more than enough to watch them squeak and show off. 

Maria & Carmen - Green Winged Macaws

After that we went to have a look at the cockatoos. First, we visited Kramer - a Moluccan Cockatoo. She was really pretty and just like Maria & Carmen; she was showing off. Kramer was from Indonesia and was born in 2001. Her feathers were a lovely shade of white and light pink. She really enjoyed just fluffing them out. 

Kramer - Moluccan Cockatoo

Next up was Mali who was asleep at first but later woke up to find me trying to capture a photo of her. Then, just like the others, she started showing off. Mali is a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo from New Guinea, born in 1990.

Mali - Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

My favorite one was Gidget, who didn't show off and looked like she had applied yellow colored blush. She is a Citron-Crested Cockatoo from Indonesia, born in 1993. 

Gidget - Citron-Crested Cockatoo

I won't be writing about every bird I saw and their picture, but I have a last addition to make. The Lady Amherst's Pheasant. It was a very pretty and multicolored bird. I was absolutely fascinated with its beauty. It was a very shy bird so it just ran away. Unlike the others, the pheasant wasn't perching on his own branch but just exploring. I did manage to get a few pictures, though. 

Lady Amherst's Pheasant

I didn't see any mammals except for one mouse who just scurried away at the mere sight of humans. Other than the Voodoo lily there were many extraordinary plants. Two of them were the Pitcher Plant and the Venus Flytrap. I am mentioning these two as seeing insectivorous plants isn't any random thing.

Pitcher Plant

The pitcher plant didn't have any insects buzzing around it or anything, but it felt really cool to just look at it, knowing that this plant is capable of luring and digesting insects. 

Venus Flytrap

The Venus flytrap was also cool to look at. Again, we didn't really see it capture and digest an insect.

 

There was also a really nice lady who was conducting small quizzes related to animals, birds and insects. She had some cards with pictures on them and she explained the various ways birds adapt to their surroundings and their different techniques of camouflage. Based on what she explained, she took a small quiz. It was a very nice experience.

This was my first trip in Canada, and I enjoyed it with all my heart.