Lowry Park Zoo

Sunday we headed out for Tampa and Lowry Park Zoo. It is was Linda wanted to do today.. She goes in for hip replacement surgery tomorrow. (She had a 1000 pound machine fall on her 10 years ago. It is probably the reason she needs a new hip today.)

You pay for zoo admission and if you want to take the hour boat ride down the Hillsbourough River you pay additional money. We arrived at the park shortly after opening, and got tickets for the 11:00 boat ride. As you can see, the zoo spares no expense for a bus. The ride to the boat dock and public boat launch is only a minute away.

Sulphur Springs Water tower. It was built in the the 1920’s, and Sulphur Spring water was the first bottled water in the state. People thoutht the springs would bring them good health. A flood ruined the mechanisms that operate the water tower. Bats now make it home, and the City of Tampa has to figure out how to restore the tower, and not harm the bats. Bats in Florida are up there with the angels. They eat the “state bird”, the mosquito. (The sun wasn't in the right spot. I tried using black and white to get more detail)


Talk about picking the bones clean. Can you identify the bones? What ever it was the vultures were finishing, it was once a very big animal. (My mother isn’t going to like this picture. She doesn’t like vultures.)

We did get to see a couple of manatees while out on the river. But I don’t think I’ll be able to convince Linda to take the canoe out on the river. We seen 3 gators. One of them was approxiately 8 feet long. Linda will never go for taking the canoe out in water with gators.


This big gator was inside the zoo. He’s covered with bird poop. The giant white egrets have nests abouve him. Actually there are two nests above him. It doesn’t seem to bother the old guy that the the birds use him as a toilet. There was no movement from him at all. The picture really doesn't show what he looked like covered in white goop.

I'm a bit strange. You have all these exotic birds to be photographed and the last two pictures are of very common birds. The first is the Common Grackle. A wild bird.



Why is it that Pelicans provide me with some of my favorite pictures?