Part three of four! This time all of the animals we saw: bees, butterflies, birds, fish, etc!


A lovely frittilary!


A bee posing nicely on a rose.


Night heron! I assume this is the same one we see pretty frequently in the gardens. It wasn't in the Japanese garden this time, but along the little river area. It ran under the bridge as soon as it saw us coming.




Bee on a rose, though kind of missing the right spot.


So many very tiny tadpoles! (Clinging to the edge of the pond, here.)


At the same pond as all the little tadpoles, a mama duck with nine (!) ducklings.


I worry a bit for this duckling's future - it was very adventurous and kept straying quite far from the rest.


A robin with some nesting material!


This bee was covered in so much pollen!

We sat down for a while in one of the little shaded seating areas for a bit, since Taylor was feeling the heat.

We turned around and the duck with her nine ducklings was RIGHT THERE at the entrance, ha. Alex jumped pretty good, haha. They were on their way to a different bit of water.


A couple of the ducklings making their way under the rose bush that was outside the little building we were sitting in.


And there they go!


I wish this one had turned out more clearly! This guy was just so damn fast, though. A particular type of hummingbird moth, sometimes called a bumblebee moth. The more correct name is a "snowberry clearwing", but I also discovered that delightfully they are sometimes called "flying lobsters", and I kind of get it based on the shape of the tail.


A judgemental robin.


A towhee.


Koi! This guy was very dramatic. I also like the darker fish right next to him like a shadow.


Bluejay from below.


The unbothered bunny.


More koi in the Japanese garden. Pretty sure I take pictures of the one with the orange spot on the top of its head every time, ha.