05/03/15 Wildlife Prairie Park Zoo: Peoria, IL

A photogenic peacock at Wildlife Prairie Park Zoo outside Peoria, IL

On May 3rd, I ventured to Wildlife Prairie Park Zoo near Edwards, IL. I spent most of the morning and early afternoon photographing some of the animals at this zoo with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 II L IS lens. It was another superb spring day to be outdoors. Once again, I was able to capture some great shots of the animals on this day as was the case last summer as well seen here. I've added photos I shot from this particular day below:

 An amazing bald eagle

 A goat posing for a photo!

 I was quite happy to finally photograph a peacock at this zoo...

Love this shot!

Not one, but two bald eagles in one shot!

 I shot quite a few shots of the peacocks that were out-n'-about of course...

 A white fox

 Quack, quack, quack...

Magnificent!

The goats really cooperated on this morning!

A close-up of the bald eagle!

A chipmunk ran out in front of my path and posed for a quick photo!

 One of the most photogenic animals to photograph indeed!

I thought this was a cool shot as well...

Quite a photogenic goat!

 Wowsers, thanks to the sun angle!

 Another duck...

 A noisy chicken

 Ducks, were quite plentiful at this zoo...

 Another peacock shot!

 I took way too many photos of these guys...

 "On the move"

 A wolf

 Another neat shot!

 One more to end the day on...

Another successful day of photography in the books. I'll update once again when I find some more down time to venture outdoors once again...

05/02/15 Glen Oak Park Zoo: Peoria, IL

A Bengal tiger relaxing on a tranquil spring morning at Glen Oak Park Zoo in Peoria, IL

On May 2nd, I visited Glen Oak Park Zoo in Peoria, IL in hope to capture some worthy photos of the animals on a beautiful spring day. I spent most of the day in the park photographing the animals with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 II L IS lens. This was my first time using this particular lens at a zoo after purchasing it a couple months ago. I was very pleased with the results especially shooting through fences. It did an amazing job! I actually visited this zoo last summer as well seen here. Anyhow, I've posted several great images of the animals I photographed during the day below:

 A mandrill striking a pose!

Zebras

 "Sleeping giant"

"Peak-a-boo"

One of two giraffes

An antelope grazing!

"Be afraid, very afraid"

 I was quite pleased with this shot!

A sea lion taking a swim...

One of my favorites of the zebras!

One of the tigers lounging around again...

The mandrill grabbing a snack...

"The men who stare at goats"

A close-up of the Bengal tiger!

"Love at first sight"

A male lion

A colobus monkey!

Another giraffe shot!

A rhino you don't want to mess with...

A female lion!

"Bout to pounce"

Another goat relaxing...

The male lion once again...

Another favorite!

 A peacock

 A fairly large toad

 The giraffes were definitely out-n'-about...

 Beautiful!

 A wider angle of the female lion...

 "Eye contact"

 One last photo from the day...

This was a very successful day of photography as the animals definitely enjoyed the amazing spring weather which allowed me to capture some great shots. On May 3rd I visited another local zoo and I'll feature photos from that day in another upcoming post.