Norah Bird goes to the Zoo

Once Upon A Time there was a little girl named Norah Bird whose parents were dying to take her to the zoo. They waited and waited until they felt she was old enough to appreciate the animals and actually gain anything from the experience (thereby justifying the price of zoo admission and parking). By 10 months old, they felt she was more than ready. So on Labor Day weekend they loaded her up in the car in time for her morning nap and headed to Philadelphia....where it poured relentlessly upon their arrival. With no sun in sight for the rest of the day, Norah's parents took her to check out the (indoor) Reading Terminal Market in Philly.

Daddy and Norah at the market.

The market wasn't too interesting but Norah enjoyed people-watching while her parents did some food shopping and eating. It was better than totally scrapping their drive to Philly because of the rain. Another lesson learned by Norah's parents this trip was that planning to drive during nap time doesn't necessarily ensure that Norah will nap in the car and awake refreshed for the day's activities.

A couple of weeks later, the weather was splendid and Norah's parents didn't have any plans. This made for the perfect opportunity to venture to the zoo again. This time they waited until after her morning nap and hit the trail. It was a gorgeous September day and the zoo critters were out in full swing. Their first stop (after the bathroom) was the Rare Animal Conservation Center. Norah and her parents enjoyed looking at the monkeys and other primates here. But those were nothing compared to the naked mole rats.

Norah getting up close and personal with the naked mole rats.

Photo op: Norah the Baboon!

Moving outside, Norah's parents couldn't agree on what to see first or which direction to go. So their visit was more of an aimless meandering punctuated by opportunistic viewing stops. Just how a zoo visit should be. Norah's parents quickly learned that Norah Bird was not too appreciative of some of the smaller and/or slower moving animals that were hard to see. So they saved some things like the reptile house for when she is older. They also realized that some things that were interesting to them, were not so interesting to Norah. Like the small tortoise who lumbered all the way over to our side of the exhibit just to munch on a leaf.

Lunchtime for the tortoise.

"Umm...I'm looking at a rock with legs?I don't get it."

The larger animals were what really captured and held Norah's attention. She very much enjoyed watching the three giraffes wander about their yard. Also high on Norah's list of favorites was the camel and pony rides. While she was too small to actually ride any sort of zoo animal, she got a kick out of watching them go round and round with small children on their backs.

1 - 2 - 3 Giraffes!

Flamingos are TALL!

The flamingos were pretty cool but they don't make much noise. So Norah wasn't as interested in them as her parents thought she would be. But the macaw. Oh, the macaw was a different story. Norah Bird finally found someone who speaks her language and was quickly engaged in a private conversation with a large, blue macaw who had a lot to say. It's almost like the macaw was waiting for someone just like Norah to tell his stories to.

Video Link: Norah and the Macaw

Of course, with all of the lions, rhinos, tigers, and bears at the zoo Norah also enjoyed some time with the small barnyard critters at the children's zoo. Norah's parents could've done just as well for her by visiting the farm up the road and saving themselves $50.

Daddy sneaking a shmuggle while Norah gazes at the chickies.

Bunnies!

Watching the mutt ducks swim.

Daddy charming the goofy pigeon.

Even more amusing were the non-exhibit animals that we could find on any street corner: the pigeons. These guys are used to getting handouts from zoo visitors who feed the ducks and so they were quite tame and very funny looking to Norah. Of course, Daddy wants to see his little Norah Bird smile and so he decided to break out his pigeon-charming talents.

Video Link: Norah and Daddy the Pigeon Whisperer

Daddy and Norah Bird

Clearly, birds are Norah's thing. Lucky for her, they're her mama's thing too. Norah's mom was really looking forward to taking her in the aviary. Unfortunately strollers were not permitted in the aviary so Norah's dad had to hang outside. But Norah thoroughly enjoyed many close encounters with all things feathered.

Mommy and Norah Bird outside the Aviary.

All in all, Norah's first trip to a real zoo was a success. It certainly beat their earlier trip to the local Brandywine Park "Zoo" which was less than impressive (Blog Link: 7 month tidbits). And Norah had such a blast that she completely missed her afternoon nap which she immediately cashed in on as soon as she got back to the car to head home.

Sleepy, shmuggy Norah Bird.

The End.