I didn’t set out to do a Saturday Surprise post this week, for I’m working on two posts of a more serious nature. But, when I popped over to The Guardian to get some additional information for one of those posts, I was drawn by their weekly feature, The Week In Wildlife, for its teaser had a giant panda resting in a tree, and I’m a sucker for cute pandas! So, after scrolling through the pictures, finding several delightful ones, I decided the serious stuff could wait for a bit and we would start our weekend off with a bit of appreciation for the wonders of nature!
A bee is attracted to the pollen of poppies at Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore, Los Angeles, US. Officials announced that the popular poppy fields will be closed until the wildflower bloom has subsided Photograph: Ringo Chiu/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock
A male wreathed hornbill in Khao Yai national park, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, just before Valentine’s Day. The hornbill is the symbol of eternal love in the country Photograph: Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters
A koala at a rehabilitation centre in Namadgi national park in Canberra, Australia Photograph: Jonas Ekströmer/TT/Rex/Shutterstock
An endangered white-tailed sea eagle flies through the snow after capturing a fish in the Namdae stream in Gangneung, South Korea Photograph: Yonhap/EPA
Horses on the Yudaokou pasture in Chengde, Hebei province, China Photograph: Xinhua/Alamy Live News
A robin welcomes February sunshine in Duddingston, Edinburgh, UK Photograph: Arch White/Alamy Live News
Wild goats roam close to the city in heavy snow near Tehran, Iran. In cold weather wildlife comes closer to urban areas looking for food Photograph: Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images
A woman takes a photo of a swan on the Grand Canal in Portobello, Dublin, Ireland Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
Tawny owls at the SSPCA’s national wildlife rescue centre in Fishcross, Clackmannanshire, UK Photograph: Colin Seddon/PA
A flock of birds flies past the silhouettes of pedestrians crossing Saint-Pierre bridge in Toulouse, France Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
Plum blossom in the snow at Xiangshui Lake scenic area in Beijing, China Photograph: VCG/Getty Images
A giant panda dozes in a tree at the conservation and research centre for giant pandas in Wenchuan, China Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock
A monkey eats yoghurt from a clay pot discarded by people at a marketplace in Delhi, India Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
A flock of snow geese about 50,000 strong takes off from the Middle Creek wildlife management area near Kleinfeltersville, Pennsylvania, US. A new strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading through flocks Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
An endangered monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar prepares to shed its skin as it starts to form its chrysalis in a garden in Christchurch, New Zealand Photograph: Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
Milu deer forage in the snow at Daqingshan national nature reserve in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China Photograph: VCG/Getty Images
A yellow-vented bulbul feeds on an insect at Garden by the Bay in Singapore Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
I hope you enjoyed the critters this morning … isn’t nature awesome? Have a wonderful weekend ahead, my friends!
Filosofa's Word 
greatly enjoyed those lovely pics. the 2nd one with ‘only’ a terrifyingly large beak…. this morning we had so many birds singing as if it were already spring forever!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad you enjoyed the pics … a nice change from my usual dark fare, eh? Spring seems to have arrived here, with temperatures like they usually are in May!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wait ~ you’re saying that short term profit was passed over in favor of long term viability ~ in the United States? O. M. G. There’s hope for this world yet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happens every now and then, but sadly, not enough to make a difference.
LikeLike
So true. Hopefully, these efforts are like the first bricks loosening in a dyke preparing to flood the land with new nourishment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wouldn’t count on it. Sigh.
LikeLike
What a treat! Thank you for the photos, Jill.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Always my pleasure, Jenny! I thought maybe we all needed a break from the dark stuff!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My tongue got tied trying to read the creditations under the beautiful pictures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t even try to pronounce them! Glad you enjoyed the pictures, though!
LikeLike
These are such beautiful photos! Nature really is amazing. Pandas are such adorable creatures and I wanna nestle up for a nap like that fella right now.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Many moons ago, we lived in the mountains and nature was just outside our door. Today, I live in the suburbs, but I still manage to find nature outside my door in the squirrels that visit for the peanuts I put out each morning, and the birds who come say ‘Hi’ in exchange for the bird seed I put out! And every now and then, a rabbit happens by! Nature is far preferable to tall buildings, noisy airplanes, and fume-belching cars, not to mention people pushing and shoving one another.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Living in the mountains sounds just lively!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was peaceful. Looking back, I didn’t properly appreciate it at the time, for I was a city girl and missed the hustle and the bustle. Now, I’m sick of the hustle and bustle!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wanna nestle up for a nap WITH that fella right now! ☺️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Me too!!!!!
LikeLike
Beautiful.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Glad you enjoyed them!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“An endangered white-tailed sea eagle”
If that eagle is endangered, what can we say about the poor fish he made off with?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Believe it or not, I had the same thought.
LikeLike
So, there is still hope for you. 🙂 Maybe, with a little bit of work and goodwill, you’ll join the light side soon and condemn America’s foul play.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My friend … I recognize and have often condemned America’s ‘foul play’ as well as that of every other nation. But, what you see as foul play often varies from what I see as fair play regardless of the nation. Let’s put aside what nation we live in for the moment, for my nationality and yours are both simply a matter of chance, where we were born, not a choice we consciously made.
LikeLike
Oh, I beg to differ, having chosen to be a permanent resident of South Africa and more or less turned our backs on Germany and the EU and the collective West. Believe me, if we didn’t have to show up there at least once a year we’d never return. Never ever.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes … you’re right, in your case. How could I have forgotten that?
LikeLike
It’s my life mantra: Leave no trace! I enter your presence … and I leave as easily. I’m easy to forget, like I was never here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣🤣 Hardly forgettable, my friend!!!
LikeLike
Oh sorry. That wasn’t my intention or purpose. 😐
LikeLiked by 1 person
All the wonders of Nature, just wonderful, Jill…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
LikeLike