Hummingbirds, Frogs & Turtles - San Diego Botanic Garden - April 14, 2012

We held the April group shoot for the San Diego DSLR Photography Group at the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas this morning. It was mostly cold and windy, and rained for part of the time we were there. That was not going to stop us from having a good time though. Since it was so windy I didn't bother trying to get close-up flower pictures, and instead headed straight for the big pond with the lily pads, frogs and turtles. That turned out to be a good decision.

The water lilies (I think that's what they are) are beautiful this time of year. When you looked closely, every now and then you could spot a frog or turtle popping its head up between the leaves.

The turtles have a distinctive red stripe on the sides of their heads.

At least the cactus was fairly stable in the wind.

The chia-mariachi players are great.

There is a large stand of Pride of Madiera plants not too far from the entrance. At one point the sun peaked out from behind the clouds for bit and provided a bit of side-lighting. 

Then, just as it started to rain again a hummingbird showed up. You can see the rain drops in last 3 shots.

Click here to see a few more images from the San Diego DSLR Photography Group's April group shoot at the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas, California.