FRIDAY'S HUNT and WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

I am linking to Fridays Hunt and Weekend Reflections and this week the letter is F, Self Portrait and New.  I took this SELF PORTRAIT below when I had to submit a shot of myself when joining EXTRAS NI.  I have been used as an extra in a few films now but I have had to turn more down more than I have done due to my many travels and other commitments!

This is me again in my NEW pencil skirt and blouse I bought in N.I but the sandals I bought in Malawi.  

For F I am showing you the FLAMINGOS I photographed at the

 Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam and there are certainly plenty of REFLECTIONS in these images.  

With vibrant pink and orange plumage that seems sunset-inspired, flamingos are some of the best dressed birds in the avian world. They weren't born that way, though! Baby flamingos are actually born with grey feathers that changes colour according to their diet.

Their distinctive pink colour develops over time thanks to their selective diet. A flamingo's diet primarily consists of aquatic organisms — such as shrimp and algae — high in pigments called carotenoids. Captive flamingos are feed a special diet that includes prawns (a pigmented crustacean) or additives such as beta-carotene or canthaxanthin, otherwise they would be white or pale pink.  

Carotenoids are the same pigments that cause shrimp to turn from grey to pink when they're boiled. Carotenoids are essential to maintaining the flamingo's signature colour. If a flamingo were to adopt a meal plan similar to other birds who feast on insects, seeds, or berries, its feathers would eventually become white or a faded pale pink.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Many thanks for visiting and also for your comments.