Tag Archives: penguins

WMEO BREAKING NEWS ALERT – Nature Desk – A Golden Penguin

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A bold red and orange graphic displaying the words “Breaking News” in large white capital letters with dynamic streaks suggesting urgency.

 

A newsroom desk with a microphone and papers arranged neatly on top, featuring a blue WMEO 9 logo on the front and a blurred wall of screens in the background.

WMEO BREAKING NEWS ALERT – Nature Desk

— We Meow, You Listen

 

Golden Penguin Sighted

An orange cat zooms across the WMEO 9 news desk during a live broadcast while a black cat hides underneath the desk, peeking out toward the camera.

The newsroom is in chaos this morning as a rare and radiant visitor makes headlines. Co‑anchors Banner and Balboa are all a‑twitter — literally and figuratively. Meanwhile, Balboa has already taken shelter under the News Desk, while Banner has completed two full laps of zoomies around the studio.

As a result, if everyone can please regain composure, we’ll begin our report.

 

 

Banner:

Good morning, viewers. We have extraordinary news from Mother Nature — a discovery more rare than a GoldenAn orange cat and a black cat sit behind the WMEO 9 news desk like anchors, with a microphone and papers in front of them and a blurred newsroom backdrop behind the desk. Compass, more serene than a Golden Pond, and more unexpected than a Golden Child. Moreover, this marvel is a one‑in‑30,000 phenomenon, and to the best of our knowledge, has never been documented before.

It’s a Golden Penguin.

Balboa:

Yes, you heard that correctly. A real golden penguin. This particular bird is believed to be the first confirmed sighting, and it has ignited scientific curiosity across the globe.

Banner:

The penguin’s striking coloration comes from a condition called leucism, which affects pigmentation and results in that stunning golden hue.

Balboa:

The bird was spotted among roughly 120,000 king penguins on a remote island — a single shimmering beacon in a sea of black‑and‑white tuxedos.

A rare yellow‑and‑white penguin standing on a rocky shoreline near the ocean, its bright coloration contrasting with the dark pebbles and waves behind it.

Banner:

However, although the penguin was first seen in April 2025, the story didn’t travel fast. Consequently, only now is it spreading through the news feed, capturing hearts and headlines alike.

Balboa:

Such beauty. Such rarity. WMEO salutes this golden wonder of the natural world.

An orange cat and a black cat sit behind the WMEO 9 news desk in a studio setting, with a message on the front panel that reads “Thank you for watching.”

This has been a WMEO Breaking News Alert from the Nature Desk.

We Meow. You Listen.

 

 

Mystic Aquarium Part 2

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Yes, I know this has taken me awhile but here it is. How we spent the 2nd half of our trip.

Lunch was at the Penguin Cafe.

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Although there were a few tables inside in the air conditioning they were all taken. Most seating was outside under the big umbrellas. Lunch was simple fast food, hot dogs, fries or onion rings, hamburgers, chicken fingers etc. I think we filled up on drinks because we were all sweating so bad.

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After lunch we headed inside the Aquarium. Here the lighting was subdued. It was crowded. There was a shark/ray touch tank, a jellies display, a large variety of different tanks showcasing the various environments such as river, pond, rain forest etc. All enjoyable and all pretty much the usual fare.

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The Sea Lion Show was  a bit different from the ones I’ve usually seen. It started with a seal being paraded around right in front of the audience and then the show itself seemed to concentrate more on natural behaviors than the contrived tricks you normally see. It was both educational and fun.

From there we went back outside to cross to another building where there was a special display about Frogs and the theater. We watched the Angry Birds short movie (15 minutes) in 4 D so yes, we felt the wind blow and water sprinkled over us while the action on the screen seemed to jump out at us.

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After the movie we exited into the special exhibit area where a shark cage was predominantly displayed so you could take pictures. There was a reptile section with american alligators and the special frogs exhibit. Getting photos of the frogs was hard because of the crowds around each display. I tried to get a picture of the poison tree frogs , both tiny and brightly colored, but it was very difficult through the glass of their terrariums.

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Following the Frog Exhibit we headed back outside, through the marsh again. The frogs and turtles were still hanging out but we didn’t linger. We were headed for the penguin display.

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I made the mistake of going into the air conditioned lower level to see the penguins as they swam underwater. When I came back out the heat and humidity fogged the camera lens. As far as I know there is nothing to do but wait when that happens. Wiping it off doesn’t seem to work.

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Sadly it was still fogged when we went past the Northern Fur Seal exhibit and Mr. Seal was posing and grooming on a rock.

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It made it impossible to get  clear photos. I was surprised how big Mr. Fur Seal is. For some reason I always thought they were smaller animals.

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One last stop at the Beluga exhibit and it was time to leave. I think everyone was tired from the heat but it was a good, relaxing day. Well worth the drive.

 

 

A Whale of a Day

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Monday past was a beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold and not humid. The weather forecast for Tuesday was more “iffy” so I made the always difficult decision to go to Boston on Monday.

Boston is a great city. I used to love going in to spend the day. That was before the “Big Dig”. No matter where you live you’ve probably heard a lot about Boston’s Big Dig. It was supposed to make travel into Boston easier and quicker. After years of traffic delays while they worked on it, it is now finished and traffic is worse! The expressway never clears out. 1 1/2 hour drive before is now 3 hours. The MBTA is crowded and hot. Not a pleasant experience and not much faster.

After much deliberation I prepared to drive into Boston and pay the exorbitant parking fees ($40-$50 for the day depending on which garage wasn’t full) but as I neared RT 128 I turned on the WBZ traffic on the 3’s and learned that even at 10:30 am the expressway was still tied up. The residual backup was all the way back onto RT 128. So change of plans, I went to Quincy Adams station on the Redline and took the “T” in.

To get to my destination, Aquarium station, I rode the Red line to Park St. where I changed to the green line to get to Government Center Station where I changed to the Blue Line to get to the Aquarium stop. Arrival time…1pm. 2 hours from parking at 11am to arrival at 1pm.

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I had a combo ticket for a whale watch at 2pm and admission to the aquarium. I had to dash into the Aquarium where I had 1/2 hour before boarding.

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I grabbed a hot dog as I ran out the doors to get in line to board the catamaran.

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That was an expensive 30 minute visit to the Aquarium. I won’t do that again.

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They crammed a lot of people onto the boat. There was minimal seating outside. Most seating was inside so everyone tended to line the railings. A family with  very active children offered me a seat. The mother said “you might as well take it, they will never sit still.” That gives you some idea of the atmosphere. 🙂

As we left Boston Harbor we passed Boston Light, with a glimpse of Graves Light beyond it.

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Then came Minot Ledge light.

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We also saw the Nantucket Light Ship.

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We were on our way to Stellwagon bank, an underwater ledge that is a prime feeding ground for humpback whales. The southern end of the banks is near Provincetown on Cape Cod. That was where we went with Captain John’s Whale Watch and saw the fin backs.

I’m hoping since the New England Aquarium Whale Watch stresses the humpback whales  that we’ll actually see some this time. If we do, I wonder if I’ll get close enough to the rail to get any pictures. In the meantime I will enjoy the boat ride.