Red knots have also been confirmed, as have horseshoe crabs. The latest of the zoos magazine (I forget the new name) confirmed that whooping cranes will be returning to the outdoor yards when the area reopens, and obviously the flamingos.
Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2019
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Red knots have also been confirmed, as have horseshoe crabs. The latest of the zoos magazine (I forget the new name) confirmed that whooping cranes will be returning to the outdoor yards when the area reopens, and obviously the flamingos.
I think we can expect some warbler species as well.
~Thylo
~Thylo
AmbikaFan
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I'm reminded by the renderings that the main skylight will be replaced as a pyramid-shaped one running the length of the building. This will be clear and not translucent like the old one, so this and the clerestory windows should make the tired space just sparkle. The document didn't indicate, but if this will also happen to the first-floor skylights, the original architect's vision of light airyness will have really been recreated.
The term "migratory bird center" has been used to describe the renovation so heavily that I really thought the entire bird house would serve this purpose. In fact, only about 25% of the additional 3,000 square feet will be devoted to this.
Has the night heron colony been on site this whole time? And the other large birds? To carry on construction without disrupting habitats so close by is a real accomplishment.
Does anyone know if the exhibit area around the back is going to be made smaller as the diagrams suggest? I forgot to mention that the trellis is staying, although it's unclear if any work will be done to it.
The term "migratory bird center" has been used to describe the renovation so heavily that I really thought the entire bird house would serve this purpose. In fact, only about 25% of the additional 3,000 square feet will be devoted to this.
Has the night heron colony been on site this whole time? And the other large birds? To carry on construction without disrupting habitats so close by is a real accomplishment.
Does anyone know if the exhibit area around the back is going to be made smaller as the diagrams suggest? I forgot to mention that the trellis is staying, although it's unclear if any work will be done to it.
I don't know if the captive birds like crane and flamingo are their during construction. I do know that the night heron group is migratory so efforts will be done to concentrate exterior work while they move to their wintering grounds. I imagine the zoo fears that even one season of interruption may lead the colony to not return at all in the future. The zoo posted this interesting map showing where the herons go when they depart DC.
Black-crowned Night Heron Expedition Blog
The plans seem to not include the plateau as part of the scope of the project. So work may very will be done back their, although the plans don't seem to indicate much change as of now (though that could be an entirely different planning application). If you look on google maps you can see their was always 2 rows of exhibits behind the building. The inner row was not visible ever, and the outer ring was. This outer ring is where the flamingos can be seen.
AmbikaFan
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I don't know how to extract it, but a diagram in Andrew's first link showed the heron colony space to be much larger and in a different direction than the inner row between what we see and the building. It covers an area that starts up near the very first enclosures by the trellis--and indeed overlaps some of those--and extends away from the building across the walking path. The area is not parallel to the building, but perpendicular, extending to the off-limits service road. It covers a large space on the left of the path at the back that long ago exhibited an ostrich. I wonder now if this is why that enclosure has remained empty since? To keep that space dedicated for the herons?
What aviaries are you looking at? The article I linked earlier says:
"Animal care staff have made a significant effort to find new homes for birds that will not be a part of “Experience Migration.” Typically, bird specialists work together within AZA accredited zoos to transfer birds for breeding and renewing exhibits. The rest of the Zoo’s indoor birds will move to temporary housing in behind-the-scenes locations around the Zoo. Birds that inhabit the Zoo’s outdoor habitats may be moved pending construction."
And as far as i'm aware the flamingos are already back in their yard, as theirs was the only one of the outdoor exhibits that was gonna get any type of renovation, which has been completed already.
Well I imagine displacing a large migratory population of bird, protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for a captive bird species would not be popular. The birds don’t use s single tree they kinda are all over the plateau when there, as their are 100+ pairs each year. I always found it to be interesting place to see them as usually this species would not nest in large densities not abutting a waterway. My discussion of inner row and outer row was more in the context of the exhibit layout and design outside being largely static.
If you look at some of the newest imagery on google earth you can see 2 small buildings with attached aviaries on the hill close to the apartment buildings abutting the zoos South side. They were only erected in past 2 years as prior they did not exist.
AmbikaFan
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On page 22 of your link, labelled page 10 of the appendix, is a map of the back yard as it was prior to renovation. The large pink J-shaped area running perpindicular to the building is/was the night heron habitat, as indicated by the color key.
Page 29/44, page labelled 21 at the bottom and captioned "Erosion Management" shows that the back yard is indeed going to be smaller, roughly half of the depth shown on the rhea side in the aforementioned diagram. What used to be the first row of exhibits Andrew described as being between the building and the exhibits that we could see now will be the visible exhibits, with no holding space behind them.
This latter page shows one long narrow holding structure to built outside the path, roughly where the flamingo pool used to be. If that's where one of the Google Earth
buildings is, then it's a permanent addition. According to the map, this building sits between the path and the flamingo yard. As there would be no viewing possible, I suspect that an arrow is missing pointing to a new pool directly abutting the bird house on the right side of the path.
(If my page references above don't look to add up, it's because the pages of the appendix fall out of numerical order.)
Page 29/44, page labelled 21 at the bottom and captioned "Erosion Management" shows that the back yard is indeed going to be smaller, roughly half of the depth shown on the rhea side in the aforementioned diagram. What used to be the first row of exhibits Andrew described as being between the building and the exhibits that we could see now will be the visible exhibits, with no holding space behind them.
This latter page shows one long narrow holding structure to built outside the path, roughly where the flamingo pool used to be. If that's where one of the Google Earth
buildings is, then it's a permanent addition. According to the map, this building sits between the path and the flamingo yard. As there would be no viewing possible, I suspect that an arrow is missing pointing to a new pool directly abutting the bird house on the right side of the path.
(If my page references above don't look to add up, it's because the pages of the appendix fall out of numerical order.)
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Zooplantman
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Very perceptive!
I still don't see what you're talking about. Is it the building with the two blue bins next to it?
That doesn't even show up for me. Thanks for failing me Google!
Were you using google maps or google earth? Because the later updates rather regularly, while maps may only give you one new image every 2 years for urban areas.
Look no ones ever accused me of being a smart person
AmbikaFan
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There are two HUGE white grids on Google Earth that are clearly aviaries! Together, they comprise over half the size of the bird house! They're not on the plans, so they must be temporary. The long blue side of the one furthest from the Bird House may be the permanent building to be added; the other blue rectangle is just a tarp, and the other rectangular structure is a contractor's trailer near the construction access on Hawthorne Street. This does show that the new flamingo yard is right against the Bird House.
AmbikaFan
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