Hey all,
I visited Birdworld just today (28/03/2022) and had a great time. The review below is just a summary of my thoughts on the various exhibits around the zoo, as well as a couple of potential areas of improvement. If anyone else who has visited wants to chime in, that would be great - would be very interested to hear your thoughts.
Under the spoiler is also a list of species that are listed on ZTL but weren't signed as of today, so if someone with the power to do so could, it would be much appreciated if they could alter the ZTL listings accordingly.
Starting with the exhibits around the entrance - as you enter the first thing you see is a rather dishevelled cage for a pair of Blue-throated macaws. They appear happy enough but the cage doesn't appear to be in the greatest of conditions and the macaws could definitely have a larger enclosure. Then there is a small waterfowl lake, with as I understand used to have a few nice taxa such as Black-necked swans but now is home only to Mallards and a lone Black swan.
To the left is the Temperate House, which is a nice building with 6 aviaries inside. The first four are indoors and quite low, holding Hoopoes, Luzon bleeding hearts, a Snowy-crowned robin chat and Chestnut-backed thrushes. The second holds a Bearded barbet and Chestnut-backed thrushes. Third is a small exhibit for Asian blue quails. The fourth and last of the smaller indoor aviaries holds a large flock of Black-cheeked lovebirds, a lone (?) Golden-shouldered parrot and three Wonga pigeons. To the right is a walkthrough area with a small water feature and some plant growth, but due to the Avian Flu outbreak all walkthrough areas in the park were closed. As a result, no birds were on display in that exhibit. Finally there was an outdoor aviary for Pink-necked fruit dove and Asian glossy starling along with a few other species already seen in the house. On the whole, the Temperate House was quite a nice exhibit, particularly the outdoor aviary to the left but the smaller indoor aviaries were too low and offered too little privacy. I found that the lovebird exhibit in particular was too small for the number of birds it accommodated.
Nearby is a row of aviaries with a few slightly odd mixes - species there include the fairly rare Senegal turaco, Red-necked Sulawesi ground doves, Von der Decken's hornbills and so on in some odd mixes. Nevertheless, suitable aviaries in my opinion, although they could do with a bit more space. I found also (as a side note) that the turaco collection at the zoo was outstanding, with White-cheeked, White-crested, Senegal, Schalow's, Lady Ross's, Emin's, Fischer's and Red-crested all exhibited and active.
Beyond that are a couple of rotundas of aviaries, with the first housing pheasants and other ground-based birds in large exhibits (Reeves's and Lady Amherst's pheasants, Temminck's tragopan, Seriemas) and the other housing a large variety of species from all over (Pied imperial pigeon, kookaburra, Pink pigeon, Monal, Argus, Superb starlings, mynas) which were all very good exhibits.
Then followed a couple of fairly bog standard and oddly-placed exhibits housing Striated caracaras, Turkey vultures and a mixed aviary for Chilean flamingos, Plumed whistling ducks, WFWDs and Bahama pintail. These aviaries gave way to the Owl Parliament, an intriguing and well designed wooden series of exhibits with lots of theming and some nice signage. The exhibits were all nice but more privacy would be appreciated for the owls and the species list appears to have dwindled of late, with at least three or four species of owl no longer present at the zoo. It was however a very nice exhibit and one of the highlights in my mind.
Around the corner are the Crescent Aviaries, a long series of cages for predominantly Asian birds. Species there included: Red-vented bulbul, Asian black bulbul, various turacos, Black hornbills and so on). Generally fine aviaries, nothing special and could be a bit larger in places.
Then up from here is where the zoo gets interesting. A series of three excellent walkthrough aviaries follows. While the walkthroughs were closed today due to the Avian flue epidemic, the aviaries remained visible from the outside so I got some nice views of the inhabitants and the habitats themselves. The Seashore Walk aviary is the first of the three, comprising around 14 species including Spectacled eiders, Inca terns, Redshanks, Masked lapwings, African spoonbills and Waldrapp ibis. A very odd mix for sure but a nice exhibit and the animals were very active, particularly the terns. Next was a mixed aviary with Greater flamingos, pintails and whistling ducks which I couldn't get a great view of but also looked good.
The third large walkthrough was for African penguins and a whole host of predominantly African species in a lovely exhibit - definitely one of the best I've seen for the species and a great (but again very odd) mix. Highlights were of course the last two Bank cormorants in Europe, although the Red-winged starlings were a lovely touch as well. The exhibit held: Red-crested pochard, Mandarin duck, Wood duck, Red-winged starling, Bank cormorant, African penguin, Blacksmith lapwing, Guinea pigeon, Black-crowned night heron and I'm sure a few others. Overall an outstanding exhibit - probably the most memorable of the visit.
As well as these, there was a large mixed parrot aviary for Green-winged macaws, Sulphur-crested cockatoos, Salmon-crested cockatoos, Yellow-naped amazons, Yellow-crowned amazons, Alexandrine parrots, Burrowing parrots and Congo grey parrots. It was nice but very barren, so hardly any privacy for the birds. Beyond this was a fairly recent and well-executed development in Outback Landing which held Budgerigars, Zebra finches, Diamond doves and Wonga pigeons.
However the zoo was not all good - there was a row of aviaries for lorikeets and lories which was in dire need of an upgrade, with parrots living in tiny barren exhibits. It was really quite bad and I hope that situation is remedied as quickly as possible. There is also a row of hornbill and toucan exhibits, much better this time with some lovely species. Finally in the top section of the zoo are a few large exhibits for pelicans, emus, rheas, cranes and white storks, as well as a nice farm area.
Overall, a nice little place - I spent around three hours there but the entire thing can be seen in an hour and a half without any issue. Most birds were active and in large enclosures, but there were certainly lowpoints that the zoo needs to fix, with the immediate priority being the lorikeet and lory aviaries as mentioned and then perhaps on expanding certain undeveloped areas to pave the way for more species - Pesquet's parrots, kiwis and more waterfowl would be ideal for this zoo in my opinion.
I visited Birdworld just today (28/03/2022) and had a great time. The review below is just a summary of my thoughts on the various exhibits around the zoo, as well as a couple of potential areas of improvement. If anyone else who has visited wants to chime in, that would be great - would be very interested to hear your thoughts.
Under the spoiler is also a list of species that are listed on ZTL but weren't signed as of today, so if someone with the power to do so could, it would be much appreciated if they could alter the ZTL listings accordingly.
Starting with the exhibits around the entrance - as you enter the first thing you see is a rather dishevelled cage for a pair of Blue-throated macaws. They appear happy enough but the cage doesn't appear to be in the greatest of conditions and the macaws could definitely have a larger enclosure. Then there is a small waterfowl lake, with as I understand used to have a few nice taxa such as Black-necked swans but now is home only to Mallards and a lone Black swan.
To the left is the Temperate House, which is a nice building with 6 aviaries inside. The first four are indoors and quite low, holding Hoopoes, Luzon bleeding hearts, a Snowy-crowned robin chat and Chestnut-backed thrushes. The second holds a Bearded barbet and Chestnut-backed thrushes. Third is a small exhibit for Asian blue quails. The fourth and last of the smaller indoor aviaries holds a large flock of Black-cheeked lovebirds, a lone (?) Golden-shouldered parrot and three Wonga pigeons. To the right is a walkthrough area with a small water feature and some plant growth, but due to the Avian Flu outbreak all walkthrough areas in the park were closed. As a result, no birds were on display in that exhibit. Finally there was an outdoor aviary for Pink-necked fruit dove and Asian glossy starling along with a few other species already seen in the house. On the whole, the Temperate House was quite a nice exhibit, particularly the outdoor aviary to the left but the smaller indoor aviaries were too low and offered too little privacy. I found that the lovebird exhibit in particular was too small for the number of birds it accommodated.
Nearby is a row of aviaries with a few slightly odd mixes - species there include the fairly rare Senegal turaco, Red-necked Sulawesi ground doves, Von der Decken's hornbills and so on in some odd mixes. Nevertheless, suitable aviaries in my opinion, although they could do with a bit more space. I found also (as a side note) that the turaco collection at the zoo was outstanding, with White-cheeked, White-crested, Senegal, Schalow's, Lady Ross's, Emin's, Fischer's and Red-crested all exhibited and active.
Beyond that are a couple of rotundas of aviaries, with the first housing pheasants and other ground-based birds in large exhibits (Reeves's and Lady Amherst's pheasants, Temminck's tragopan, Seriemas) and the other housing a large variety of species from all over (Pied imperial pigeon, kookaburra, Pink pigeon, Monal, Argus, Superb starlings, mynas) which were all very good exhibits.
Then followed a couple of fairly bog standard and oddly-placed exhibits housing Striated caracaras, Turkey vultures and a mixed aviary for Chilean flamingos, Plumed whistling ducks, WFWDs and Bahama pintail. These aviaries gave way to the Owl Parliament, an intriguing and well designed wooden series of exhibits with lots of theming and some nice signage. The exhibits were all nice but more privacy would be appreciated for the owls and the species list appears to have dwindled of late, with at least three or four species of owl no longer present at the zoo. It was however a very nice exhibit and one of the highlights in my mind.
Around the corner are the Crescent Aviaries, a long series of cages for predominantly Asian birds. Species there included: Red-vented bulbul, Asian black bulbul, various turacos, Black hornbills and so on). Generally fine aviaries, nothing special and could be a bit larger in places.
Then up from here is where the zoo gets interesting. A series of three excellent walkthrough aviaries follows. While the walkthroughs were closed today due to the Avian flue epidemic, the aviaries remained visible from the outside so I got some nice views of the inhabitants and the habitats themselves. The Seashore Walk aviary is the first of the three, comprising around 14 species including Spectacled eiders, Inca terns, Redshanks, Masked lapwings, African spoonbills and Waldrapp ibis. A very odd mix for sure but a nice exhibit and the animals were very active, particularly the terns. Next was a mixed aviary with Greater flamingos, pintails and whistling ducks which I couldn't get a great view of but also looked good.
The third large walkthrough was for African penguins and a whole host of predominantly African species in a lovely exhibit - definitely one of the best I've seen for the species and a great (but again very odd) mix. Highlights were of course the last two Bank cormorants in Europe, although the Red-winged starlings were a lovely touch as well. The exhibit held: Red-crested pochard, Mandarin duck, Wood duck, Red-winged starling, Bank cormorant, African penguin, Blacksmith lapwing, Guinea pigeon, Black-crowned night heron and I'm sure a few others. Overall an outstanding exhibit - probably the most memorable of the visit.
As well as these, there was a large mixed parrot aviary for Green-winged macaws, Sulphur-crested cockatoos, Salmon-crested cockatoos, Yellow-naped amazons, Yellow-crowned amazons, Alexandrine parrots, Burrowing parrots and Congo grey parrots. It was nice but very barren, so hardly any privacy for the birds. Beyond this was a fairly recent and well-executed development in Outback Landing which held Budgerigars, Zebra finches, Diamond doves and Wonga pigeons.
However the zoo was not all good - there was a row of aviaries for lorikeets and lories which was in dire need of an upgrade, with parrots living in tiny barren exhibits. It was really quite bad and I hope that situation is remedied as quickly as possible. There is also a row of hornbill and toucan exhibits, much better this time with some lovely species. Finally in the top section of the zoo are a few large exhibits for pelicans, emus, rheas, cranes and white storks, as well as a nice farm area.
Overall, a nice little place - I spent around three hours there but the entire thing can be seen in an hour and a half without any issue. Most birds were active and in large enclosures, but there were certainly lowpoints that the zoo needs to fix, with the immediate priority being the lorikeet and lory aviaries as mentioned and then perhaps on expanding certain undeveloped areas to pave the way for more species - Pesquet's parrots, kiwis and more waterfowl would be ideal for this zoo in my opinion.
. Would love to hear your thoughts on the zoo when you visit in due course.