Only a few days ago I said "oh, it'll take another week or two" and then I finished it really quick after that. I feel like that's happened before...
Oh well...
I present to you; the biggest aviary within the Netted Gardens... Welcome to De Savanne!
Based on the Wetlands and Bushlands of the great East African lakes, the giant Savanna aviary is over slightly over 1.7 hectares in size, meaning the entirety of Burgers' Bush could fit comfortably inside it. It also means you could fit Antwerp's Buffalo aviary, Beauval's Hippopotamus aviary, Artis' Polder aviary AND Amersfoort's Snavelrijk aviary inside De Savanne without them touching, and still having enough room to fit in every Meerkat enclosure in the Benelux... Well, at least I think. I haven't specifically measured that last bit...
Before we start with the tour of the aviary I'm going to start with some general information. Let's start us off with the plant life...
Now, you might not think of great bushland areas when you think of the Netherlands, but we certainly have some regions in our country that look almost identical to the African bushland. One of which I practically grew up in: The Loonsche dunes!
Let's compare...
This is the landscape of the Kilimanjaro mountain in Tanzania near the Kenyan border.
This is the landscape of the Loonsche dunes in Brabant near the Belgian border.
Now, a big part of the reason that the Dutch dunes look so similar to the African bushland is because of two plants. Two plants that are, of course, going to be used a lot in De Savanne aviary. The first is common heather, which was shown in the comparison. The second, which wasn't shown in the google maps spot I picked, is my favourite tree: the Scots pine!
The Scots pine is usually a rather dull tree, growing as any basic pine tree, though a little taller than most. However, when not surrounded by other trees, the Scots pine grows to be
wonderfully wide,
delightfully shaped,
amazingly grandiose, and
I'm running out of ways to describe them but here's another photo. In general, they look a lot like the typical trees of Africa, and when combined with the heather, it makes for a
wonderful African landscape outside of Africa because of the
Scots pine's similarity to the rough-barked and dried-out trees of Africa. Beekse Bergen, the main Safaripark of the Netherlands (which is also located near the Loonsche dunes) knows this all too well, as they also use
a lot of Scots pines in their park to simulate the African landscape.
Essentially, all the dark green spots on the layout are either large, singular scots pines, small groupings of Scots pines. The larger dark green areas are denser forest, with some more different tree types mixed in there, and a lot of dense shrubbery. The yellow ground area is the Bushland region, with sandy areas, heather bushes and general herb-level plants. The light green ground area is more grassy and has some taller shrubbery. Based more on the
savanna during or right after the rainy season. The foliage throughout the aviary is comparable to the
landscaping on top of Burgers' Zoo's kopje. Also mixed in with the shrubbery are some dead trees and branches placed specifically for all sorts of birds to perch on.
You may also be able to notice the large rocky areas present in De Savanne. The giant rock area is split in style. Most of it is a typical
Kopje type mountain with large rounded rocks (though with a lot more foliage than shown in the example photo), while the smaller area on the top region of the layout is a
sharp rocky outcrop. There are some other rocky areas further along the path, you can tell by the shape what type they are. The areas with rounded rocks are more Kopjes, and the rocky area with a plateau-style are more sharp rocky areas.
You can also see there's a lot of cyan-coloured areas in and around the water, these are swamps and marshy areas, of course. Filled with reeds and a lot of horsetails, which are similar to and meant to represent Elephant grass and Papyrus. There are also a lot of fallen logs and hidden perching spots for the wading birds, as they usually have a little trouble getting through thick reeds.
Typical stork nesting plateaus are also hidden in the reed areas.
On to the tour!
Now, I've noticed myself that I haven't exactly included the free-roaming animals into the description. So I'll try to have some of the free-roaming birds dotted around the description of the aviary.
You enter the aviary after having gone through the Delta aviary, where you end up in a rocky tunnel. The rocky theme continues as you find yourself in a near the cliff of De Savanne's great rocky outcrop. Among the rocks and bushes of the cliff you may find one of the many rock hyraxes that are free-roaming in this first area of the aviary. On the ground area (and perhaps also on the lower rock plateau) you can also find Cape porcupines and, at least during summer, Leopard tortoises. Someone with a good eye (or a set of binoculars) may also be able to spot Laughing doves or Golden-breasted starlings among the rocks. In a few of the dead shrubs between the rocks you can also see some of the many weavers building their nests.
You walk over a bridge which signifies the end of the Hyrax walkthrough, and brings you past one of the reed areas and over a part of the large central lake of the aviary. In the reeds you may be able to spot some of the Pond-herons or Crakes that free-roam the aviary. In the big lake area you can also see the African pygmy-geese and Maccoa ducks, two of nine species of free-roaming waterfowl. Also from the bridge, you can also view the separation for the big Savanna paddock on the left side of the layout, which we'll get to later.
Before we go back to the dry path, we get a good view of the large mud bank, which provides a nesting spot for the not-quite-a-hundred-but-almost-a-hundred bee-eaters.
Continuing on the path, we come across another,
smaller Kopje. You might see the Francolins in between the great round rocks. With some luck you can see the Great blue turacos or Pygmy-falcons peeking from on top of the rocks.
Past the Kopje, the larger path continues onto the central island. However, as we are zoo nerds and in-the-know about the best route, we continue through the rocky area and
toward the large waterfall at a rocky ledge. Following from the waterfall is a fast-flowing river over smaller rocky ledges with multiple mini-waterfalls (
this but smaller). On the rock ledges surrounding the waterfall you might find Hamerkops or Abdim's storks and with some luck, a V.D.Decken's hornbill. You might also see Sacred ibises in the rocky stream.
You cross a metal bridge onto a more forested island, to the side you can see a larger waterfall, which connects the upper water area on the right side of the islands to the main water area. There's multiple small rocky ledges on the island turning it into a sort-of hillside. I drew it with dark grey instead of the rocky orange I used in the rest of the layout because the orange looked very strange here for some reason... These two islands are home to free-roaming Colobus monkeys. A small stream flows between the islands. Again, connecting the upper basin to the lower lake. With some luck you could also see one of the Duikers on the islands. Free-roaming birds can also get to the islands, of course. This forested area would be more popular with the Green pigeons, Olive pigeons, Mousebirds and Turacos.
From the islands, you walk into a building themed to be more modern, and decorative theming and signage point to it being a primate research centre. Inside the building is the indoor holding of the Duikers and Colobus monkeys. Part of the Monkey's indoor holding is visible, a second indoor holding is behind the scenes to the visitors, and holds the Duikers. The primates can choose which indoor area they go to.
Also in the building is a small terrarium for Acacia rats, and a very large enclosure with Lizards, Birds and Elephant shrews. These enclosures are also vaguely kopje-themed, with more Heath plants and other shrubbery, though I haven't drawn these in. There's also a small, lowered area where you can walk down to have underwater viewing into the lake. In the lake, there are multiple fish species. The fish present are all European, but are chosen specifically because they look quite similar to African fish species.
Usually, I show the species cards at the end of the tour. But we're only halfway there and already we have a colossal wall of text that is in desperate need of being broken up by an image. So I'll include the fish card here instead of at the end:
The fish species with a blue background are the European fish present in the lake, and the ones with a purple background are the fish that they represent. It's a little unlikely that you'll see many fish from this smaller underwater viewing area, as the fish have a whole lake they can get to, and you'll probably see them more often from the bridges and boardwalks.
Also: in case you're getting tired of having to scroll back up to the layout constantly, here's another one:
After exiting the indoor area, you get into a more heavily forested area, where you should be able to see the birds that prefer denser foliage. You might see the Trumpeter hornbills, Myer's parrots, Hoopoes. And, if you have a lot of luck, the pin-tailed whydahs.
From here, we continue into the village area formed by typical mud huts with straw roofs (how original, I know). In the village are three separate enclosures. A larger yard for Somali sheep in the corner, an aviary in front of the sheep yard, which you can look through into the sheep yard (a similar concept to
BZ's Snake/Pekari setup, though not as well-hidden). This aviary holds Thick-knees, Canaries, Woodhoopoes and Buffalo weavers. A smaller, grassy enclosure in the middle of the village also holds Dutch rabbits.
Near the docks of the village there is also a small boating house, with one large boat and multiple smaller boats sticking out of it. On the side of the building it says
"Babu Dhakiya’s safari boat rides". Wooden planks with "Out of business" painted on it partially obscures the sign. This is a bit of an inside joke between me, myself and I. And hopefully you when the Boardwalk pages come out...
The roofs of the houses may provide seating spots for the Collared doves, Barbets and, if you're very lucky, maybe even some of the vultures. The goat paddock and generally dirt-based area in and around the village might attract the more ground-based birds, like the Lapwings or Blue-winged geese. The boats of Baba Dhakiya especially provide seating for Hamerkops, Spoonbills, Whistling-ducks and African openbills. When you walk onto the first boardwalk area you should be able to get a great view of some of the birds here. Ducks and Ibises may also sit on the railings of the boardwalk.
We take the central path of the boardwalk to walk into the middle of a rounded bay, this bay is very shallow and especially designed for the resident flamingo colony at De Savanne. Over 200 Lesser flamingos can be found in the aviary, which would make it the biggest colony in Europe. The flamingos can also go into any other part of the aviary, of course. This is just where I assume they'd hang out. This area may also provide a nice spot for the Saddlebill storks and African pochards.
From this boardwalk area you walk further onto the central island. In the bushland shrubbery we can see more weaver nests. As this aviary has a giant mixed colony of weavers. Both village weavers and Red-billed queleas live in the aviary, and together they make up a colony of around 150 birds. We go over the bridge to the left, where we get a first good look at one of the reed mazes, made up of small strips of water breaking up the large reed beds. With some luck you can see one of the Goliath herons, or maybe even a Shoebill stork!
From here, you have a choice between two paths.
You can go further on the island area, with more bushland foliage and birds like Namaqua doves, Starlings and more Weavers. Or you can go onto the boardwalk area, and get a good view of the big Savannah paddock underneath the giant Kopje of the aviary. And also a good view of the Kopje itself, of course.
Speaking of the Savannah paddock; let's get to that!
The Savannah paddock is the main flat area of the aviary, it functions as a separation yard for the Nile lechwes and Cape buffaloes of the African boardwalk area in the main zoo area. Holding only between 1-3 Buffaloes, and either a bachelor or a spinster group of Lechwes. However, the flat and away-from-the-visitors area are also great spots for the Black-crowned cranes, Guineafowl, Blue-winged geese and probably also some Turtle doves. The Savannah area is partially forested as well, and visitors who were clever enough to bring some binoculars may see Hornbills, Starlings or Turacos in the branches here.
From this boardwalk area you can also get a great view of the giant Kopje. Which, apart from being pretty, also functions as a high point for the multiple vulture species in the aviary, and any other birds that may want to be high up. In between the big Kopje boulders, nesting boxes for the vultures are hidden. Of course, we all hope to see the vultures flying around more than we see them sitting on the rocks. The tall and imposing form of the aviary should provide plenty of flying space for the vultures to really soar.
Also in the middle of the Savannah paddock, there are a few smaller kopjes, though these are much
taller, thinner stacks than the big kopje in the background. You may also notice the large grey area in the middle of the rock area, these are the indoor holdings for the African birds, Chinese birds, Cape buffaloes, Nile lechwes, Chinese gorals and even the Reeve's muntjacs, as the mountain area of the Oriental garden is placed directly on the other side of the Kopje.
We continue down the boardwalk to see more of the reed maze area, where you can see more swamp-dwelling birds and Knob-billed ducks floating between the little waterways. We briefly re-enter the island. One boardwalk path brings us back to the flamingos, and the other past another mud bank before going back into the village. This is another nesting spot for the Bee-eaters, where you can get a good look at their nests. During breeding season, this part of the boardwalk can be blocked off to allow the birds some rest, of course.
We walk through the village for only a short bit before hitting the final stretch toward the exit. This final region is another bushland area, where you might be able to see the free-roaming Dikdik or a sunbathing vulture with some luck.
Before we go for the exit there is another boardwalk area. Over a huge swamp region. With shorter aquatic grasses, a lot of Horsetails and a whole lot of other swamp plants. This "Papyrus swamp" is where you'll probably find the most Ibises, Ducks and Storks. You can also just about see the Buffaloes and Antelopes through the reeds.
In the back of the aviary, there is another strip of Savanna landscape, where you could find more ground-dwelling birds, before heading to the exit of the aviary.
If that description seemed cut short that's because it is, I've been typing this pretty much all day now
.
Species list De Savanne:
Waterbirds:
Other birds (and dikdik):
Enclosure species:
Noteable numbers:
Some of the birds in De Savanne are held in particularly large numbers, some would be the largest colonies of Europe.
The Lesser flamingos would live in a huge group of over 200 animals. This would be the largest Lesser flamingo colony, but not the largest flamingo colony in general. As this currently goes to GaiaZOO, which has 450 Greater flamingos. The Flamingo "bay" area is the same size as one of GaiaZOO's "bays" (they have 2, so the group size seemed appropriate).
The Village weavers and Red-billed queleas live in a combined group of roughly 150 animals, Village weavers making up the majority of them, as these live in the largest colonies in the wild.
The European and Northern Carmine bee-eaters can also be found in large groups. As there are around 50 Carmine bee-eaters and 20 European bee-eaters.
Most of the Vultures can be found in groups of 5-10, except for the Rüppel's vultures, of which there are 30.
Finally, the wading birds. The Abdim's storks and African openbills are both kept in large groups of 20, and the Yellow-billed storks in a group of 40, which can probably be found most in the trees in and around the monkey islands. The Black crakes, Spoonbills, Sacred ibises and Hadada ibises, as well as both Guineafowl species are all kept in groups of around 20-30 animals.
The rest of the birds are still numerous, but kept essentially unspecified. Except for the birds that have to be kept in pairs, like the Lapwings, Shoebills and Hornbills.
I'm really happy with how this aviary turned out, and would really love this to be real, but oh well.
Still, it's nice to imagine the Vultures flying overhead and the Weavers whizzing past in colossal groups. Man, I love being a visual thinker.
Anyway, I'm tired and this is getting dangerously close to rambling...
I hope you've all enjoyed De Savanne, and I would love to hear what you think!
. I've already researched the Iberian region and found out that there are very few fish there that are held in Aquariums. Heck, there's not that many fish there to begin with.
