Monterey Bay Aquarium How did the Monterey aquarium tame the birds in their sandy shore aviary?

[HomerSimpson101]

How did the Monterey Bay Aquarium tame the birds in their sandy shore aviary to not jump off their sandy aviary setup?

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/visit/exhibits/sandy-shore-and-aviary

 

[birdsandbats]

I haven't visited so I can't say for sure, but I'd guess the pathway looking into the aviary is significantly darker than the area the birds live in? Birds really don't like to fly into the dark. This technique is often used in zoo aviaries.

 

[Great Argus]

I haven't visited so I can't say for sure, but I'd guess the pathway looking into the aviary is significantly darker than the area the birds live in? Birds really don't like to fly into the dark. This technique is often used in zoo aviaries.

Not really - it's a pretty well lit aviary, one whole wall is a window to the outside. My guess would be probably the drop (the shorebird area is elevated by about 3 feet) combined with the birds preferring to stay out of the way of people. Many of their birds have wing injuries of some sort so this also precludes them from flying.

 

[NAIB Volunteer]

Shorebirds (or birds in general) are naturally cautious around people. Compounded with their numerous injuries - some have partial missing wings, missing a leg, missing eyes, ect. - they physically can't make the leap out of their exhibit space.

The Aviary is a really cool set up and was very impressed when I visited some colleagues a few years back.

 

[Gretchen L]

I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium last week. It was my first visit there since moving to LA in 1991. I love the many changes and improvements over the years. Re: the aviary: It is amazing how close the birds are to the guests, and how unaffected they are by the close proximity. I appreciated that they had volunteers there to ensure that the birds were safe from unruly guests. As you can see, I'm less than 2 feet away from the closest bird. So very cool!