Newquay Zoo Newquay Zoo News

Hello.
Does anyone know the name here of Newquay Zoo’s head curator of birds?
I went yesterday and he was absolutely fantastic: he came to find me in another part of the zoo to show me the Chinese Grosbeak I’d asked about, and took me to the Papuan Hornbills for me to get a photo of them by coaxing them out with food.
Unfortunately I can’t remember his name, so if anyone knows it, that would be great.
Thanks,
Oscar
 
olhl.animal.photography said:
Hello.
Does anyone know the name here of Newquay Zoo’s head curator of birds?
I went yesterday and he was absolutely fantastic: he came to find me in another part of the zoo to show me the Chinese Grosbeak I’d asked about, and took me to the Papuan Hornbills for me to get a photo of them by coaxing them out with food.
Unfortunately I can’t remember his name, so if anyone knows it, that would be great.
Thanks,
Oscar
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Dan Trevelyan
 
I'm planning a trip to the zoo tomorrow. Does anyone have any tips for seeing the Chinese Grosbeaks and the Owston's Palm Civets?
 
Visited today, what happened to Bert the Pig?

Doesn’t seem to be any news of him leaving and he wasn’t part of the family today.
 
komodoskar said:
I'm planning a trip to the zoo tomorrow. Does anyone have any tips for seeing the Chinese Grosbeaks and the Owston's Palm Civets?
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For the grosbeaks check the Gems of the Jungle walkthrough high and low as well as the entrance into their indoor quarters. I only got a brief experience with the female bird back in April but I know that @olhl.animal.photography had better luck in seeing the male bird.

Unfortunately I didn't see the civets on my visit and chances to get BTS were denied unfortunately but they apparently get fed around 4pm.
 
Prochilodus246 said:
For the grosbeaks check the Gems of the Jungle walkthrough high and low as well as the entrance into their indoor quarters. I only got a brief experience with the female bird back in April but I know that @olhl.animal.photography had better luck in seeing the male bird.

Unfortunately I didn't see the civets on my visit and chances to get BTS were denied unfortunately but they apparently get fed around 4pm.
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Yes, I was lucky enough to see the male well (check Newquay Zoo media). If you can, ask for Dan Trevelyan and he'll be more than happy to try and find it for you - he came halfway round the zoo looking for me when he found it!
It is a very old bird - and unfortunately will probably pass by the end of the year - and so is incredible sedentary. It spends most of its time in their indoor quarters (just viewable as you walk in on the right, by the nesting Grosbeak Starlings, however I saw it outside eventually (thanks to Dan again) as some Victoria Crowned Pigeons spooked it out from its perch.
As for the civets, they're really tough to see. As you say, they are fed at 4:00pm ish but even then they're hard to spot and even harder to photograph. According to a keeper I spoke to who was cleaning that enclosure, they sleep in an unviewable next-box-esque thing inside all day, and when fed, they don't really venture outside, only to a small glass slit visible from outside. I think they only come out after-hours, so if they ever do something like Chester Zoo's 'Afterglow' event then that might be your best bet.
@komodoskar I hope you have a great trip, and that you see everything you're after. A tip for the lynxes and their cubs too: go around 4:00-4:30pm. Most people have left by this point, and so having slept all day they tend to arise and put on a good show in the last hour or so of opening times. Very good for photos then too.
Good luck to you. :)
 
Thanks so much for the advice guys I was planning on getting to the zoo when it opens at 10, considering I'm based in a hostel 5 minutes away from the entrance. We'll see if I have the courage to stick it out til 4... I'm also planning on heading to Shaldon in a couple days, so I potentially might have more luck with the civets there.
 
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I really enjoyed my visit to Newquay today. I was thoroughly impressed with the collection and the general standard of exhibitry (with a few minor exceptions). I can't understate how strong the Avian collection is, in particular, with quite a few rarities and unexpected surprises, especially given the collections relatively small size.

Vis a vis the male Chinese Grosbeak: I don't know whether I just got lucky, but I got a pretty good look at him after heading to Gems of the Jungle right after the gates opened, which was before anyone else and fairly shortly after them being fed. I didn't have a proper camera with me, but I'll attach a snap from my phone. He was perched right at the centre of the small water feature in the middle of the enclosure.

I was also lucky enough to see the Civets with the help of the keepers, and we had a really interesting chat about their husbandry, their history at the zoo and the ongoing breeding program with the remaining Uk-based individuals.

Every keeper i spoke to was super friendly, informative and helpful, across the board, and to bolster a recent sentiment in this thread they do the zoo a great service.

Thanks for everyone's tips in this thread, and for anyone thinking about visiting Newquay Zoo I'd definitely recommend it
 

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komodoskar said:
Getting to see the civets means that Shaldon has very little pull for me anymore (though im sure it's a lovely place). So I'm heading to Axe Valley Wildlife Park instead
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Shaldon is delightful, charming collection of largely primates (although there are other goodies like breeding Margay) on the UK’s smallest zoo site. Staff are outgoing, friendly and helpful, the zoo punches well above its weight on in situ conservation, and there’s an unusually good little restaurant just across the road.
 
2 Pieces of July 2024 News Worth Mentioning:
Zoofan15 said:
Recent Births

New babies and critically endangered species at Newquay Zoo | Falmouth Packet

The following species have recently welcomed young:

Phillipine spotted deer (second offspring of Neil and Belle).
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On July 2nd, the zoo announced that the deer was sexed as (0.1) and named Willow.

Newquay Zoo

JurassicMax said:
Recently 2 male Cape porcupines (Hystrix africaeaustralis) at the zoo, which is a new species for Newquay.

Source:
Instagram of Zoo Newquay (17/05/2024)
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On July 5th, the zoo announced they renamed the porcupines Needles and Pins.

Newquay Zoo

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On August 5th, the zoo announced they acquired 2+ budgerigars which are on display in the Village Farm area.

Newquay Zoo
 
I’m going to Newquay Zoo for the second time tomorrow, my first being in July. Are there any updates that I should know about ahead of my trip? Also, is the grosbeak still alive? It was very very old and obviously on its last legs in summer, so I’m hoping it’s still around for tomorrow.
 
Just finished my visit for today (was with family so couldn’t stay the whole day as they grew restless).

There’s more news than I expected, however much of it is small.

The biggest news is easily that despite two Lynx cubs being born (both of which I saw back in July), only one remains now, the other one having died shortly after its birth (according to a staff worker).

In other news, the Greater Vasa Parrots have been moved into the aviary which once housed Palm Cockatoos, alongside stilts, and teals.

The Chinese Grosbeak (the last of its kind outside of Shanghai) is currently offshow, as - according to a keeper - a disease is present that threatens its life. I did not see any evidence of this, however it was a no-show all day. The Javan Green Magpie was also missing from its aviary today.

Again, I missed out on the civets, amazon milk frogs, and the cane toad. The golden gecko was also a no-show.

The female Papuan Hornbill was around today, so I’m assuming their breeding stint earlier in summer was fruitless.

A pair of tambourine doves still reside (unsigned) in the Yellow Cardinal aviary, and two bearded tits still accompany (unsigned) liocichlas and doves in the aviary adjoined to the Swinhoe’s squirrels.

That is all the news I can remember for now. All in all it was a good visit, however animal-wise it was much quieter than last time I went.
 
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