Birdworld Birdworld Updates

PrimateKid

PrimateKid

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone, work at birdworld so here are a few updates:

New enclosure is being built named: "Outback Landings" it is a walkthrough aviary involving Budgies, the aviary mesh is all on and is currently being planted up and painted, visitors will be sold millet to feed to the birds, should be interesting and looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Due to open June time.

Additions to the park include a group of young piranha into underwater world, Love birds arrived from Welsh mountain zoo to increase the number of birds in the "Wings Of Love" aviary. A pair of Black Swans arrived from the sad closure of Leeds Castle aviary, A sibling pair of Crowned Cranes from Paradise Park and a very important arrival of a new species to the park, the threatened Blue Crowned Laughing Thrush. Plenty of eggs have been laid with the Humboltd penguins laying 7 eggs with more to come. Also plenty of Farmyard babies including goat kids, Piglets and lambs.

PK
 
I think a naturalistic, walkthrough flight for a large flock of green, wild-type budgerigars would be an immensely valuable educational tool, and perhaps serve to deter people buying this species as a solitary cage bird.

Whats the plan long-term with the penguins? Can I ask - why did birdworld choose to create a second penguin exhibit rather than upgrading the existing one, especially as both species look very similar to the average visitor? I think the idea of African penguins in a mixed, coastal walk-through flight is excellent, I'm just surprised at the fairly low-key pool in contrast to the older Humboldt pool, which still has good viewing but is lacking in the naturalistic beach area so beautifully-created for the African penguins.
 
PrimateKid said:
Hello everyone, work at birdworld so here are a few updates:

New enclosure is being built named: "Outback Landings" it is a walkthrough aviary involving Budgies, the aviary mesh is all on and is currently being planted up and painted, visitors will be sold millet to feed to the birds, should be interesting and looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Due to open June time.

Additions to the park include a group of young piranha into underwater world, Love birds arrived from Welsh mountain zoo to increase the number of birds in the "Wings Of Love" aviary. A pair of Black Swans arrived from the sad closure of Leeds Castle aviary, A sibling pair of Crowned Cranes from Paradise Park and a very important arrival of a new species to the park, the threatened Blue Crowned Laughing Thrush. Plenty of eggs have been laid with the Humboltd penguins laying 7 eggs with more to come. Also plenty of Farmyard babies including goat kids, Piglets and lambs.

PK
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Very interesting - I did wonder how long it would be before the "Budgie walk-thru" would take off in the UK (like the Lorikeets) , I have seen this Budgie idea in some US collections and they have proved to be both very popular and educational over there. They offer the birds "lollipop sticks" covered in seed which the public can buy and hold whilst the birds perch on the visitors to eat the seeds from the sticks. Enriching for the birds and the visitors alike !
 
We found a budgie walk-through at Spaycific'Zoo in France. As we were pretty much the only people there (it was a weekday), we spent quite a bit of time with the budgies. We were given some millet in a bag at the entrance which didn't last long with dozens of budgies descending on us the minute we got through the door. There was a nice mix of cockatiels and zebra finches and a few other types of bird in there, but they kept their distance. I would hope any zoo in the UK planning something similar would have a staff member in there all the time. I don't trust British kids to respect the birds' space.
 
Maisie said:
We found a budgie walk-through at Spaycific'Zoo in France. As we were pretty much the only people there (it was a weekday), we spent quite a bit of time with the budgies. We were given some millet in a bag at the entrance which didn't last long with dozens of budgies descending on us the minute we got through the door. There was a nice mix of cockatiels and zebra finches and a few other types of bird in there, but they kept their distance. I would hope any zoo in the UK planning something similar would have a staff member in there all the time. I don't trust British kids to respect the birds' space.
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I have always thought a mixed Parakeet walk-through aviary would be a wonderful and very colourful experience, perhaps with some of the smaller, less boisterous species such as Bourkes, Splendids , Budgerigars , Cockatiels even Moustached or Barraband Parakeets and Rosellas ?
 
johnstoni. said:
Whats the plan long-term with the penguins? Can I ask - why did birdworld choose to create a second penguin exhibit rather than upgrading the existing one, especially as both species look very similar to the average visitor? I think the idea of African penguins in a mixed, coastal walk-through flight is excellent, I'm just surprised at the fairly low-key pool in contrast to the older Humboldt pool, which still has good viewing but is lacking in the naturalistic beach area so beautifully-created for the African penguins.
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There are no plans of moving the humboldts at the moment. The original plans were to get some king penguins from Edinburgh instead of the black foots, but involved waiting a few years for young to hatch etc and the black foots were ready to be moved to a new collection, so took those instead, they look so alike to the humboltds though if im honest! But the Penguin beach is a very nice enclosure and it does the penguins justice where-as the humboldt pool has aged and is not as attractive but is still good enough for the birds to breed so is practical in that sense i suppose!

Interesting that the budgie walk through have been done before, are there any in UK collections at all? And yes i do agree, if the wild type are put together it would make a nice display!

PK
 
PrimateKid said:
Interesting that the budgie walk through have been done before, are there any in UK collections at all? And yes i do agree, if the wild type are put together it would make a nice display!
PK
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There used to be a walk-through budgerigar aviary at Merley Bird Gardens in Dorset.

(Merley Bird Gardens closed about fifteen years ago.)
 
I wonder if wild-type green budgerigars are available in the UK . The multi-coloured big-headed show-type birds are a very different bird .
 
Little Update:

Chicks hatched include Pink Pigeons, Ural Owls, Humboltd Penguin and Turkey Vultures.
Also the woodland walk area, which many years ago used to be a walkthrough bird aviary is being converted into a "pheasant feeding area" will find out more details and information soon on this soon.

PK
 
Woodland walk? I don't remember that at all from any of my visits, where abouts is it?
 
It's just the little walkthrough bit from the back of the "wings of love" Lovebird aviary. Two Moluccan cockatoos have arrived and are in the big "Parrots in Flight" aviary and 6 more African penguins arrived the other day, bringing the total to 28 penguins in the new "Penguin Beach" exhibit (although this still includes last years Humboldt chicks).
 
PrimateKid said:
There are no plans of moving the humboldts at the moment. The original plans were to get some king penguins from Edinburgh instead of the black foots, but involved waiting a few years for young to hatch etc and the black foots were ready to be moved to a new collection, so took those instead, they look so alike to the humboltds though if im honest! But the Penguin beach is a very nice enclosure and it does the penguins justice where-as the humboldt pool has aged and is not as attractive but is still good enough for the birds to breed so is practical in that sense i suppose!
Click to expand...

'Penguin Beach' does appear to have an excellent, naturalistic land area, however the pool almost looks like it is a lined pond, is this the case or is it concrete-lined, and I take it there is no underwater viewing? It just seems odd to have two enclosures which, separately, have really good features but not in the one enclosure.

I would be very surprised if king penguins are ever available to UK collections that do not already keep this species, although I'd like to be proved wrong.
 
Lovebird aviary!? I honestly have no idea of where this part of the collection is, maybe I've missed it everytime, where abouts is it? Is it nearer the entrance or the farm?

Edit: Had a look at the map and can see it now, sorry.
 
Yeah, the Lovebird aviary is fairly new (Feb this year) and is home to black cheeked lovebirds. The aviary itself is sponsored by Eagle Radio.
 
Its nice that the park is finally investing in some new enclosures, its been a while since anything new really happened in the park. I wonder what the future looks like for the park.
 
1.0 Rhinoceros Hornbill arrived from Chester to pair with the parks resident female
 
From a visit today, there were various signs around the zoo showing what was called "Hot News!" though I don't know how new any of this news is.

These were a tank of Upside-down Jellyfish in the UnderwaterWorld bit with the text "These have come from Bristol who have recently had great breeding success"

There was also a sign on the window of the incubator room saying they were incubating 70 great bustard eggs that have come from Spain for rearing and release by the Great Bustard Group.

There were also signs on the enclosures for Edward's Pheasants, Lady Amherst's Pheasants and Masked Lapwings saying chicks had recently hatched and a sign with the rheas saying they had recently laid eggs.
 
Other breeding successes so far include Azure-winged magpies, Baer's Pochard, turkey vulture, pagoda starlings, yellow streaked lorikeet, pied avocet, blacksmith plover, African penguin, Humboldt penguins and trumpeter hornbills. A new exhibit called "Flamingo Cove" has recently opened, with Greater flamingos, separate from the other small group of Chilean flamingos.
 
Three pink-backed pelicans are being hand-reared . I was not aware that they held this species so I assume the eggs came from another collection for incubation .
 
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