Drill's mini reviews

[ZooElephantMan]

I am curious to hear how you have managed to visit so many different zoos (and other places with captive wildlife). How often do you visit a new zoo you’ve never seen before? How do you go about the logistics of visiting so many places? Do you usually go on big trips to see many new zoos in a single area at a time?

 

[drill]

I am curious to hear how you have managed to visit so many different zoos (and other places with captive wildlife). How often do you visit a new zoo you’ve never seen before? How do you go about the logistics of visiting so many places? Do you usually go on big trips to see many new zoos in a single area at a time?

1. I'm not sure
2. Once every few months or so
3. Waze
4. It's not usually a single area

 

[drill]

Zoo#297 Briar Bush Nature Center Abington, PA. Suburbs of Philadelphia.
Large collection of herps, invertebrates, fish, rats, Striped skunk, and an opossum inside with Eastern screech owl, Red-tailed hawk, and an empty exhibit (I think seasonal for butterflies) outside. There is a bird viewing area where cardinals, mourning doves, catbirds, squirrels, nuthatches, many chipmunks, and perhaps others were seen.
Zoo #298 Churchville Nature Center. Churchville, PA (suburbs of Philadelphia)
Fancy building with many insects and herps. Lifer: Florida Keys corn snake. Other highlights: Giant hairy scorpion and Bullsnake.
Zoo #299 Barn Nature Center, Doylestown, PA (suburbs of Philadelphia).
Former pets. Need a prior reservation. Lifer: White-crowned pionus. Other highlights: Jenday conure
Zoo #300 Philadelphia Insectarium. East(?) Philadelphia. Three story building. First story: butterflies, Green iguana, Red-tailed boa, coming soon exhibit, and non animal exhibit. Second story: play area (no animals). Third story: many species of tarantulas, scorpions, cockroaches, some other insects, a few herps, Three-banded armadillo, and Albino African pygmy hedgehog.
Zoo #301 Merrill Park. Colonia, NJ (suburbs of NYC)
Free park zoo with mostly domestics.
Zoo #302 Sweet Briar Nature Center. Smithtown, NY (Central Long Island). One of the best and most confusing nature centers I've been to. Indoor building with herps, insects, fish, and a Monk parakeet. Many outdoor exhibits of some permanent and rehab animals (you have to pay for butterfly area). Path follows down to barn which has domestics and some more raptors (Osprey featured). Massive wild rabbits seen there.
Zoo #302 Sea Life NJ. American Dream mall (suburbs of NYC). Typical bad mall aquarium in that it's overpriced with few species of interest. Highlights: Bonnethead shark. I think there were other cartilaginous species, but another problem with these collections is that their unsigned (even PPG and Georgia Aquariums)
That concludes May and June. A lot more for August and bit for September.

 

[drill]

Zoo#303 Dunrovin Exotic Animal Sanctuary. Vass, NC (45 or so minutes south of Raleigh). Lifer: Western rosella. Largely exhibits of many parrot species, a few other birds, reptile house and Australia area were closed. Highly recommended.

 

[Great Argus]

Zoo#303 Dunrovin Exotic Animal Sanctuary. Vass, NC (45 or so minutes south of Raleigh). Lifer: Western rosella. Largely exhibits of many parrot species, a few other birds, reptile house and Australia area were closed. Highly recommended.

Any photos of said rosella? The only photo I can find online is a Eastern color morph.

Also I'm curious about the "highly recommended" status of a curiosity shop mixed with an animal sanctuary, where various odd curios surround rather subpar wood and mesh exhibits. What brought you to speak so highly of it? It seems to me a very odd place, and from photos of the parrots in particular I'm not sure they're getting quite the care they ought. Nor was I very impressed on seeing pictures of their vervet and coati dressed up in costumes for Halloween...

 

[drill]

Any photos of said rosella? The only photo I can find online is a Eastern color morph.

Also I'm curious about the "highly recommended" status of a curiosity shop mixed with an animal sanctuary, where various odd curios surround rather subpar wood and mesh exhibits. What brought you to speak so highly of it? It seems to me a very odd place, and from photos of the parrots in particular I'm not sure they're getting quite the care they ought. Nor was I very impressed on seeing pictures of their vervet and coati dressed up in costumes for Halloween...

They're better parrot exhibits here than I've seen in many zoos

 

[drill]

Zoo #304 Swan Lake Iris Gardens Sumter, SC about an hour south of Columbia. Lifer: Bewick's swan. Walking around large lake and gardens with all 8 species of swan (though mute and black far outnumber the others). A egret, anhinga, and green heron were also spotted. Also highly recommended.
Zoo #305 UGA Aquarium Savannah, GA. Aquarium with native fish and a few herps. Turtle most by entrance, nice place but not worth going to.
Zoo #306 Georgia Sea Turtle Center Jekyll Island, GA 1 and quarter from Jacksonville. Small place and way overcrowded when i went. Saw the hospital hatching Diamondback terrapins and taking care of a very large one. There are a few sea turtles in a building and some box turtles outside.

 

[Great Argus]

They're better parrot exhibits here than I've seen in many zoos

I'd disagree from everything I've seen online from there, but anyway. Nothing re the rosella?

 

[drill]

I'd disagree from everything I've seen online from there, but anyway. Nothing re the rosella?

I've been there. No it was one Eastern and one Western.

 

[drill]

Zoo #307 Tidelands Nature Center Jekyll Island, GA 4 minutes from GA Sea Turtle Center. A variety of fish and herps. Outside is Gopher tortoise and a special area for a Loggerhead sea turtle. Stone crab is cool to see.

 

[drill]

Zoo #308 Jacksonville Zoo. Jacksonville, FL
Lifers: over a dozen reptiles, Double-striped thick-knee and White-bellied bustard
One of the best zoos I've been to. Very large with hundreds of animals in beautiful enclosures.
Zoo #309 St. Augustine Alligator Farm. St. Augustine, FL 50 minutes from Jacksonville Zoo. Lifers: Hall's crocodile, Mugger crocodile, Black caiman, Broad-snouted caiman, Pesquet's parrot, Lace monitor, and some reptiles.
Another extremely cool place with hundreds of crocodiles and a rookery of many birds (Tricolored heron is a particular highlight.
Zoo #310 Xtreme Exotics. Jacksonville, FL.
Glorified pet store with large exhibit for a cat, another for an albino alligator, and some prairie dogs

 

[SusScrofa]

@drill Do you have rough dates (year and month or season at least?) on when you visited these facilities? These were all visits done more than a few months ago I'm guessing? I'm only asking because of curiosity.

 

[drill]

@drill Do you have rough dates (year and month or season at least?) on when you visited these facilities? These were all visits done more than a few months ago I'm guessing? I'm only asking because of curiosity.

Zoos 285-88 were in May
Zoos 289-302 were in June
Zoos 303-319(?) were in August.
Zoos 320 and 321 were in September. That's it for now.

 

[drill]

Zoo #311 Tybee Island Marine Science Center. Savannah, GA
Only place on GA coast I would revisit. Expansive collection of crabs, fish, a sea nettle, Atlantic octopus, terrapins and others. Top floor is a telescope with a view of the ocean (there is a boardwalk leading there). On the bottom is a large tank for a young Loggerhead sea turtle and a shark and ray tank was coming soon.
Zoo #312 Oatland Island Wildlife Center. Savannah, GA
2.5 miles of walking trails with exhibits of native species (too few) plus a butterfly area, museum, and lake (upon which were seen: Little blue heron, Green heron, and Wood stork). The main entrance building has herps, fish, and an opossum.
Zoo #313 Walterboro Wildlife Center. Walterboro, SC (halfway between Savannah and Charleston).
Nature center with herps and fish. Large exhibit in center with baby alligators. Unfortunately, most of the animals were unsigned.

 

[drill]

Zoo #314 Bee City. Cottageville, SC. 20 mins from Walterboro. Lifers: Sharp-nosed viper, Rainbow snake, and an albino American bullfrog. Pretty large private zoo with caracals, monkeys (most notably White-fronted capuchin and Common brown lemur), kangaroos, budgies, tigers, bees, Snow leopards, Sitatunga, Aoudad, Scimitar-horned oryx, and others. Also a nature center with a large reptile collection (spiny-tailed monitor, forest cobra were a few highlights)
Zoo #315 Edisto Island Serpentarium. Edisto Island, SC. 1 hour from Charleston
Lifers: Fer-de-lance. Main building with baby Nile crocodiles, some snakes and other herps. Centerpiece is a massive exhibit for Yellow anaconda, Green anaconda, and Amazon tree boa. Outside are many alligators, a Siamese and I think Nile crocodile, Argus monitor, King cobra, large turtle pond, nonvenomous snake pits and venomous snake pits.

 

[drill]

Zoo #316 Motts River Run Nature Center. Fredericksburg, VA.
Log cabin next to a large boating area with a few taxidermy and 2 corn snakes.
Zoo #317 Fountain Rock Nature Center. Walkersville, MD (outside Frederick). Pretty average nature center with some nice turtle exhibits and a few other herps, fish and walking sticks
Zoo #318 Catoctin Creek Nature Center. Middletown, MD (West of Frederick). Nice nature center with some martin house. Inside are Pickerel frogs, Green frog, a few snakes, and Hermit crabs.
Zoo #319 Glen Echo Park Aquarium. Cabin John, MD (outside DC). Popular park with some fish tanks in a small building. Remora is a highlight here.
Zoo #320 Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center. Jones Beach State Park, Long Island. Seahorses, terrapins, Eastern hognose snake, and closed touch tank.
Zoo #321 Tenafly Nature Center. Tenafly, NJ (Suburbs of NYC). Lifers: Yellow-red ratsnake. Building with a few herps and millipedes and Black vulture, Barred owl and I think Red-tailed hawk outside.
September 2022
Zoo #322 Bear Branch Nature Center. Westminster, MD (south of PA border). Rather large herp and fish collection plus some caterpillars. Somewhere there are also some raptor cage(didn't see)
Zoo #323 Piney Run Nature Center. Eldersburg, MD (35 mins south of Bear Branch). Beautiful lake with some raptor cages next to it and a building with various herps, fish and a Brazilian black tarantula.
This concludes for now the mini reviews.

 

[birdsandbats]

Zoo #316 Motts River Run Nature Center. Fredericksburg, VA.
Log cabin next to a large boating area with a few taxidermy and 2 corn snakes.

Is a few taxidermy and a pair of Corn Snakes really a zoo? In my bedroom I have a tree frog and a mounted deer head. Is my bedroom a zoo?

 

[Smaggledagle]

Is a few taxidermy and a pair of Corn Snakes really a zoo? In my bedroom I have a tree frog and a mounted deer head. Is my bedroom a zoo?

short answer, yes

 

[FBBird]

short answer, yes

Surely it’s only a zoo if it’s open to the public. Otherwise my bedroom (African Pygmy Dormice, Thailand Beauty Stick Insects, stuffed Little Owl, stuffed Abyssinian Blue-winged Goose, two incubators with a shifting egg population, and a blown Ostrich egg) qualifies! Various taxidermy elsewhere in the house, twenty bird species in aviaries…..

 

[Great Argus]

Well drill has kind of a long notable record of interesting zoo counts and reviews haha.

Zoo#192
Croydon Creek Nature Center B+
Rockville, Maryland
Highlights: Wild birds

Any captive animals at all?

Zoo #212 Baldcypress Nature Center C Laurel, DE
Tiny collection with fish and a Corn snake. No highlights.

Back to tiny collections as just mentioned.

Zoo #216 Mystic Aquarium Stonington, CT B
One of the less interesting aquariums. Like Georgia Aquarium, it's main attractions are marine mammals. There are no animals of interest other than a few frogs. Highlights: Steller sea lion, Beluga, Bird Poop frog, and others.

Pretty sure Georgia is better known for Whale Sharks and mantas than their standard run mammals.

Zoo #223 Norfolk Botanical Gardens Norfolk, VA A
Large collection with the usual butterfly garden and koi pond. Highlights: Wild hummingbird.

Stretching for zoo status here imo.

Zoo #229 Jennette's Pier Nags Head, NC A
Fishing Pier with a few fish tanks. Highlights: number of ducks and grackles.

Pretty bare minimum here too.

Zoo #242 Six Flags Safari Jackson NJ A
One of the most unique collections in the New World, with close views of elephants, bears, lions, tigers, and more. Many babies seen with the Black wildebeest, Addax, Eland, Grant's zebras, and others. Highlights: Black wildebeest, Red lechwe, Sable antelope and others.

I've not been, but I can think of quite a few more unique collections from what I know of the place.

Zoo #260 Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum Surrey, VA B. A few exhibits of domestic animals. Highlights: impressive bull. Located an hour northwest of Norfolk, Virginia in the heart of the cattle and chicken farm industries.

Well, it has a few domestics anyways.

Zoo #265 Linvila Orchards Media, PA B Farmers market and garden center and a small farm with deer, goats, ponies, ducks, pheasants, and chickens. Highlights: baby deer and albino deer.

Maybe it counts?

Zoo #268 Pagoda and Oriental Garden Norfolk, VA B. Small garden with koi pond and walk to the docks. Highlights: cormorant seen grappling with an eel

Apparently to be a zoo just takes a koi pond.

Zoo# 280 White Deer Park Nature Center Garner, NC F
20 minutes away from downtown Raleigh, there are corn snakes, Yellow-bellied sliders, and unsigned (possibly empty) exhibits.

Two species haha.

Zoo #288 Brandywine Creek State Park Wilmington, DE B
Wild: Chipping sparrow, House finch, Carolina(?) chickadee, Downy(?) woodpecker, and Blue jay
Captive: Cornelius. Guess who he is.

One unnamed captive species.

Zoo #289 Yoder's Country Market Madison, VA B+ Hour from Luray Zoo
Basically a petting zoo with mostly domestics and a few birds (nothing out of the ordinary). Lifer: Japanese quail

A B+? Nothing out of the ordinary but a lifer?

Zoo #291 Walker Nature Education Center Reston, VA D
Empty fish tank, Corn snake, Box turtle. Black-throated blue warbler dying in parking lot

Sounds great...


Pretty sure close to a third of drill's listed zoos have five or fewer species. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I do think drill stretches the concept of a zoo a great deal - one of my fish tanks has more individual animals than some of the listed facilities.
Also the unknowns listed as of late are interesting too, with "dromedary I think" and "red-tailed hawk?" Pretty easy IDs in both cases.