ZSL London Zoo London zoo visit help

adrian1963

adrian1963

Well-Known Member
Will be visiting London Zoo in the next few days (before 29th october) and would like to know what to look for and what to miss out.
I know thier is a lot of opinion onhere both ways as to how good it is or was but I am really interested in the bird collection but will be giving the rest of the collection as much as I can.

Would be very grateful for any feed back and will be putting a independent review on here after my visit
 
They are slightly tucked out of the way and easy to miss, but the two black hornbills in the children's zoo, behind the coati enclosure are, in my opinion, the liveliest and most entertaining birds in the zoo. Always active and engaged in interesting behaviour whenever I've been past them.
 
I'm not a massive bird expert but there is a Zoe's imperial pigeon (apparently the only one in captivity outside of SE Asia - reason for me to give it slightly more attention than I have previously)

in one of the small aviaries on the north bank of the canal near the Snowdon aviary and soccorro doves which are extinct in the wild in the Blackburn Pavillion.

The small walk-through aviary at the entrance to Gorilla Kingdom offers good close up views and photo opportunities in my experience.

The zoo isn't massive (36 acres) so you have a good chance of seeing everything depending on how long you linger at each exhibit.

Main bird areas: the north bank of the canal (small dark wire aviaries) and Snowdon Aviary, birds of prey behind Gorilla Kingdom that could be missed if you aren't careful, the walkthrough aviaries by Gorilla Kingdom, the Blackburn Pavillion which is the bird house and has congo peafowl, some species also in BUGS, parrot aviaries near the penguins and of course, the penguin enclosure which I think is excellent with flamingos and pelicans nearby.

I may well have missed something out.
 
Hello adrian1963

I hope you enjoy your trip to London Zoo.

I recommend the following:

Aquatic caecilians in the Reptile House
Slender lorises, Panay cloudrunners and beaver rats in the Night Life section of the Biome
Bearded barbets in Gorilla Kingdom
Moon jellyfish in BUGS
Baby Francois leaf monkey near the lions and tigers
Aardvarks in Animal Adventure

Good luck
 
I love birds too – can't say I'm an expert but London has so many, scattered throughout the zoo. My favourites are the various turacos, currently in the somewhat neglected north bank aviaries but sometimes to be found in the wonderful Blackburn aviary. You may be too late in the year to catch the brilliant predatory birds display which is dependant on the weather but do ask – if it's on, it'll be on the lawn by the llamas, mid-afternoon. And the Animals in Action demo in the amphitheatre at 12.00 always has some birds flying. Have a great visit!
 
In which part of the zoo are the Humming birds and are there any really rare species birds, reptiles, insects, aquatic or mammals I should look out for and it would help if you could say in which part of the zoo they are positioned.
Many thanks to everyone who have given info so far
 
Hummingbirds are in the Blackburn Pavilion, which is a piece of living zoo history. Built in the 19th century as a reptile house, it became a bird house when the existing reptile house was built. It was revamped a few years ago to become a blend of historical interpretation and current good bird exhibition/culture. The free-flight area has Roulroul Partridges and Blue-bellied Rollers among others, and a few photos would look good on this site. The North Bank aviaries used to hold good pheasant and owl collections, and are now shadows of their former selves -- still worth seeing though.
 
FBBird said:
Hummingbirds are in the Blackburn Pavilion,
Click to expand...

Specifically there is a space where their enclosures are with some free flying birds on your way out of the main walkthrough area.

Another tip, the giant anteater enclosure is almost always empty, you can usually spot them in the indoor den but have to get down on your knees to do so.
 
Date now set for my visit it will be monday 24th October so am looking forward to visiting the zoo after 10 years away.
Will be putting a review on here probally on wednesday 26th october here's hoping the weather is fine

Many thanks for the replies and information given
 
When it comes to rare species... I don't think anyone has mentioned the Bali starling which is critically endangered – London zoo has several; on one corner of the B.U.G.S. exhibit which is at the south corner of the zoo, and I think there might be some in the outside area of the wonderful Blackburn (sorry to be vague, but they do move things about); and of course the socorro dove which is extinct in the wild.
 
I also may be visiting london zoo this week, however, it is going to be part of a greater day trip to london. So there will only be 2-3 hours allocated towards a visit too the zoo, would it be possible to see all of the major attractions (mappions, reptiles, hippo"s, penguins, gorilla, anteater, north bank, clore, into africa and the lion teraces) in that time?
Otherwise, my possible 1st visit to our national zoological park could be unfeasable.
 
I also may be visiting london zoo this week, however, it is going to be part of a greater day trip to london. So there will only be 2-3 hours allocated towards a visit too the zoo, would it be possible to see all of the major attractions (mappions, reptiles, hippo"s, penguins, gorilla, anteater, north bank, clore, into africa and the lion teraces) in that time?
Otherwise, my possible 1st visit to our national zoological park could be unfeasable.
 
Of course it's possible – you can walk around the entire zoo in an hour – depends on how long you spend looking at each exhibit. Decide on your favourites, download a map, locate them and make sure you see them first. Then you can spend the rest of the time strolling around in a relaxed fashion. Out of your list, it's probably best to leave off the Mappin terraces and the north bank, as they are the least rewarding.
 
Thankyou very much:) so do you think 2 hours would be enough? I would however be interested in visiting the mappins + the north bank, even if a quick visit, especially for the imperial crowned pigeon. Do you - or indeed anyone else - have a suggested route round the zoo?
 
I'll have a think about a route... two hours will cover your main attractions, though I usually think a thorough visit takes around four. But don't simply not go because you haven't got longer! By the way, the last time I saw the Imperial crowned pigeons they were outside the Blackburn Aviary, not on the north bank, though they may have been moved, does anyone know?
 
My recommended quick route around London Zoo

Enter zoo, turn right and enter aquarium, exit aquarium, go to Mappins.

Then enter Komodo dragon house, exit and view Galapagos giant tortoises.

Enter reptile house through side door or go to front entrance to ensure you complete the full loop of the building inside.

Leave reptile house, enter Gorilla Kingdom.

Exit Gorilla Kingdom, go through African bird safari aviary then see Casson pavillion/Zoo World.

Go through animal adventure starting at farmyard end. Exit animal adventure and view big cats.

Then BUGS building , anteaters also here but probably in indoor shelter to right of toilets opposite BUGS. Go through the monkey walkthrough at this point, the exit brings you out by the Blackburn Pavillion entrance.

Blackburn Pavillion, enter then exit and walk along back of BUGS building towards penguins. You will pass parrot aviaries, flamingos and pelicans.

After penguins go back towards the square with the cafe and shop and carrousel. Go down tunnel between cafe and shop.

Turn left on other side of tunnel. See otters, lemurs, meerkats, bat house and Clore. Continue to Cotton Terraces. Go along front of terraces (left hand side) for paddocks with tapir, giraffe, zebra and okapi. Follow path round and loop back via warthogs, hunting dogs and giraffe house interior.

Cross bridge to North Bank and aviaries. This is where the zoe's imperial pigeon is. Exit via North Bank turnstile exit if you are leaving via Camden Town.

If you are quick and don't linger at each exhibit you can see pretty much everything I think.
 
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Very good, I'd go along with that... except that at the moment unless you're there at the weekend the tunnel between shop and cafe is closed for maintenance. Never mind! You should carry on past the cafe, past the vultures which otherwise you might have missed, the lovely colobus monkeys, and finally turn right through the east tunnel and over the canal to do the north bank aviaries; then cross back over the canal and cover otters-to-okapi as above. NB if you leave by the turnstile exit as Shirokuma suggests, you won't have to exit via the shop...
 
thankyou very much for your advice, seems like that would suit us very well indeed. how long would you recommend this route would take? thankyou all!:)
 
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