Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo News 2017

I will be visiting on 2nd June and will be updating my blog with a review of my visit unfortunately I was told I couldn't advertise my blog on here.
I may put a short version of my review on here and a list of species seen.
 
The Buffy Fish Owls are in one of the aviaries behind the Big Cats. The Grey Gulls are in the Cottage Aviary near the Parrots. There's just one Lesser Adjutant Stork next to the Howler Monkeys with a pair (possibly nesting) opposite the Wattled Cranes on the way up to the Cottage Aviary. The Brown Lory are next to the Hyacinth Macaws in the Parrot area. If you get a map on the way in, all will become clear and you'll be able to wander about and find things easily.
 
Just looked at your list again - the Australian Thick-knees are in the Desert House and there are Green Turaco in the Cottage Aviary and also the Avian Breeding Centre area, I think.
 
Any news on names for the giraffe calf ? Im guessing Sangha is rearing her successfully ?
 
I go quite regular and have now got it down to about 3.5/4 hours. The first visit was about 6 hours. I hope you enjoy your visit,
 
Embu said:
Any news on names for the giraffe calf ? Im guessing Sangha is rearing her successfully ?
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It's all going well. Sangha and the calf are being kept separate from Joanna, one of the older daughters, as she has a tendency to interfere with the bonding process by suckling from lactating mothers.
 
I haven't seen the motmot, the Madagascar turtle doves or the quelea recently. It has been longer since I saw the yellow-streaked lories and the pheasants and I don't recall ever seeing the bulbul or the quail.I suspect that the motmot and the quelea were old birds which may have passed away, I think that many of the others are off-show, but I don't know any specifics.
There has been some shuffling of the bird collection in the past few months, there are still one or two empty aviaries and the labels are not 100% trustworthy - but I tried to keep your list in mind as I visited today, to supplement the information provided in previous posts.
The crested quail doves (or mountain witch doves as I prefer to call them) are in Reptile Tropics and I saw a green turaco there today too (there is also a chick in the rearing room of the Avian Breeding Centre). The pair of liocichlas are in the lobby area between Reptile Tropics and the Desert House, which has recently been renovated. I didn't see the grey-backed thrushes today, but a few weeks ago they were in one of the separate aviaries at the back of this lobby which are hard to see from the footpath - you might be able to spot them, but a camera with a long lens or a small pair of binoculars would help.
I did see one of the Duivenbode's lories, but their aviary is large and thickly planted and I suspect they spend a lot of time in their nest box, so it is much easier to hear them than to see them. You won't have any problem seeing the speckled pigeons in the Brookside aviary, they are the only birds in there at the moment, except for the African eagle owl!
The labelling in the Amphibian Ark is also dodgy. There are some nice new exhibits without labels, and perhaps some don't have amphibian inhabitants yet, there are some blank windows waiting for new exhibits too, but there are some nice dart frogs and mantellas too. You should be able to see the whole zoo in 4 hours, provided you walk at Pertinax pace. If you need to save time you could miss the path past the cheetahs, they aren't particularly easy to see and there is nothing else beside that path. Finally, don't wouldn't wait until 4pm to look for the echidna. Try earlier, but be prepared to revisit, he's worth it :)
 
gentle lemur said:
I haven't seen the motmot, the Madagascar turtle doves or the quelea recently. It has been longer since I saw the yellow-streaked lories and the pheasants and I don't recall ever seeing the bulbul or the quail.I suspect that the motmot and the quelea were old birds which may have passed away, I think that many of the others are off-show, but I don't know any specifics.
There has been some shuffling of the bird collection in the past few months, there are still one or two empty aviaries and the labels are not 100% trustworthy - but I tried to keep your list in mind as I visited today, to supplement the information provided in previous posts.
The crested quail doves (or mountain witch doves as I prefer to call them) are in Reptile Tropics and I saw a green turaco there today too (there is also a chick in the rearing room of the Avian Breeding Centre). The pair of liocichlas are in the lobby area between Reptile Tropics and the Desert House, which has recently been renovated. I didn't see the grey-backed thrushes today, but a few weeks ago they were in one of the separate aviaries at the back of this lobby which are hard to see from the footpath - you might be able to spot them, but a camera with a long lens or a small pair of binoculars would help.
I did see one of the Duivenbode's lories, but their aviary is large and thickly planted and I suspect they spend a lot of time in their nest box, so it is much easier to hear them than to see them. You won't have any problem seeing the speckled pigeons in the Brookside aviary, they are the only birds in there at the moment, except for the African eagle owl!
The labelling in the Amphibian Ark is also dodgy. There are some nice new exhibits without labels, and perhaps some don't have amphibian inhabitants yet, there are some blank windows waiting for new exhibits too, but there are some nice dart frogs and mantellas too. You should be able to see the whole zoo in 4 hours, provided you walk at Pertinax pace. If you need to save time you could miss the path past the cheetahs, they aren't particularly easy to see and there is nothing else beside that path. Finally, don't wouldn't wait until 4pm to look for the echidna. Try earlier, but be prepared to revisit, he's worth it :)
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If there's an African Eagle Owl in the Brookside Aviary, why doesn't it eat the Speckled/Triangular Spotted Pigeons?
 
FBBird said:
If there's an African Eagle Owl in the Brookside Aviary, why doesn't it eat the Speckled/Triangular Spotted Pigeons?
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Perhaps it can't catch them, it's a small eagle owl and they are quite large pigeons - but I was still surprised to see it.
 
Gigit said:
I wondered if it was there for pest control?
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I hadn't thought of that, but it's a big aviary and one owl isn't going to do much. I don't know why they have removed all the ibises and egrets - it could be predation of the eggs or chicks.
 
Gigit said:
Am I peculiar in never having visited a zoo with the aim of getting out as quickly as possible? ;)
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I didn;t mean it that way, what i meant was as a regular visitor i don't necessarily spend as much time at each enclosure as a first time visitor would, also i tend to go when it's quieter and not a Saturday in June, when it will be busier.
 
gentle lemur said:
The labelling in the Amphibian Ark is also dodgy. There are some nice new exhibits without labels, and perhaps some don't have amphibian inhabitants yet
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The new tanks with black backgrounds containing tiny frogs are very good. But you shouldn't have to photograph the list of frogs attached to the door at the back of the exhibit and try to match up the names with your below par photos of the frogs when you get back to your computer.

I don't know why some zoos find it so hard to put up signs, especially indoors where they don't have to be weather-proof. They don't have to have fancy shapes and fonts - just up-to-date information. Also, it would be very useful for those in the Amphib house to show the actual size of the frog you're looking for.
 
AdrianW1963 said:
I will be visiting Paignton zoo for the first-time next week (02/06/2017) unfortunately it will only be for around 4 hours..
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I notice that tonight you've asked for a list of species in Tropical Realm at Chester on its opening , but What did you think of Paignton today?
 
Yep it's not for me it's for a friend but did have a great time at Paignton and will be returning for a complete day in July when I will be spending 8 days in the area, didn't see everything I wanted to but that's just me.
Very friendly staff and some useful info gained from them, didn't see the manned wolf which was one of my main reasons for going but on the other hand I did see the Bush Thick Knee a first for me.
 
Will be putting a full review of my visit on here after I have uploaded a full review to my blog also will be putting many photographs on the gallery also very shortly,
When I return in July I hope to visit other collection in the area but all the reviews for these visits will go on my blog only.
 
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