This is quite a basic review from my trip to Living Coasts. Hope it is of interest.
The first animal area that can be viewed is the underwater area for the Auk Cliffs. This seemed to be a very good and interesting underwater area, and when we first arrived, both the tufted puffins and common guillemots were diving frequently (the pigeon guillemots didn't enter the water until part way through our second walk around). Opposite the auk underwater viewing there was a progressive mural based upon the great auk, which I felt was a nice touch to the area.
The first area to be viewed in the outdoor area is the Penguin Beach, which is home to over one hundred African penguins and a fair number of macaroni penguins (the latter of which were certainly the more active, and were the only species to enter the water). Several African penguins were in the stage of moulting and were being quite viciously evicted from the main group by the feathered penguins, there was at least one African and one macaroni penguin with unusually hooked bills- something I have never observed before in penguins and at least one fluffy juvenile macaroni penguin. Inca terns were everywhere, seemingly flying right at your head and only turning at the last second, and I also found I had to perform some pretty nifty manoevres to avoid getting covered in poo. Despite their copious toilet habits, these are extremely charming birds, and really made the visit special. I just love the red bill and legs, and their 'sergeant major' moustache. There were supposedly also free-flying common terns, but I never managed to spot any. A lone common eider was also on the main beach, and near the entrance to the Auk Cliffs, a lone bank cormorant had built itself a nest on the cliff.
Auk Cliffs had an interesting collection of birds, but some hardly seemed suitable for the enclosure. The tufted puffins seemed to appreciate their enclosure, with at least one drab juvenile on the rocks. The common guillemots and pigeon guillemots also displayed well, swimming and diving around the wave machine. All these birds did however to seemingly congregate at the bottom of the cliff, which of course differs from their naturally cliffside existance. Certainly what few ledges were present were covered in principally the pigeon guillemots, along with a couple of the tufted puffins. Another lone bank cormorant lived in here, and spent the entire visit asleep on a small island in the middle of the body of water. The red-legged kittiwakes were another bird of interest, and they occupied the top of the cliffs, where none of the other birds seemed to venture. The final species, and one I find less suitable for this exhibit, were four red-billed choughs. Having observed these birds in the wild along Pembrokeshire, I know they tend to enjoy the short-grazed clifftop grassland, and only ocassionally venture down onto the cliffs. The choughs all seemed to be congregated at the back of the aviary, and all seemed to spend much of their time perched on the netting. On the other hand, the choughs seemed to be the only birds using the air-space that the aviary had to offer. Overall, I'm not sure what to think about Auk Cliffs- it has an interesting collection and certainly breeds some species well, but then again I find the suitability for some of the species debatable.
Moving on, the third habitat was the Wader Estuary. This was another display of interesting species, and the birds here have a recreated estuary with its own tides to mimic natural conditions. Species I saw in here were black-winged stilt, pied avocet, ruff, common redshank, green-winged teal and a lone Caspian tern that, according to a small notice at the viewing area, was being treated by the vet for a bad foot. I didn't see the godwits (the species name escapes me) that were supposedly in there, or the avocet chicks that were on another small notice at the viewing area.
The fourth outdoor exhibit area was for the sea ducks, and was probably the equal most disappointing outdoor exhibit in the zoo (along with the fur seals). Partially, I think this may have been because I was there at the wrong time of the year, when the ducks were in the drab summer plumage, but also because they didn't seem to make a good display. Spectacled eiders, common eiders and black scoters were all there, but I may well have seen king eiders and not known because of the similarities in summer plumage, and because many of the birds had obscured themselves in bushes. None of the ducks seemed to move during the visit, and the only active animal here was an Inca tern, that took a brief plunge-dive into the duck pool.
Fur seals were the next enclosure, and I feel wholeheartedly that this area needs an overhaul of some sort. Five South American fur seals inhabited two enclosures that were desperately small for such impressive animals. A pair (presumably mother and pup) were in the smaller enclosure while three other fur seals had the run of a "larger" enclosure. As well as that, the larger pool needed to pretty urgent cleaning, because the largest fur seal (the bull, I presume) was bobbing about in a mixture of dead leaves, feathers and bird droppings, which sort of removed the appeal of the enclosure. Personally, I think the enclosure needs some smaller coastal animal such as an otter (if not sea otters, then Cape clawless or even European otters, that all live in coastal environments).
Then, you head indoors and enter what was probably one of my most favourite parts of Living Coasts- namely an area dedicated to mangroves. The walkway takes you past models of proboscis monkeys and fruit bats, painted murals showing mangrove birds and finally 3-D models emerging from the wall that depict a monitor lizard, a pufferfish, a sea snake and a manatee among other things. Then, you reach the first of several mangrove enclosures, that houses an amazing-looking breeding group of four-eyed fish. At least two small babies were there, and there were several adults that seemed extremely large, possibly with young. Also in here were several more regular fish species, the only species of which I can remember being the knight goby. Also in the middle of the aquarium was a large sandy island that seemed uninhabited. There were pieces of fruit on the island, which seemed to suggest land hermit crabs to me, but I was (and still am) unsure. Next up is the larger fish habitat, with a small bridge moving over the aquarium. The area was quite small, but that didn't seem to affect the fish too badly, with them showing plenty of natural shoaling behaviours. In here, I can remember three species of ray, coral cat sharks, silver moony, batfish and blue-striped snapper, but the labelled horseshoe crabs never emerged. The final area was also a joy to watch, but the aquariums here (linked by a shallow water channel) seemed a tad overcrowded, with the two small aquariums housing a combination of banded archerfish, white-spotted pufferfish and spotted scat, while mudskippers inhabit the small channel and ledges at the back of the enclosure. Overall, I was pleased with this area, but size in some cases was an issue.
The area based upon British waters was nothing to write home about, with three aquariums housing pot-bellied seahorses, two housing shore crabs, common prawns and apparently tompot blennies (which remained hidden), the cuttlefish enclosure was empty because all the females had recently laid eggs and died and there was finally a small open-top aquarium home to starfish, sea anenomes, common prawns, thick-lipped grey mullet and a species of wrasse.
Penguin and fur seal viewing were the next main areas, and by our second visit the bull fur seal had roused itself from bobbing in the corner and now swam in a basic circle around the rock where the other two seals were still sleeping (you know a seal enclosure isn't up to scratch when it 'paces' as such, in the water). The penguin viewing was more enjoyable, with several macaroni penguins diving and swimming together.
The final area is the relatively new 'Octopus Odyssey' home to four species of octopus in natural looking enclosures. The first habitat is a small enclosure for a tiny white-spotted octopus native to the Mediterranean, that never appeared, despite the keeper's best attempts to flush it out by disturbing all its favourite hiding places. The lesser octopus had the biggest enclosure, and here we did see it on our second journey around. Admittedly, it was just a tentacle that briefly poked out from underneath the rock where the female octopus was apparently gurading a nest full of eggs. The common octopus, a huge old thing, had an enclosure that seemed a bit small and underdecorated considering its vast bulk because, try as it might, the octopus couldn't fit itself into the rocky crevice made for it, so on both visits we saw its head poking out of the hole. The wonderpus, the final species showed on both trips round. The first time it was admittedly a blob in the top corner of the tank, partially obscured by driftwood but on our second trip round, it began to swim, climb up the tank walls and, for one amazing moment, changed to that stunning brown and white striped pattern we all know the wonderpus so well for. A stunning looking animal, if ever there was one.
The verdict:
Living Coasts is a good little collection, with some rare and stunning species, but it could admittedly improve the holdings of some of its collection, either by adding a couple of things to the enclosure (a few more ledges for the auks and a few more rocks for the common octopus) or by possibly moving them out of the collection in favour of species that would cope better (the fur seals especially)
Some species worth writing home about:
Tufted puffin
Pigeon guillemot
Red-legged kittiwake
Bank cormorant
Caspian tern
Spectacled eider
Four-eyed fish
Atlantic mudskipper
Wonderpus
Thanks for reading
The first animal area that can be viewed is the underwater area for the Auk Cliffs. This seemed to be a very good and interesting underwater area, and when we first arrived, both the tufted puffins and common guillemots were diving frequently (the pigeon guillemots didn't enter the water until part way through our second walk around). Opposite the auk underwater viewing there was a progressive mural based upon the great auk, which I felt was a nice touch to the area.
The first area to be viewed in the outdoor area is the Penguin Beach, which is home to over one hundred African penguins and a fair number of macaroni penguins (the latter of which were certainly the more active, and were the only species to enter the water). Several African penguins were in the stage of moulting and were being quite viciously evicted from the main group by the feathered penguins, there was at least one African and one macaroni penguin with unusually hooked bills- something I have never observed before in penguins and at least one fluffy juvenile macaroni penguin. Inca terns were everywhere, seemingly flying right at your head and only turning at the last second, and I also found I had to perform some pretty nifty manoevres to avoid getting covered in poo. Despite their copious toilet habits, these are extremely charming birds, and really made the visit special. I just love the red bill and legs, and their 'sergeant major' moustache. There were supposedly also free-flying common terns, but I never managed to spot any. A lone common eider was also on the main beach, and near the entrance to the Auk Cliffs, a lone bank cormorant had built itself a nest on the cliff.
Auk Cliffs had an interesting collection of birds, but some hardly seemed suitable for the enclosure. The tufted puffins seemed to appreciate their enclosure, with at least one drab juvenile on the rocks. The common guillemots and pigeon guillemots also displayed well, swimming and diving around the wave machine. All these birds did however to seemingly congregate at the bottom of the cliff, which of course differs from their naturally cliffside existance. Certainly what few ledges were present were covered in principally the pigeon guillemots, along with a couple of the tufted puffins. Another lone bank cormorant lived in here, and spent the entire visit asleep on a small island in the middle of the body of water. The red-legged kittiwakes were another bird of interest, and they occupied the top of the cliffs, where none of the other birds seemed to venture. The final species, and one I find less suitable for this exhibit, were four red-billed choughs. Having observed these birds in the wild along Pembrokeshire, I know they tend to enjoy the short-grazed clifftop grassland, and only ocassionally venture down onto the cliffs. The choughs all seemed to be congregated at the back of the aviary, and all seemed to spend much of their time perched on the netting. On the other hand, the choughs seemed to be the only birds using the air-space that the aviary had to offer. Overall, I'm not sure what to think about Auk Cliffs- it has an interesting collection and certainly breeds some species well, but then again I find the suitability for some of the species debatable.
Moving on, the third habitat was the Wader Estuary. This was another display of interesting species, and the birds here have a recreated estuary with its own tides to mimic natural conditions. Species I saw in here were black-winged stilt, pied avocet, ruff, common redshank, green-winged teal and a lone Caspian tern that, according to a small notice at the viewing area, was being treated by the vet for a bad foot. I didn't see the godwits (the species name escapes me) that were supposedly in there, or the avocet chicks that were on another small notice at the viewing area.
The fourth outdoor exhibit area was for the sea ducks, and was probably the equal most disappointing outdoor exhibit in the zoo (along with the fur seals). Partially, I think this may have been because I was there at the wrong time of the year, when the ducks were in the drab summer plumage, but also because they didn't seem to make a good display. Spectacled eiders, common eiders and black scoters were all there, but I may well have seen king eiders and not known because of the similarities in summer plumage, and because many of the birds had obscured themselves in bushes. None of the ducks seemed to move during the visit, and the only active animal here was an Inca tern, that took a brief plunge-dive into the duck pool.
Fur seals were the next enclosure, and I feel wholeheartedly that this area needs an overhaul of some sort. Five South American fur seals inhabited two enclosures that were desperately small for such impressive animals. A pair (presumably mother and pup) were in the smaller enclosure while three other fur seals had the run of a "larger" enclosure. As well as that, the larger pool needed to pretty urgent cleaning, because the largest fur seal (the bull, I presume) was bobbing about in a mixture of dead leaves, feathers and bird droppings, which sort of removed the appeal of the enclosure. Personally, I think the enclosure needs some smaller coastal animal such as an otter (if not sea otters, then Cape clawless or even European otters, that all live in coastal environments).
Then, you head indoors and enter what was probably one of my most favourite parts of Living Coasts- namely an area dedicated to mangroves. The walkway takes you past models of proboscis monkeys and fruit bats, painted murals showing mangrove birds and finally 3-D models emerging from the wall that depict a monitor lizard, a pufferfish, a sea snake and a manatee among other things. Then, you reach the first of several mangrove enclosures, that houses an amazing-looking breeding group of four-eyed fish. At least two small babies were there, and there were several adults that seemed extremely large, possibly with young. Also in here were several more regular fish species, the only species of which I can remember being the knight goby. Also in the middle of the aquarium was a large sandy island that seemed uninhabited. There were pieces of fruit on the island, which seemed to suggest land hermit crabs to me, but I was (and still am) unsure. Next up is the larger fish habitat, with a small bridge moving over the aquarium. The area was quite small, but that didn't seem to affect the fish too badly, with them showing plenty of natural shoaling behaviours. In here, I can remember three species of ray, coral cat sharks, silver moony, batfish and blue-striped snapper, but the labelled horseshoe crabs never emerged. The final area was also a joy to watch, but the aquariums here (linked by a shallow water channel) seemed a tad overcrowded, with the two small aquariums housing a combination of banded archerfish, white-spotted pufferfish and spotted scat, while mudskippers inhabit the small channel and ledges at the back of the enclosure. Overall, I was pleased with this area, but size in some cases was an issue.
The area based upon British waters was nothing to write home about, with three aquariums housing pot-bellied seahorses, two housing shore crabs, common prawns and apparently tompot blennies (which remained hidden), the cuttlefish enclosure was empty because all the females had recently laid eggs and died and there was finally a small open-top aquarium home to starfish, sea anenomes, common prawns, thick-lipped grey mullet and a species of wrasse.
Penguin and fur seal viewing were the next main areas, and by our second visit the bull fur seal had roused itself from bobbing in the corner and now swam in a basic circle around the rock where the other two seals were still sleeping (you know a seal enclosure isn't up to scratch when it 'paces' as such, in the water). The penguin viewing was more enjoyable, with several macaroni penguins diving and swimming together.
The final area is the relatively new 'Octopus Odyssey' home to four species of octopus in natural looking enclosures. The first habitat is a small enclosure for a tiny white-spotted octopus native to the Mediterranean, that never appeared, despite the keeper's best attempts to flush it out by disturbing all its favourite hiding places. The lesser octopus had the biggest enclosure, and here we did see it on our second journey around. Admittedly, it was just a tentacle that briefly poked out from underneath the rock where the female octopus was apparently gurading a nest full of eggs. The common octopus, a huge old thing, had an enclosure that seemed a bit small and underdecorated considering its vast bulk because, try as it might, the octopus couldn't fit itself into the rocky crevice made for it, so on both visits we saw its head poking out of the hole. The wonderpus, the final species showed on both trips round. The first time it was admittedly a blob in the top corner of the tank, partially obscured by driftwood but on our second trip round, it began to swim, climb up the tank walls and, for one amazing moment, changed to that stunning brown and white striped pattern we all know the wonderpus so well for. A stunning looking animal, if ever there was one.
The verdict:
Living Coasts is a good little collection, with some rare and stunning species, but it could admittedly improve the holdings of some of its collection, either by adding a couple of things to the enclosure (a few more ledges for the auks and a few more rocks for the common octopus) or by possibly moving them out of the collection in favour of species that would cope better (the fur seals especially)
Some species worth writing home about:
Tufted puffin
Pigeon guillemot
Red-legged kittiwake
Bank cormorant
Caspian tern
Spectacled eider
Four-eyed fish
Atlantic mudskipper
Wonderpus
Thanks for reading
