Writhedhornbill
Well-Known Member
Lotherton Hall is a statley home and gardens located near Leeds, which has a small collection of birds.
Lotherton hall takes it’s name from an Anglo-Saxon settler, Hluttor who owned a farm on the current site of Lotherton. By 1086 there were records of a manor house and during the middle ages many famous Yorkshire families lived here (e.g Nevilles and the de Hothams.) Then in the 1540’s the land was purchased by the Gascoigne family in whose posseion it remained until it was given to Leeds city council in 1968.
The bird collection at Lotherton has kept many rare species in the past including a variety of hornbills and guanay cormorants, but at present they have most variety in their thrush, cracid and turaco collection.
The first species that can be seen on entering the park is the Indian sarus crane (Grus.a.antigone) which is the largest species of crane in the world. Opposite this exhibit is an enclosure for a pair of marabou storks and an andean goose.
Behind the marabou exhibit is a very oddly shaped aviary for a spix’s guan, a white cheeked turaco and groups of both red crested pochard and fulvous whistling ducks. This aviary is very tall and dark so it can be very hard to see the guan.
After this aviary there is a block of aviaries. There is a male temminck’s tragopan, a pair of purple swamphem, a green imperial pigeon, hwamei, superb starling and red winged starling. These exhibits are ok, but very dark and the birds can be very hard to see. Opposite this block of aviaries are two aviaries for snowy and barn owls.
After the owl aviary, there is a circular block of four aviaries. The first has a female yellow knobbed curassow, a red billed blue pie, a white cheeked turaco and a few white cheeked starlings. This aviary is a very busy one in which there is always something to be looking at. The next one holds a male brush turkey and a small group of common bronzewings. The brush turkey is very rare in zoos outside australia and the bird at Lotherton is the only one in the U.K. The next aviary has a breeding group of spix’s guan and on my visit two chicks were present. The final aviary has common piping guans and I believe grey plantain eaters too. These aviaries are also very dark with excessive foliage which make the birds hard to see.
There are four aviaries after this round block, two of which keep the very beautiful white throated laughing thrush, grey peacock pheasant, lilac breasted roller and laughing kookaburra. The other two house Swinhoe’s pheasant, green imperial pigeon and spreo starling. These second two are very empty aviaries that are the darkest at the park and are bulging with coniferous trees!
After these two aviaries there are exhibits for cranes and a large paddock which keeps rhea and cereopsis goose. Next to the rhea exhibit is an exhibit for southern ground hornbills.
This hornbill exhibit is at the end of the large walk in african aviary which is without a doubt the best exhibit at Lotherton. It is huge. There are crowned cranes, lilac breasted rollers, marbled teal, black crowned night heron, abysinian blue winged goose and seceral other species. There is supposedly a red billed hornbill in here but I didn’t see it.
At the entrance to this aviary is a block of concrete aviaries. The first houses a group of green oropendolas which are very active and wonderfully beautiful. Not so beautiful when they’re eating day old chicks! The next aviary has a blue eared pheasant, a masked plover an a trumpeter hornbill. This does seem to be a sign that the collection at Lotherton is starting to fade now as there are only individual birds. There are then 4 parrot species (i.e bare eyed cockatoos, sulphur crested cockatoo, grey parrots and galahs) and another aviary which is very similar to that occupied by the eared pheasant. This one however holds a very plucked eclectus, a red lory and reeve’s pheasant.
Next-door to this are two very similar aviaries. They hold both species of pauxi curassows (P.pauxi - helmeted and P.unicornis - horned) and these exhibits are very good for these birds beacuse they are very tall with branches, but also have a lot of floors space - including water features. There is also a hybrid amazon and patagonian conure kept in these tow aviaries amongst various waterfowl.
After this aviary are some horrible aviaries inset into the stone wall. The only notable species kept here are Duivenbode’s lories.
There is then an unusual corner aviary which houses violet turaco, grey peacock pheasant and channel billed toucan. This aviary is quite good and the violet turaco links nicely with the row of turaco aviaries to follow. There must be 6 or 7 species kept here including schalow’s, Hartlaub’s and that exciting plantain eater!
As well as these aviaries Lotherton has a few waterfowl exhibits. There are various duck species, black swan, white stork and flamingos kept in these exhibits.
Overall I feel that Lotherton could be a very good bird park but they need to review the way they display their birds for the public. But for free entry, it’s not bad.
Lotherton hall takes it’s name from an Anglo-Saxon settler, Hluttor who owned a farm on the current site of Lotherton. By 1086 there were records of a manor house and during the middle ages many famous Yorkshire families lived here (e.g Nevilles and the de Hothams.) Then in the 1540’s the land was purchased by the Gascoigne family in whose posseion it remained until it was given to Leeds city council in 1968.
The bird collection at Lotherton has kept many rare species in the past including a variety of hornbills and guanay cormorants, but at present they have most variety in their thrush, cracid and turaco collection.
The first species that can be seen on entering the park is the Indian sarus crane (Grus.a.antigone) which is the largest species of crane in the world. Opposite this exhibit is an enclosure for a pair of marabou storks and an andean goose.
Behind the marabou exhibit is a very oddly shaped aviary for a spix’s guan, a white cheeked turaco and groups of both red crested pochard and fulvous whistling ducks. This aviary is very tall and dark so it can be very hard to see the guan.
After this aviary there is a block of aviaries. There is a male temminck’s tragopan, a pair of purple swamphem, a green imperial pigeon, hwamei, superb starling and red winged starling. These exhibits are ok, but very dark and the birds can be very hard to see. Opposite this block of aviaries are two aviaries for snowy and barn owls.
After the owl aviary, there is a circular block of four aviaries. The first has a female yellow knobbed curassow, a red billed blue pie, a white cheeked turaco and a few white cheeked starlings. This aviary is a very busy one in which there is always something to be looking at. The next one holds a male brush turkey and a small group of common bronzewings. The brush turkey is very rare in zoos outside australia and the bird at Lotherton is the only one in the U.K. The next aviary has a breeding group of spix’s guan and on my visit two chicks were present. The final aviary has common piping guans and I believe grey plantain eaters too. These aviaries are also very dark with excessive foliage which make the birds hard to see.
There are four aviaries after this round block, two of which keep the very beautiful white throated laughing thrush, grey peacock pheasant, lilac breasted roller and laughing kookaburra. The other two house Swinhoe’s pheasant, green imperial pigeon and spreo starling. These second two are very empty aviaries that are the darkest at the park and are bulging with coniferous trees!
After these two aviaries there are exhibits for cranes and a large paddock which keeps rhea and cereopsis goose. Next to the rhea exhibit is an exhibit for southern ground hornbills.
This hornbill exhibit is at the end of the large walk in african aviary which is without a doubt the best exhibit at Lotherton. It is huge. There are crowned cranes, lilac breasted rollers, marbled teal, black crowned night heron, abysinian blue winged goose and seceral other species. There is supposedly a red billed hornbill in here but I didn’t see it.
At the entrance to this aviary is a block of concrete aviaries. The first houses a group of green oropendolas which are very active and wonderfully beautiful. Not so beautiful when they’re eating day old chicks! The next aviary has a blue eared pheasant, a masked plover an a trumpeter hornbill. This does seem to be a sign that the collection at Lotherton is starting to fade now as there are only individual birds. There are then 4 parrot species (i.e bare eyed cockatoos, sulphur crested cockatoo, grey parrots and galahs) and another aviary which is very similar to that occupied by the eared pheasant. This one however holds a very plucked eclectus, a red lory and reeve’s pheasant.
Next-door to this are two very similar aviaries. They hold both species of pauxi curassows (P.pauxi - helmeted and P.unicornis - horned) and these exhibits are very good for these birds beacuse they are very tall with branches, but also have a lot of floors space - including water features. There is also a hybrid amazon and patagonian conure kept in these tow aviaries amongst various waterfowl.
After this aviary are some horrible aviaries inset into the stone wall. The only notable species kept here are Duivenbode’s lories.
There is then an unusual corner aviary which houses violet turaco, grey peacock pheasant and channel billed toucan. This aviary is quite good and the violet turaco links nicely with the row of turaco aviaries to follow. There must be 6 or 7 species kept here including schalow’s, Hartlaub’s and that exciting plantain eater!
As well as these aviaries Lotherton has a few waterfowl exhibits. There are various duck species, black swan, white stork and flamingos kept in these exhibits.
Overall I feel that Lotherton could be a very good bird park but they need to review the way they display their birds for the public. But for free entry, it’s not bad.
