ornithom
Member
Yesterday (26/05/09) my 7 year old son and I visited Lotherton Hall Bird Gardens.
This review is written with the intention of being an update of WrithedHornbills’s previous review and will point out where exhibits have remained the same as that earlier visit and where new exhibits/species have changed.
Generally, we found the gardens to be very clean, well maintained and with an excellent variety of species considering that the only cash exchanged was for the car park (£3.60). I went into the gardens having read the previous review and so anticipated a slightly run-down, maybe depressed collection of run-of-the-mill species. However, I was proved wrong and found the gardens to be a delightful collection, housed in varying levels of quality (some were excellent such as the ‘Welcome to the Wadi’ walk-through aviary, and the Condor aviary) whereas some were in desperate need of attention (particularly the finch/quail/caique area). I have created a map of the zoo (I couldn’t find one anywhere on the internet or on site!?!) and have numbered the exhibits in the order we visited them. This can be found in the gallery. There are also a number of photos there.
So to the species, upon entrance the Sarus Crane is still in place, along with a pair of Demoiselle and then onto the Marabou, Andean Goose and a Grey Crowned-Crane. Following the path around to the left, there is a low hedge-boundary with Barnacle Goose, and continues onto a row of aviaries, housing some Starlings, Pigeons, and Hwamei. The only changes here are that the Temminck’s Tragopan is no longer present and further along you can find a pair of Eagle Owl and Great Horned Owl. The strange shaped aviary noted by WrithedHornbill now contains a pair of Common Raven. The circular segmented aviaries now hold Horned Curassow instead of the Yellow-knobbed Curassow, but still hold the other species mentioned. The big disappointment was that the Brush-Turkey has gone! The top section (exhibits 17-19) still hold the same species as previously observed. The path continues south past Black Stork, White-naped Crane, Emu and Common Rhea and onto the newest exhibit in the gardens the fantastic Condor Aviary. This houses an Andean Condor, two male Turkey Vultures, some Chiloe Wigeon, Ringed Teal and Ruddy-headed Goose. This aviary is a very well laid-out exhibit, containing a pond and fairly naturally constructed cliff sections. Both the condor and vultures were both very showy. Moving on from the condors, you cross a bridge and come alongside the largest waterfowl section in the gardens. There are at least 20 species here, including the rare Laysan Teal, the beautiful Mandarin, and the charming Chilean Pintail. The Red-crested Pochard had chicks when we visited. After trying to spot all the ducks, the path moves fluidly round the aviaries 26-47 which are almost identical to the previous review. As WrithedHornbill noted at the time some of the aviaries here are in need of some care and don’t show the birds of to their fullest potential. Some of the contents here are Zebra Finches, Mannikins of 3 species, and 5-6 British native species which where being held for the Pudsey Show. The female Yellow-knobbed Curassow can be found in aviary 39, and other entertaining species in this area are the Green Oropendola, White-cheeked Turaco and Masked Plover. From here the path leads through the African walk-through aviary. I agree with WrithedHornbill here in that this is by far the best exhibit in the gardens, and shows some unusual birds off to their full potential. The flock of Sacred Ibis, Little Egret and Waldrapp are wonderfully vibrant, and the pond has some charming White-faced Whistlers and Marbled Teal. A bit of time spent in here yielded good views of Night Heron, Violet Turaco and Speckled Pigeon. But no Red-billed Hornbill!! The path from this aviary goes past the Southern Ground Hornbill and then follows a few more waterfowl exhibits (Red-breasted Goose) and comes out near the entrance/exit by the Caribbean Flamingos.
All in all, we had an excellent 3 hours steady walking round, some birds were not seen (which is the norm with most zoos!) and some were seen when it was a bit quieter. We found the general ‘open-ness’ of the enclosure boundaries gave excellent views, particularly of the waterfowl and cranes. Most of the exhibits had a suitable level of foliage. WrithedHornbill seemed to dislike this for some reason, but I feel it adds to excitement of finding a species in the depths of its environment, but then again I’m also a birdwatcher!
And for £1.80 each it is certainly worth a visit. Which brings me onto my only question, where does Leeds City Council get the money to fund this bird gardens?
Species List
Although I don’t claim that this is an exhaustive list of the species kept at Lotherton, I did keep a list of every species that was signed, and at least a quarter of the species that were seen were not signed up. I list here 130 species, which seems somewhat short of the 200 total claimed on the website.
African Grey Parrot
Andean Condor
Andean Goose
Bahama Pintail
Bali Mynah
Bank Mynah
Bare-eyed Cockatoo
Barn Owl
Barnacle Goose
Black Stork
Black Swan
Black-crowned Night-heron
Black-headed Caique
Black-headed Mannikin
Blue Eared-Pheasant
Blue-winged Goose
Bourke’s Parakeet
Bronzewing Pigeon
Budgerigar
Cape Teal
Caribbean Flamingo
Carolina Duck
Cereopsis Goose
Channel-billed Toucan
Chestnut Teal
Chilean Pintail
Chiloe Wigeon
Chinese Painted Quail
Common Eider
Common Piping Guan
Common Pochard
Common Quail
Common Raven
Common Rhea
Common Shelduck
Crested Pigeon
Crested Seriema
Demoiselle Crane
Diamond Dove
Duivenbode's Lory
Emperor Goose
Emu
Eurasian Wigeon
European Eagle-owl
European Goldfinch
European Greenfinch
European Siskin
Fulvous Whistling-duck
Galah
Gold-breasted Waxbill
Great Horned Owl
Green Imperial Pigeon
Green Oropendola
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
Grey-sided Laughing-thrush
Hamerkop
Hawaiian Goose
Hooded Merganser
Horned Curassow
Java Sparrow
Koklass Pheasant
Lady Amherst' Pheasant
Laughing Kookaburra
Laysan Teal
Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Lilac-breasted Roller
Little Egret
Luzon Bleeding-heart
Mandarin
Maned Goose
Marabou
Marbled Teal
Masked Plover
Mealy Rosella
Noble Macaw
Northern Bullfinch
Northern Pintail
Paradise Shelduck
Patagonian Conure
Pennant Parakeet
Philippine Duck
Pied Avocet
Pied Imperial Pigeon
Purple Glossy-Starling
Purple Swamphen
Radjah Shelduck
Red Lory
Red Shoveler
Red-billed Hornbill
Red-billed Magpie
Red-breasted Goose
Red-crested Pochard
Red-crested Turaco
Red-winged Starling
Reeve's Pheasant
Ringed Teal
Rosy-billed Pochard
Ruddy-headed Goose
Sacred Ibis
Sarus Crane
Schalow's Turaco
Senegal Parrot
Snowy Owl
Song Thrush
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Southern Helmeted Curassow
Southern Pochard
Speckled Pigeon
Spectacled Laughing-Thrush (Hwamei)
Spice Finch
Spix's Guan
Superb Spreo
Superb Starling
Swinhoe's Pheasant
Trumpeter Hornbill
Tufted Duck
Turkey Vulture
Violet Turaco
Waldrapp
Western Grey Plantaineater
White Stork
White-cheeked Starling
White-cheeked Turaco
White-faced Whistling-duck
White-headed Mannikin
White-naped Crane
White-throated Laughing-Thrush
Yellow-knobbed Curassow
Zebra Finch
This review is written with the intention of being an update of WrithedHornbills’s previous review and will point out where exhibits have remained the same as that earlier visit and where new exhibits/species have changed.
Generally, we found the gardens to be very clean, well maintained and with an excellent variety of species considering that the only cash exchanged was for the car park (£3.60). I went into the gardens having read the previous review and so anticipated a slightly run-down, maybe depressed collection of run-of-the-mill species. However, I was proved wrong and found the gardens to be a delightful collection, housed in varying levels of quality (some were excellent such as the ‘Welcome to the Wadi’ walk-through aviary, and the Condor aviary) whereas some were in desperate need of attention (particularly the finch/quail/caique area). I have created a map of the zoo (I couldn’t find one anywhere on the internet or on site!?!) and have numbered the exhibits in the order we visited them. This can be found in the gallery. There are also a number of photos there.
So to the species, upon entrance the Sarus Crane is still in place, along with a pair of Demoiselle and then onto the Marabou, Andean Goose and a Grey Crowned-Crane. Following the path around to the left, there is a low hedge-boundary with Barnacle Goose, and continues onto a row of aviaries, housing some Starlings, Pigeons, and Hwamei. The only changes here are that the Temminck’s Tragopan is no longer present and further along you can find a pair of Eagle Owl and Great Horned Owl. The strange shaped aviary noted by WrithedHornbill now contains a pair of Common Raven. The circular segmented aviaries now hold Horned Curassow instead of the Yellow-knobbed Curassow, but still hold the other species mentioned. The big disappointment was that the Brush-Turkey has gone! The top section (exhibits 17-19) still hold the same species as previously observed. The path continues south past Black Stork, White-naped Crane, Emu and Common Rhea and onto the newest exhibit in the gardens the fantastic Condor Aviary. This houses an Andean Condor, two male Turkey Vultures, some Chiloe Wigeon, Ringed Teal and Ruddy-headed Goose. This aviary is a very well laid-out exhibit, containing a pond and fairly naturally constructed cliff sections. Both the condor and vultures were both very showy. Moving on from the condors, you cross a bridge and come alongside the largest waterfowl section in the gardens. There are at least 20 species here, including the rare Laysan Teal, the beautiful Mandarin, and the charming Chilean Pintail. The Red-crested Pochard had chicks when we visited. After trying to spot all the ducks, the path moves fluidly round the aviaries 26-47 which are almost identical to the previous review. As WrithedHornbill noted at the time some of the aviaries here are in need of some care and don’t show the birds of to their fullest potential. Some of the contents here are Zebra Finches, Mannikins of 3 species, and 5-6 British native species which where being held for the Pudsey Show. The female Yellow-knobbed Curassow can be found in aviary 39, and other entertaining species in this area are the Green Oropendola, White-cheeked Turaco and Masked Plover. From here the path leads through the African walk-through aviary. I agree with WrithedHornbill here in that this is by far the best exhibit in the gardens, and shows some unusual birds off to their full potential. The flock of Sacred Ibis, Little Egret and Waldrapp are wonderfully vibrant, and the pond has some charming White-faced Whistlers and Marbled Teal. A bit of time spent in here yielded good views of Night Heron, Violet Turaco and Speckled Pigeon. But no Red-billed Hornbill!! The path from this aviary goes past the Southern Ground Hornbill and then follows a few more waterfowl exhibits (Red-breasted Goose) and comes out near the entrance/exit by the Caribbean Flamingos.
All in all, we had an excellent 3 hours steady walking round, some birds were not seen (which is the norm with most zoos!) and some were seen when it was a bit quieter. We found the general ‘open-ness’ of the enclosure boundaries gave excellent views, particularly of the waterfowl and cranes. Most of the exhibits had a suitable level of foliage. WrithedHornbill seemed to dislike this for some reason, but I feel it adds to excitement of finding a species in the depths of its environment, but then again I’m also a birdwatcher!
And for £1.80 each it is certainly worth a visit. Which brings me onto my only question, where does Leeds City Council get the money to fund this bird gardens?
Species List
Although I don’t claim that this is an exhaustive list of the species kept at Lotherton, I did keep a list of every species that was signed, and at least a quarter of the species that were seen were not signed up. I list here 130 species, which seems somewhat short of the 200 total claimed on the website.
African Grey Parrot
Andean Condor
Andean Goose
Bahama Pintail
Bali Mynah
Bank Mynah
Bare-eyed Cockatoo
Barn Owl
Barnacle Goose
Black Stork
Black Swan
Black-crowned Night-heron
Black-headed Caique
Black-headed Mannikin
Blue Eared-Pheasant
Blue-winged Goose
Bourke’s Parakeet
Bronzewing Pigeon
Budgerigar
Cape Teal
Caribbean Flamingo
Carolina Duck
Cereopsis Goose
Channel-billed Toucan
Chestnut Teal
Chilean Pintail
Chiloe Wigeon
Chinese Painted Quail
Common Eider
Common Piping Guan
Common Pochard
Common Quail
Common Raven
Common Rhea
Common Shelduck
Crested Pigeon
Crested Seriema
Demoiselle Crane
Diamond Dove
Duivenbode's Lory
Emperor Goose
Emu
Eurasian Wigeon
European Eagle-owl
European Goldfinch
European Greenfinch
European Siskin
Fulvous Whistling-duck
Galah
Gold-breasted Waxbill
Great Horned Owl
Green Imperial Pigeon
Green Oropendola
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
Grey-sided Laughing-thrush
Hamerkop
Hawaiian Goose
Hooded Merganser
Horned Curassow
Java Sparrow
Koklass Pheasant
Lady Amherst' Pheasant
Laughing Kookaburra
Laysan Teal
Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Lilac-breasted Roller
Little Egret
Luzon Bleeding-heart
Mandarin
Maned Goose
Marabou
Marbled Teal
Masked Plover
Mealy Rosella
Noble Macaw
Northern Bullfinch
Northern Pintail
Paradise Shelduck
Patagonian Conure
Pennant Parakeet
Philippine Duck
Pied Avocet
Pied Imperial Pigeon
Purple Glossy-Starling
Purple Swamphen
Radjah Shelduck
Red Lory
Red Shoveler
Red-billed Hornbill
Red-billed Magpie
Red-breasted Goose
Red-crested Pochard
Red-crested Turaco
Red-winged Starling
Reeve's Pheasant
Ringed Teal
Rosy-billed Pochard
Ruddy-headed Goose
Sacred Ibis
Sarus Crane
Schalow's Turaco
Senegal Parrot
Snowy Owl
Song Thrush
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Southern Helmeted Curassow
Southern Pochard
Speckled Pigeon
Spectacled Laughing-Thrush (Hwamei)
Spice Finch
Spix's Guan
Superb Spreo
Superb Starling
Swinhoe's Pheasant
Trumpeter Hornbill
Tufted Duck
Turkey Vulture
Violet Turaco
Waldrapp
Western Grey Plantaineater
White Stork
White-cheeked Starling
White-cheeked Turaco
White-faced Whistling-duck
White-headed Mannikin
White-naped Crane
White-throated Laughing-Thrush
Yellow-knobbed Curassow
Zebra Finch