When I first heard about Sylvan Heights I thought "that place is in the middle of nowhere, I will never get to go there". Well, about a year later I found myself in the Washington NC area for work and a day with nothing to do (travel day). This was the perfect opportunity to visit the park as well as the NC Estuarium. You can read my review of the North Carolina Estuarium here.
First, to state the obvious, this park is all about the birds - birds are all that they have on display. If you are at all interested in birds this is a place you need to put on your radar. Entrance was $15, and there are no AZA discounts as they are not AZA, but if you are a member at the North Carolina Zoo entrance is free. $15 is a deal for this place.
I like birds, I volunteered in the Aviary department at Lowry Park Zoo for several years. That said, I have lost a lot of my knowledge about identifying different species. My main "complaint" here is that many species are not signed, so unless you really know your birds, you are kind of our of luck.
Most of the birds are semi-aquatic such as ducks, flamingos, mergansers, etc. but there are also a lot of other birds, particularly in the tropical aviaries. The only "birds of prey" on display are African fish eagle, Eurasian eagle owl, and king vulture.
The aviaries in general are all done really well. I was surprised that almost all of them are walk-through. I had expected just exterior viewing. They are very trusting that people will close the gate behind them....only the Wings of the Tropics and Birds of Paradise aviaries had self closing doors.
The weather was not great when I was there, light rain and in the low-mid 40's F (around 5-7 C). There were a few other people around, I think I saw 9 other people the 1.5 hours I was there. Given the bad weather that was not bad.
Upon entering from the main building you go straight into the Multinational Aviary. The "main" bird here is the American Flamingo's which have an island in the middle of the pond. The aviary itself is very large, but viewing is restricted to a boardwalk and exterior.
After the Multinational Aviary I made a right and went to Africa. This aviary has a walk through path about 50ft long, but the aviary itself is quite large with a pond and island, which is a common design here.
After Africa is a yard for Abyssinian ground hornbills and then a yard for African geese and Emu. I gather the Emu used to be on the other side of the park across from the pheasents, but they are in here now.
Following these two habitats one comes to the large Australian Aviary. This has a longer walk through dirt path and several islands for the inhabitants. The pond here is larger than other aviaries.
More pictures in the next post
Across from Australia is a side aviary with various quail, but it had heavy plastic over it, so no birds were visible.
Next up is what I gather to be the newest of the large aviaries: Birds of Paradise. This aviary is large with three interior separated areas and then multiple side aviaries outside and inside. I am not sure why the interior is separated as it seemed like most of the species were in all three. Unfortunately I only saw one female raggiana bird of paradise, but the aviary itself was really nicely designed and landscaped.
Upon exiting the Birds of Paradise aviary you are confronted by a small side aviary containing kookaburra. It was strange to see the small aviary for them. This and the upcoming eagle owl aviary were the two "worst" aviaries here. They are not bad per-se, but they are not up to the standards of the rest of the place.
By now my hands were very cold and it was nice to go into "Wings of the Tropics" as it is enclosed due to the tropical nature of the birds and landscape. This aviary is quite nice on the inside, if a little homely from the outside. Some of the birds are repeats from Birds of Paradise, such as Guinea turaco. The large interior has side aviaries on one side that contain toco toucan, African fish eagle, and several other species.
More pictures in the next post.
Directly outside of Wings of the Tropics one encounters another small aviary, this time with 4 different birds:
Next is the exciting "Endangered" pond/yard. This contains Baer's pochard, laysan teal, marbled teal, and West Indian whistling duck. This is the start of where some new and very nice signage are being added. The previous aviaries just had the identification signs, but here we find better signs with a lot more information.
Across from Endangered are the Peafowl and Pheasants aviaries. This is a pretty standard wood and wire aviary.
Beside the Endangered pond there is an empty yard, I believe it held the emu previously.
Next in line is the Eurasian eagle owl enclosure. This is not a great enclosure, but it is adequate for the two birds.
Further on we come to the Crowned Crane Aviary, which holds these great cranes as well as sacred ibis and white faced whistling ducks.
Across the path from the cranes is the Flamingo Aviary. This holds lesser African flamingos, apparently in a large flock (according to the sign), but there were only two when I was there. The aviary is nice, but it was odd to only see two animals that looked like juveniles.
Next we come to the line of aviaries that include Eurasia, cranes, North America, and South America. Each aviary is large and has many species in a mixed environment. Visually I liked Eurasia the best, but South America had the best mix of species that included macaws, flamingo, and various other birds. Side aviaries for red-legged siriea's, saddle-billed storks, and yards for demoiselle cranes and whooping cranes.
Pictures of this are in the next post.
Leaving the string of aviaries takes us on the home stretch and into the individual yard for cassowary and large aviary for king vulture. Until recently the king vulture aviary held rhinoceros hornbill and the cassowary yard seems to be brand new - and HUGE. I have never seen a cassowary yard this large.
King vulture aviary:
Cassowary:
The last large aviary is set aside for feeding American flamingo and budgies, it is named "The Landing Zone". This aviary was not open when I was there, but the lady at the ticket desk asked if I wanted to buy a ticket for feeding them, so I guess if you do they open it.
Pictures in the next post.
Now it is time to go as we have been through the whole place. One exits back through the same building and small gift shop.
In conclusion, this place is fantastic. I am sure it is even better in nice weather. If you are "into" birds you should make this a priority to go to. The drive from Raleigh is only about an hour and well worth your time.
First, to state the obvious, this park is all about the birds - birds are all that they have on display. If you are at all interested in birds this is a place you need to put on your radar. Entrance was $15, and there are no AZA discounts as they are not AZA, but if you are a member at the North Carolina Zoo entrance is free. $15 is a deal for this place.
I like birds, I volunteered in the Aviary department at Lowry Park Zoo for several years. That said, I have lost a lot of my knowledge about identifying different species. My main "complaint" here is that many species are not signed, so unless you really know your birds, you are kind of our of luck.
Most of the birds are semi-aquatic such as ducks, flamingos, mergansers, etc. but there are also a lot of other birds, particularly in the tropical aviaries. The only "birds of prey" on display are African fish eagle, Eurasian eagle owl, and king vulture.
The aviaries in general are all done really well. I was surprised that almost all of them are walk-through. I had expected just exterior viewing. They are very trusting that people will close the gate behind them....only the Wings of the Tropics and Birds of Paradise aviaries had self closing doors.
The weather was not great when I was there, light rain and in the low-mid 40's F (around 5-7 C). There were a few other people around, I think I saw 9 other people the 1.5 hours I was there. Given the bad weather that was not bad.
Upon entering from the main building you go straight into the Multinational Aviary. The "main" bird here is the American Flamingo's which have an island in the middle of the pond. The aviary itself is very large, but viewing is restricted to a boardwalk and exterior.
After the Multinational Aviary I made a right and went to Africa. This aviary has a walk through path about 50ft long, but the aviary itself is quite large with a pond and island, which is a common design here.
After Africa is a yard for Abyssinian ground hornbills and then a yard for African geese and Emu. I gather the Emu used to be on the other side of the park across from the pheasents, but they are in here now.
Following these two habitats one comes to the large Australian Aviary. This has a longer walk through dirt path and several islands for the inhabitants. The pond here is larger than other aviaries.
More pictures in the next post
Across from Australia is a side aviary with various quail, but it had heavy plastic over it, so no birds were visible.
Next up is what I gather to be the newest of the large aviaries: Birds of Paradise. This aviary is large with three interior separated areas and then multiple side aviaries outside and inside. I am not sure why the interior is separated as it seemed like most of the species were in all three. Unfortunately I only saw one female raggiana bird of paradise, but the aviary itself was really nicely designed and landscaped.
Upon exiting the Birds of Paradise aviary you are confronted by a small side aviary containing kookaburra. It was strange to see the small aviary for them. This and the upcoming eagle owl aviary were the two "worst" aviaries here. They are not bad per-se, but they are not up to the standards of the rest of the place.
By now my hands were very cold and it was nice to go into "Wings of the Tropics" as it is enclosed due to the tropical nature of the birds and landscape. This aviary is quite nice on the inside, if a little homely from the outside. Some of the birds are repeats from Birds of Paradise, such as Guinea turaco. The large interior has side aviaries on one side that contain toco toucan, African fish eagle, and several other species.
More pictures in the next post.
Directly outside of Wings of the Tropics one encounters another small aviary, this time with 4 different birds:
Next is the exciting "Endangered" pond/yard. This contains Baer's pochard, laysan teal, marbled teal, and West Indian whistling duck. This is the start of where some new and very nice signage are being added. The previous aviaries just had the identification signs, but here we find better signs with a lot more information.
Across from Endangered are the Peafowl and Pheasants aviaries. This is a pretty standard wood and wire aviary.
Beside the Endangered pond there is an empty yard, I believe it held the emu previously.
Next in line is the Eurasian eagle owl enclosure. This is not a great enclosure, but it is adequate for the two birds.
Further on we come to the Crowned Crane Aviary, which holds these great cranes as well as sacred ibis and white faced whistling ducks.
Across the path from the cranes is the Flamingo Aviary. This holds lesser African flamingos, apparently in a large flock (according to the sign), but there were only two when I was there. The aviary is nice, but it was odd to only see two animals that looked like juveniles.
Next we come to the line of aviaries that include Eurasia, cranes, North America, and South America. Each aviary is large and has many species in a mixed environment. Visually I liked Eurasia the best, but South America had the best mix of species that included macaws, flamingo, and various other birds. Side aviaries for red-legged siriea's, saddle-billed storks, and yards for demoiselle cranes and whooping cranes.
Pictures of this are in the next post.
Leaving the string of aviaries takes us on the home stretch and into the individual yard for cassowary and large aviary for king vulture. Until recently the king vulture aviary held rhinoceros hornbill and the cassowary yard seems to be brand new - and HUGE. I have never seen a cassowary yard this large.
King vulture aviary:
Cassowary:
The last large aviary is set aside for feeding American flamingo and budgies, it is named "The Landing Zone". This aviary was not open when I was there, but the lady at the ticket desk asked if I wanted to buy a ticket for feeding them, so I guess if you do they open it.
Pictures in the next post.
Now it is time to go as we have been through the whole place. One exits back through the same building and small gift shop.
In conclusion, this place is fantastic. I am sure it is even better in nice weather. If you are "into" birds you should make this a priority to go to. The drive from Raleigh is only about an hour and well worth your time.