Part VI: Condor Aviary to Seabird Aviary
The next enclosure we reached was a sizeable aviary for
Andean Condor (
Vultur gryphus). I was rather pleased to see this species, as it is one with which I am rather fond, and even more pleased to note the fact that the individuals at Zoo Berlin seemed to have a decent amount of space; however the aviary was not quite as large as other aviaries for the taxon which I have seen. In my opinion, the excellent vulture aviary already discussed at Tierpark Berlin would have made a far better enclosure for this species, even if the condors were to share with those taxa already present within.
The aviary next to that of the condors comprised a large and rather pleasant wetland enclosure, holding the following taxa:
Patagonian Crested Duck (
Lophonetta specularioides specularioides)
Black-faced Ibis (
Theristicus melanopis)
Eurasian Spoonbill (
Platalea leucorodia)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus)
Black Stork (
Ciconia nigra)
Common Goldeneye (
Bucephala clangula clangula)
White-faced Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Magpie Goose (
Anseranas semipalmata)
Asian Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus episcopus)
Scarlet Ibis (
Eudocimus ruber)
Maguari Stork (
Ciconia maguari)
All of these taxa represented very nice species, and in the case of the Maguari Stork, a taxon I had never seen before. Unfortunately my view of this species was rather limited, as when I visited the animals were kept in an adjoining semi-offshow cage - as I know the species has bred a few times at the collection, it is possible they were separated for this reason. However, the two species I was most pleased to see within this enclosure were in fact the Black-faced Ibis and Woolly-necked Stork; although I have seen both species on a number of occasions they just have *something* that appeals to me.
We next passed an enclosure for
African Hunting Dog (
Lycaon pictus); a pleasant and reasonably-sized paddock seperated from the path by a moat fed by the "Hop Ditch" flowing through the preceding enclosure as well as several of the surrounding enclosures. The paddock was planted with a number of mature trees, no doubt present prior to the current occupants of the enclosure, as well as a number of tree trunks and bushes. From here, our path started to run behind the Fasanerie, with large enclosures coming off the back of the building to the left of us, and the occasional aviary to the right of us, against the border of the zoo perimeter. The external Fasanerie enclosures contained the following taxa:
Flightless Steamer Duck (
Tachyeres pteneres)
European Eagle-owl (Bubo bubo bubo)
Southern Cassowary (
Casuarius casuarius)
Greater Rhea (Rhea americana)
Wild-form
Muscovy Duck (
Cairina moschata)
Indian Sarus Crane (
Grus antigone antigone)
These enclosures were all pleasant enough, thickly planted with vegetation, and contained taxa which I find rather appealing - particularly the wild-form Muscovy Duck and the Flightless Steamer Duck. However, I did find myself rather wishing that rather than the commonplace Southern Cassowary, they had held Dwarf or Northern
however, this was but a fleeting thought, as I knew that the Fasanerie proper and Bird House would, between them, more than sate my appetite for unusual avian taxa.
Against the perimeter of the zoo, and facing some of these enclosures, we came to a large and well-designed enclosure for
Waldrapp Ibis (Geronticus eremita); unlike the enclosure for the same taxon at Tierpark Berlin, which I had felt was a little out-of-place where it was situated and resembled more or less every other enclosure for the taxon which I have seen, I was rather more impressed with this one. It looked much the same as the sister enclosure at Tierpark, true, but somehow it "fit" where the other had not. The aviary was thickly vegetated and, at the back of the enclosure, featured a stonework wall with alcoves dotted here and there, mimicking the natural habitat of the taxon.
Next to this enclosure were two flamingo aviaries, tucked away and to an uneducated eye nothing of great note - they were perfectly adequate for the animals held within, comprising a small pool and vegetated external enclosure and an off-display indoor enclosure, but I daresay that the average zoo-goer would dismiss them as much the same as the other flamingos held at the zoo - or indeed the many other flamingos held in collections throughout Europe. However, to zoo enthusiasts such as ourselves, the inhabitants of these enclosures were of much more note than any of the taxa held in the large Fasanerie aviaries already mentioned. The first of these held a species which, although very unusual as far as myself and Helly were concerned as natives of the UK, is admittedly much more commonplace on the Continent;
Lesser Flamingo (
Phoeniconaias minor). These flamingos were mixed with a handful of
Black-necked Stilt (
Himantopus mexicanus). However, the second flamingo aviary held a mixed group of two very unusual taxa indeed;
Puna Flamingo (
Phoenicoparrus jamesi) and
Andean Flamingo
(
Phoenicoparrus andinus), both of which are successfully breeding at the collection and are only found in one other public collection within Europe, Slimbridge WWT in the United Kingdom. As such, with our visit to Zoo Berlin myself and Helly were able to say we had seen every single individual of these two taxa held on public display within Europe - and as the population of both taxa is severely diminished in the UK, to the point of only a single geriatric Puna remaining, I fear that even the breeding population at Berlin will not be sufficent to ensure either taxon remains in Europe for much longer.
Prior to viewing the Fasanerie proper, we decided to take the opportunity to visit a small seabird aviary which was opposite the northern end of the Fasanerie building. This aviary included a large, deep pool in the middle, with rockwork, pebbles and sand, and vegetated areas surrounding the pool on all sides, barring a small portion of path which - through a gate into the aviary - the public were able to access in order to watch the inhabitants with more ease.
This seabird aviary was both very pleasant and stocked with a rather impressive array of taxa; although biased towards native seabirds and shorebirds of northern Europe, taxa from the New World were also represented. The aviary held the following taxa:
Bufflehead (
Bucephala albeola)
Garganey (
Anas querquedula)
Smew (
Mergellus albellus)
Common Goldeneye (
Bucephala clangula clangula)
European Eider (
Somateria mollissima mollissima)
Eurasian Green-winged Teal (
Anas crecca crecca)
Arctic Tern (
Sterna paradisaea)
Ruddy Turnstone (
Arenaria interpres)
Ruff (
Philomachus pugnax)
Pied Avocet (
Recurvirostra avosetta)
Common Redshank (
Tringa totanus)
Inca Tern (
Larosterna inca)
Eurasian Curlew (
Numenius arquata)
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
Black-necked Stilt (
Himantopus mexicanus)
Being rather fond of shorebirds, and having seen many of these taxa in the wild, I was rather pleased overall by this aviary.
We then turned our attention to the Fasanerie, one of the points of the day which I had most been looking forward to.
(
Attached are photographs of a Lesser Flamingo, the Andean and Puna Flamingo aviary, a Puna Flamingo and some of the shorebirds within the Seabird Aviary)
