Jurong Bird Park » Jurong Bird Park

24-01-2008

Glad you made it here Pat!

The Waterfall Aviary is gradually being Africanized with the removal of most of the S.American and Australasian species. There are actually a pair of crowned cranes and 3 species of guinea fowl (vulturine, crested, helmeted) forming the ground-dwellers. African parrots were introduced last year, but it seems most of the Grey parrots have been removed, probably because they were causing a nuisance.

Did you manage to get a glimpse of the very shy Great Blue Turaco? They are absolutely stunning.

If you choose to believe park officials, there are in excess of 1,000 flamingos at the lake.
Same goes for the number of lories at Lory Loft. Building Lory Loft was a very very smart move, its obviously popular and a money-spinner. And it actually isn't too bad at all for the birds, huge space.

Pinioning is probably a lesser of 2 evils when displaying large water-birds like storks and pelicans. Unless the aviaries are sizeable, it really doesn't make it any better to keep them in cage and retain their flight. It will be nightmare to have 50+ pelicans or 1000 flamingos escaping en mass, so there was little choice.

There are about 10 pelicans at the park which have full flight and they regularly 'disappear'. They'll return during feeding and it really is a graceful sight to see them soaring.

Penguin display is understandably immensely popular. The decision to use completely artificial lighting instead of skylights is to reduce heat into the exhibit. The lights are also programmed to mimic antarctic light conditions, brighter in summer, darker in winter. As for being small, it is the 2nd largest of its kind around.

I completely agree with you on the nocturnal bird house, way too small. Some of the birds do get rotated to other off-show aviaries. Sadly, there are no plans to redevelop it.

The Dino Descendants display should open in June or Sept to coincide with the local school holidays. The park has dwarf and single-wattled cassowaries but on my most recent visits, which were last year, the dwarf wasn't on display.

24-01-2008

Jurong hasn't produced a guide book in eons. The last one produced was in the late 90s to coincide with the park's 25 anniversary.

Does your 70's one happen to have a flying Malay Fish Owl on the cover?

25-01-2008

thats for that zooish.

i think "africanising" the waterfall aviary is a good idea. whilst the birdpark is one of the few zoos where i quite enjoy taxonomic-based display a mix with geographical theming works well there.

i don't for a second believe there are a thousand flamingoes at the lagoon. i counted more like 400-500!! but thats still amazingly impressive. the lesser flamingos have always been my favorite and i think they are the prettier of all the flamingo
species.

i noticed the unpinioned pelicans. and it had me guessing as to why. i understand and actually tentatively accept the idea behind pinioning, for the reasons you gave. however, what surprised me is just how much it affects the look of the birds wing. i had always figured the look was a little more subtle, or did jurong get a bit over the top with the snippers?

the penguins, be it the 2nd biggest in the world, i just didn't like. i think something a lot larger with more natural light and better artistry and design would have been much better for both visitors and penguins alike. i would probably give up on the idea of the true antarctic, and go for one of the subantactic islands, with their pebble beaches and tussock grasses. most penguins are often found on these too.

25-01-2008

In the "New Zealand Birdz" magazine from Jan 2003 there's an article on Jurong which says there are 1001 flamingoes on the central lake: "Flamingo Lake...is home to 1001 flamingos, which was the answer to a guessing competition held earlier this year"

It gives the impression of a publicity stunt with some over-exaggeration of the facts

25-01-2008

nope. Its from 1971 so it must the very first guide they published (1971 being the year the park opened); it has a king vulture on the cover and is priced at $2.50. Measurements 12cm x 16cm; 96 pages.

"Sprawling across 50.3 acres on the western slope of Jurong Hill, the Jurong Bird Park is a breathtaking world attracting tourists, bird lovers and the curious. Built at a cost of over 5 million dollars, the park stands as the biggest of its kind in the world. The work of nearly 2 years has transformed the rugged hill into a wonderland of glorious scenic beauty as well as a home for over 7000 birds collected from every corner of the world. For nature lovers it is a paradise as 350 species of birds can be leisurely studied amidst beauty of sight and sound."

Then it goes on to say there are 78 display aviaries and 18 transit aviaries with over 4000 individual birds. There are 3000 birds of about 100 species in the "flight-in aviary" (now called the Waterfall Aviary; the sign on this aviary in the photo says "Jurong Falls Aviary"). Entry price for the park was $1.50 for adults, 50c for children under 16. The Jurong Falls Aviary had an extra entry fee of $1 for adults and 30c for children. Tram-car ride was 40c for adults, 20c for children.

The guide book itself wasn't actually about the Park's birds, just general information about groups like pelicans, pheasants, cockatoos, hornbills, etc.

25-01-2008

I've got a Jurong guide with a fish owl on the front.....

26-01-2008

Pinioning may be more obvious with pelicans probably because their primary feathers are really long; the procedure is standard, with the last joint of the wing removed.

I don't know what the park's policy on pinioning is, but i get the impression that it is avoided as much as possible. Some of the greater and lesser flamingos are fully-winged too. For the zoo and night safari, pinioning is never performed by the parks, only feather-clipping.

Personally i guess the population of flamingos on the lake to be 700 or so.

@chlidonias:
Wow, its a rare book you've got there! Is it still in good condition?

@JOn:
I have that book too, but mine's tattered already.

26-01-2008

its in reasonable condition, doesn't look brand new of course but its not dog-eared or bent or anything like that. I think it cost me about NZ$5 in a second-hand shop here a few years ago.

19-02-2008

Is there anybody who knows what are the breeding results with lesser flamingos in Jurong?

With a few hunderts of adult birds in their flock, I would expect to see some juvenile ones too. I saw some pictures on the net taken at the Greater + lesser flamingo lake, but I havent seen any bird in immature feaders. According to other pictures there is some sort of "flamingo show" where some young (and probably hand-reared) Greater and American flamingos act. But where are the young lesser ones?