Ok, considering that @DavidBrown created a thread asking people their favorite flamingo exhibit which I thought was a good thread, being that storks are one of my favorite birds, I am curious about people's favorite stork exhibits and why? For me, it would be the Black-necked stork exhibit (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) at Zoo Miami. I liked the simplistic and open yet naturalistic design and I like how it featured only one species and really drew your attention to it. That was just my experience, so I would like to hear other people's thoughts.
I like the White Storks at Knepp. This is the perfect exhibit, they are free-flying and breeding. It does not get much better than that.
Very simple answer, the withe stork reservate in the Naturzoo Rheine. Just a free flying Withe Stork colony, who breeds in the giant oaks arround the zoo, and you see them flying arround, every couple minuts at the zoo. (a cute pair of hawaii geese ) ives by them for some reason too)
I love Racine Zoo's Lesser Adjutant exhibit. It's very large and immersive, and showcases two cool species (the adjutant and some Tufted Deer).
Looking at the photos provided by @snowleopard it does look to be a nice exhibit and great choice. Lesser adjutant storks are not a species you often see in zoos, so that is win win.
I like that one as well. It reminds me of how St. Augustine Alligator Farm uses the large pond in the back of their facility as a rookery for native birds.
Bronx large Lesser Adjutant aviary is pretty great as well: Bronx Zoo- Lesser Adjutant Stork Aviary Outside Aquatic Bird House - ZooChat I think the best has to be their free-flight room in JungleWorld, which is home to Painted Storks and ~20,000sqft.: Bronx Zoo- Jungleworld- Painted Storks in Nest - ZooChat JungleWorld - ZooChat JungleWorld - ZooChat SDZ's Scripps Aviary (African Openbill) and Tiger River marsh aviary (Milky Stork) come to mind as well: Lost Forest - Gorilla Tropics - Scripps Aviary - ZooChat Lost Forest - Tiger River - Marsh Aviary - ZooChat I would have nominated Tampa's Shoebille aviary (which was home to Yellow-Billed Storks) but they since demolished it. ~Thylo
My favorite used to be the section in the River Valley Aviary at the Jacksonville Zoo that housed Saddlebills and then later Marabous. Now my favorite is the Birds of Africa exhibit at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm because not only does it let you get to see Marabou Storks and Crowned Cranes from the ground level (through glass) but also Cape and hooded Vultures as well. I also liked Disney Animal Kingdom's former Painted Stork exhibit on Discovery Island. I remember when I saw it in 2008 it had a low fence you could reach over and pet the storks if you really wanted to. I was hoping that it would be there when I visited AK last in Jan 2017 but there weren't any storks left. For me at least, any exhibit that will enable you to get to see storks at ground level to see their size up close is a good one! Animal Kingdom Discovery Island Painted Stork Exhibit Jacksonville Zoo's River Valley Aviary The old Saddlebill/Marabou exhibit inside the River Valley Aviary (now used as a holding pen) Birds of Africa at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
I know that the zoo transferred their flock of Greater flamingos to Jacksonville but what about the Great White Pelicans and other birds? Are they at the zoo in other areas? Haven't been there in over 3 years. When I was there last they had Yellowbills in the Sulawesi Aviary in the Asian Gardens. I also remember they also had a Black-Headed Heron in the Ituri Forest Aviary, a species I had no idea was in any American zoo.
This was of course tongue in cheek and some may not have picked up the irony. Knepp is a re-wilding site and the storks there (bred at the Cotswold Wildlife Park) have been released and are now breeding, and if successful this will be the first breeding in UK in centuries. I celebrate the application of captive techniques to restore this species in the wild,
Last time I went to Cotswold WP, a few years ago, there was a pen containg a huge number(several dozen) of White Storks. I realised they must be destined for a re-introduction scheme but wasn't aware where at the time. I haven't heard if any of the three pairs nesting at Knepp this year have actually hatched chicks or not. I would have expected some news on that by now perhaps. The male of the pair that nested unsuccessfully last year is an unringed wild bird from Europe.
There are three pairs of Breeding White Storks at Knepp, two of these have laid eggs and one pair have hatched at least two young. The pair with young is apparently the same pair as last year, the female is originally from Poland, released in Knepp, and the male is un-ringed and of uncertain origin. Real conservation in action. Wonderful.
I agree with some of the other exhibits mentioned already, Bronx and San Diego have some great stork exhibits. One exhibit not mentioned yet that I think is great would be the San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Wings of the World aviary. It contains a bunch of different birds including two stork species: African Openbill and Storm's Stork.
It is a terrible idea to keep any stork flightless, unless it was injured and flightless anyway. Especially saddle-billed storks almost never breed, and are strikingly passive compared to flighted birds in aviaries. Storks need big aviaries, or living free-flying. BTW, Bangkok zoo and several other Asian zoos have free-flying colonies of painted storks. These are the best stork exhibits.
They probably have them, I was listing the species based off of a photo taken of signage that was from 2017.
Interesting, I have a sign photo from January 2018 with Storm's, Abdim's, and African Openbill side by side. Edit: Interestingly, I have photos of Abdim's and Storm's, but not African Openbill from WoW.
