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Bird Gardens Scotland CIC News from the Bird Gardens Scotland

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Dylan, 1 Apr 2019.

  1. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Bird Gardens Scotland is a small collection of rare domestics, ducks and some other birds in Oxton near Lauder. It is about 20 minutes south of Edinburgh. I happen to volunteer there and know quite a bit about the zoo.

    Recent news:

    - Laughing kookaburra aviary work has started.
    - The entrance has got a concrete base down, with plans for the building to go up soon.
    - Trinidad dartfrogs and Phantasmal dartfrogs are planned to join the collection for a vivarium in the entrance from Kirkley Hall Zoological Gardens
    - A total of five Nene goslings and a clutch of quails have hatched so far, with eggs from the East Indies duck, Cinnamon call ducks and black swans plus more Nene eggs
    - Baby flamingos now have access to a small pond round the corner from their temporary quarters.

    Website : https://www.birdgardensscotland.com/
    Facebook : Bird Gardens Scotland CIC
    Instagram : Bird Gardens Scotland CIC (@birdgardensscotland) • Instagram photos and videos
     
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  2. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Recent news:

    - Female laughing kookaburra has been in the nestbox. Whether she is planning on doing something remains to be established.
    - 1.1 Smew arrived on Friday from Edinburgh zoo. He is the only male amongst 9 females.
    - 2.0 Baer's pochard and 1.0 White-winged wood-duck are planned to go to Edinburgh zoo in exchange for 0.2 Baer's pochard
    - Eggs from Blue scaled quail, grey partridge and a whole load of chickens have hatched off-show
    - 1.0 Sulphur-crested cockatoo arriving in the near future as a recuse pet.
    - Work continues on the kookaburra, cockatoo and gouldian finch aviaries.
     
  3. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Long time since last update bit there is news:

    -The quails that were babies five weeks ago are now laying eggs.
    - 1.0 Elonora's sulphur-crested cockatoo and 1 Amazon sp. are now off-show
    - All the Orchard pens housing domestics have brand-new interactive gates.
    - Two laysan teal, one hooded merganser, two common eider, one mandarin duck and the bufflehead female are all on eggs/nesting with plumed whistling duck and maned geese defending areas. It remains to be seen if much with survive the crow and moorhen problems.
    - The off-show chick room is now filled with dozens of chickens from many breeds, as well as several domestic ducklings.
    - Ten dartfrogs arrived from Kirkley Hall Wildlife Park. They are 5 Trinidadian stream frog and 5 Tricolour poison dartfrog. They are off-show for now.
     
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  4. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    - 2 Mandarin ducklings as well as several domestics (Shetland, dutch hookbill etc)
    - Scottish dumpy chickens now visible in the Orchards section.
     
  5. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    It's been a long time since I updated this and a lot has happened

    Births:
    - 4 Chilean flamingo have Hatched from eggs laid at Washington. They are the only flamingo chicks in Scotland atm and are doing well.
    Link
    - 5 Black swans have hatched. Parents are being very protective.
    - 15 White-faced whistling-duck, 3 Red-billed whistling-duck, an eider and 3 Eurasian wigeon have all hatched.
    - Around 300 (mostly off-show) chickens have hatched
    - 1 Red-necked wallaby has been born

    Arrivals:
    - 1.0 Red-breasted goose and 1.2 Nene have arrived from a private collection
    - 0.1 African grey parrot has arrived as a rescue
    - 2.2 Shetland geese have arrived, one pair is in one of the orchards.
    - Smew, Mandarin duck, Afrocan black duck, Ashy-headed geese, Garnagey and Freckled duck are planned to arrive from Slimbridge
    - Wattled lapwing and Scarlet ibis are planned to arrive from Hamerton

    Departures:
    - 2.0 Red-necked wallaby have left. I can't remember where

    Developments:
    - The kookaburra aviary has been completed and 3.1 Laughing kookaburra have been brought on-show
    - The flamingo house construction has started, seven months after the deposit was paid.
     
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  6. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I have not seen Ashy-headed geese at Slimbridge on my last two visits though I looked for them at the individual pens where all the aggressive sheldgeese are kept in individual pairs. Ruddy-headed, yes, Ashy-headed-no. Does anyone know exactly where they are kept at Slimbridge?
     
  7. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    1.1 Freckled duck, 2.2 Garnagey, 2.0 Smew, 4.2 Mandarin duck and 1.1 South African black duck have arrived from Slimbridge and Martin Mere. No Ashy-headed goose so we are no further forward on that front.

    0.1 Laughing kookaburra has left to a private collection. She was kicked out of the group and was getting lonely.

    The three flamingalings have gone on-show in the baby barn.
     
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  8. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    1 Red-billed whistling-duck, 6 Swedish blue duck and a Laysan duckling from this year have been added to the freckled duck aviary until they are old enough to move out.

    Yesterday 1.1 Barn owl and 2.0 Snowy owl arrived as part of an illegal confiscation in Heathrow. The barns are in the vegetable garden polytunnel and the snowies are off-show but can be seen from the path.

    African silverbill, chinese painted quail, diamond dove, java sparrow and cutthroat finch have arrived from a volunteer. They are off-show

    The walls of the zoo entrance have been completed, with the roof arriving next week. The flamingo house is also very close to completion.
     
  9. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Visitor centre now has a roof, windows, doors and has been insulated by straw. A borehole has also been installed for water for the building. The flamingo house has been completed

    A yellow-bellied slider has been donated by a family on the 01/02/2020. In addition to this, 0.1 Blue eared-pheasant and 1.1 Temminck's tragopan have arrived from Krikley Hall Zoological Gardens.
     
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  10. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Been a little while since I was down so here are the updates since the last post

    Births
    Barnacle goose, Nene, Greater rhea, Several breeds of domestic duck, garganey, wigeon, andean goose and dozens of chicken breeds

    Arrivals
    1.1 Blue-winged kookaburra from a private collection

    Changes
    Barn owls have moved off-show and now share their enclosure with a surplus laughing kookaburra amicably
    Chickens in the orchard pens have been moved off-show for breeding
     
  11. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    2.4 Scarlet ibis and 1.3 Masked plover have arrived from Hamerton. The closure of Living Coasts has also provided the zoo with 2.2 Common redshank, 2.2 Inca tern and a group of pied avocets
     
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  12. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    2.0 Red-billed blue magpie, 1.0 Spix's guan, 1.0 Himalayan monal, 1 Eurasian eagle-owl, 1 Great grey owl, 3.0 Ringed teal, 1.0 Masked lapwing and 3 Laysan teal have arrived from Lotherton Wildlife World. In addition to this, 0.1 Meller's duck and 2.1 Baer's pochard arrived from Edinburgh Zoo.

    A large number of budgerigars have been presented to the zoo as well
     
    Last edited: 26 Aug 2020
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  13. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    To finalise the visitor centre funding, the zoo has started a crowdfunding campaign. If you have any spare money, please donate. The funding and work all needs done before the end of November

    Completing the Visitor Centre for Bird Gardens.
     
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  14. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Not been since December so there is a number of new additions and constructions.

    New additions:
    11 Waldrapp (including the only leucistic individual in the world), 3 African grey parrot, 1 Violet turaco, 1 Red-crested turaco, Mindanao bleeding-heart. For the moment, the latter three are off-show

    New buildings:
    A new boardwalk alongside the main pond has been built, allowing a better elevated view of the flamingoes and ducks

    New births:
    No less than ten Nenes have hatched from four different pairs, alongside a plethora of chicks and ducklings from the domestic breeds
     
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  15. DesertRhino150

    DesertRhino150 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I wonder whether the waldrapps came from Pensthorpe - they had a white individual when I visited in 2014 and the species is no longer listed on their website's species list:

    Normal and white Waldrapp ibis - ZooChat
     
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  16. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I believe that is the collection they arrived from. I'm not sure if any others exist but it is cool to work with such a cool looking animal.
     
  17. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    At least 4 gooslings have hatched with the Andean geese :).
     
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  18. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    A very neat breeding result.
     
  19. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Unfortunately the male Spix's guan has died at the age of c. 16. This leaves a single male at Noah's Ark Farm Park.

    In other news, 4 Andean goslings, 4 Black swans, 3 Australian wood duck and a ringed teal have been reared amongst the exotic waterfowl. Additionally, several hundred rare breed bantams, chickens, turkeys and ducks have been hatched and reared.
     
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  20. Dylan

    Dylan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    An African grey parrot aviary has been opened with African grey parrots, violet turacos and grey partridge. Another aviary has been constructed with 18 Black-cheeked lovebird, 15 budgerigar, 1 Mindanao and 1 Luzon bleeding-heart, 2 java sparrow and a weaver.

    Three violet turacos (1.0 from London, 1.1 Bristol), 1.1 Northern pintail, 3.0 Common eider (Bristol), 1.1 Himalayan monal (Kirkley Hall), 2.2 Black grouse, headlamp cockroach and further Anthony's dartfrogs have all arrived since my last post.
     
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