Me too! When I asked the obvious question on that thread - why didn't Taronga try to breed them? - I was preached to most condescendingly about why it wasn't the right thing to do. Looks like things have changed, eh?
bye, bye birdies. I spent the morning at Taronga today. The three little avaries across from koala walkabout have been demolished.
Less and less birds at Taronga all the time! Less and less aviaries. More and more impoverishment of Taronga's collection. All those aviaries which were replaced by "Backyard to Bush", too, were a bit substandard but housed lots of interesting birds for which there is no longer any accommodation. The best native Australian bird collection in the Sydney area is now definitely Featherdale. Unfortunately, there is no decent collection of exotic birds on public display in the Sydney area now. (There SHOULD BE at Taronga!) The only place they can be seen is at a few of the larger bird shops.
Seems that as most zoos worldwide. Dramaticaly reduce there bird collections. As a sign of progress. The old row of aviaries is just not acceptable in todays zoo. I would sugest that most people coming to a zoo are not interested in seeing 10 different finches. There is a striking orange medium size bird l saw recentley at most american zoos. It is this visually attractive type of bird. Including pheaseants and parrots that zoos focus on now. I have seen only a couple of aviaries that are of a high standard visually. Displaying a story, with allot of activity. When done correctly it makes for a excellent exhibit. Something the old row of aviaries never were.
I would but then maybe I'm not most people. The 'problem' with birds is that they require the visitor to sit and watch for a while. As most visitors seem to only spend 10 seconds as an exhibit they miss the fun of searching for the birds. I really liked the habitat aviaries at Taronga.
I had heard they were going soon, but wasn't sure when. A shame as they were well planted and the softbills did well in them. Hix
Those avairies plus the older ones demolished for B2B were among my favourite places at taronga. The reason I liked them was that they were never crowded and the birds were always active. I think that someone mentioned in an earlier post that they are going to be replaced by a grass picnic area.
That was the good thing about those aviaries where B2B now is - the zoo could be chockers in school holidays, but the Bird Lawns were always quite. Especially after they moved the rhinos to WPZ and converted the bottom corner to the Horticulture Offices. Hix
they had some great birds down there too. I loved the old avairy that had a small pond in it. The glossy ibis looked great in it. And the variety of aussie parrots. Does any zoo have rock parrots anymore?
I know I am saying something about adelaide which is not to do with the thread but the same is happening at adelaide. Bird numbers in aviaries are getting a lot smaller. At adelaide you can see the exhibit signs which have spaces missing where species information cards/plates should be. I think two reasons for this are that not many people are overally interested in birds (which I think is a good thing because I can sit and watch birds without too many people bothering me) and that adelaide is such a small zoo that they have no room for offspring. Also I might add that adelaide could breed majority of their species if they made a bush or desert aviary at monarto and sent all those bird out their and if zoos worked together and if they worked with breeders of different species they could improve numbers.
i think this assertion that birds are not a major attraction is a true croc of ****. what i will say is that birds, just as with invertebrates, reptiles and a lot of the smaller mammalian species need to be displayed in ways which better engage the general zoogoer and when they are they become major attractions, and well, when they arent, theyre like any other mediocre animal exhibit. sadly one has to admit that across most Australian zoos at the moment, the bulk of the new exhibit developments shift birds to the peripherry of the attraction bill, but when they are displayed well they become key attractions. i always loved the bush-bird aviaries at taronga, but i guess what one needs to do with birds is fully immerse people into their environment and not keep them standing on the outside; an ironic approach given that most bird species are not only diurnal but also safe to interact with and in the case of Australia's birdlife particularly not only unique and unusual but also outstandingly beautiful! i can think of a great number of amazing bird displays throughout australia's zoos ranging from the Free-Flight Bird Show at taronga, to wollemi, wetlands, penguins and the rainforest aviary, to melbourne's GFA and Perth's wetlands aviaries, but i guess what all these attractions do is showcase this family to their best advantage. i guess, if zoos are to truly emphasis just how unique birds are and just how important they are to eco-systems then we have to move away from the smaller aviary type displays (though i guess zoo enthusiasts like us will always miss them). but please, dont for a minute say that birds are not interesting even to the general public. as amazing zoo design emerges across our nation, new 'animal stars' are coming to the fore.....binturongs, spotted deer, leopard seals, fishing cats etc. and i expect in the future to see the same thing happening for birds, as in the US and Europe where 'lorikeet landing' type exhibits are popping up faster than butterfly houses.
I second Glyn's comments. While I was reading the last few entries I was thinking to myself that the big problem with birds in zoos is not that they are boring, but usually boringly displayed. Interactive exhibits such as walk-throughs, public feeds and flight-shows make for some of the most entertaining displays in zoos.
I have always loved Melbournes Great Flight Aciary but last year when I visited it seemed to have a lot less birds in it then usual. It also seemed to be harder to get to as the walkway was diverted so that you had to go through the entire Australian Bsh exhibit which is a typical kangaroos in a paddock type exhibit. I wanted to see the birds and was really annoyed that I had to spend nearly 10 minutes walking to get there.
Melbourne's Great Flight Aviary is a magnificent structure. It was originally built to house birds of prey and was divided into four sections. The large dome area held wedge-tailed eagles and the other sections held species such as griffon vultures and others no longer available. (Oops - Jay, you and I have turned a Taronga thread into a Melbourne thread!)
I wasn't trying to say birds were boring, and to tell you the truth I prefer an aviary of birds to a couple of lions or tigers.But deffinately how they are displayed and how many birds are displayed is the key.
I would say that the best zoo for birds in Australia is, in my opinion, Healesville sanctuary. With a birds of prey show, a parrot show and at least ten aviaries (many of them walk-through aviaries) there are a lot of birds to see. Although all of the birds are native to southern Australia there is still a good variety and there are many endangered species e.g. orange-bellied parrot.
Went to the zoo last week, points of interest: There are now two Cassowaries on display, one in each enclosure. There are lights, heatlamps and cameras setup on the new Red Panda enclosures below the Silvery Gibbons, but the Pandas still have not been moved. More climbing structures have been added, and one of the exhibits has a green box in it that looks like a nestbox or hidebox. http://www.zoochat.com/34/new-red-panda-exhibit-84860/ Building works taking place around the Horseshoe Aviaries - a viewing platform has been built and substrate was being put down. The new Koala Encounters is not yet being used but looks like it is ready, all construction appears to have been completed. The old Seal Pools had been drained. When I looked at them I realised why the zoo had kept them filled and added the fountains - they looked much nicer! I'd forgotten how unattractive the empty pools look. Saw the Binturongs being fed - little Sari ignored a rat until Pepper took it, then Sari decided he did want it and chased Pepper, and eventually wrestled it away. One of the other Binty's stayed right in the top of the tree, where people in the Cablecar got a good look at him as they went past. http://www.zoochat.com/34/cablecar-goes-past-binturong-tree-84879/ Was walking past the Francois Langurs into the Palm Aviary and was surprised to see two individuals sitting on a rock near the glass. As I pointed my camera towards them they both turned their backs on me and a few minutes later bounced off into the exhibit. They seemed fairlyt active and after about 20 minutes I manged to get a few decent photos in the few short seconds they sat still and weren't facing away from me. http://www.zoochat.com/34/francois-langur-84843/ http://www.zoochat.com/34/francois-langur-84844/ Hix
