Been wanting to bring the boys to the bird park for eons, and finally, we made it! I haven’t been there since…secondary school? Maybe even primary school. So I was interested to see the birds myself.
Most of the place seemed unfamiliar, except for the sculpture of a decomposing buffalo in the Kings of the Skies show. Has it been there since I was a kid?
Some of the more interesting birds were the shoebill stork, cassowary, and the striking scarlet ibises. The lory loft is what the bird park is well known for, but I think I was not awed for two reasons. I had already seen wild lories flying around during our Melbourne trip last year and was awed then by their colourful plumage. Was it me? They seemed bigger and more colourful over there. The other reason was cos the loft didn’t feel as intimate as the Fragile Forest enclosure at the Singapore Zoo, which I really really love. Yes, the lories come quite close to you, and even sit on your shoulder when you have food for them. But at the Fragile Forest, flying foxes and other colourful birds swoop close past your head, lemurs playfully prance around, mousedeer cross your path, and the foliage is much more lush.
Shoebill Stork
Cassowary
Scarlet Ibises like bright flowers in the trees
One of many lories
Enjoying a walk on one of several suspension bridges
We actually explored the Bird Park in two parts. The first was before lunch, then we head off to my in-law’s place for lunch as usual, naps for everyone, then back to the Bird Park again before it closed for the day. It was fun to do it that way. Felt like we were on holiday returning to the hotel room for a rest before doing more sightseeing.
Anyway, given the size of the place (not big), and the range of animals (all birds), I do think that it’s much more worthwhile to get a zoo membership than a bird park one. We might visit the bird park again, but probably not anytime soon.
Unlikely Lady of Leisure 