2nd of May 2014 – Species Spotlight Red Fronted Macaw
The spotlight this week falls on Red Fronted Macaw Ara rubrogenys Listed as Appendix 1 by CITES, the Red Fronted Macaw is one of the most endangered species in our collection, being close to extinction. They are endemic to s small region of Bolivia and have a wild population...
25th of April 2014 – Species Spotlight King Penguin
Today is World Penguin Day so I’m really left with no choice but to spotlight our star attraction King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonica patagonica Found in the wild along the Northern edge of Antarctica and on many sub-Antarctic islands including South Georgia, the Falklands and Deception, King Penguins are...
11th of April 2014 – Species Spotlight – Emerald Dove
To celebrate being on Holiday visiting the In-Laws in Ireland this weeks spotlight focuses on Emerald Dove (see what I did there!) Chalcophaps indica Emerald, or Green, Doves are widespread throughout much of the Indian sub-continent including parts of Thailand, Malaysia & Indonesia. They are also found in...
Species Spotlight – East African Crowned Crane
This week we have introduced a pair of our spotlighted species together and what better way to celebrate than to blog about them East African Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum gibbericeps There are 2 subspecies of the Grey Crowned Crane of which we keep the East African version, native to...
28th of March, 2014 – Species Spotlight – Trumpeter Hornbill
This week we are highlighting one of the most dedicated mothers in the park Trumpeter Hornbill Bycanistes bucinator The birds are widespread throughout their range which includes South Africa, Kenya, Burundi and parts of Congo. They are of least concern on the IUCN list. As Hornbills go, they...
21st of March 2014 – Species Spotlight – Emu
This week the spotlight falls on a new species for Birdland Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae The Emu is the second largest bird in the world after the Ostrich and is a member of the Ratite family, which includes Ostrich, Rhea & Cassowary. They are native to Australia where they are common...
14th of March 2014 – Species Spotlight – Grey Peacock Pheasant
This week we concentrate on one of our first egg layers of the year Grey Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum Native to South East Asia and parts of India, where they frequent areas of lowland. They are the National bird of Myanmar and numbers are doing OK in the...
7th of March 2014 – Species Spotlight Southern Lapwing
The spotlight this week falls on Southern Lapwing Vanellus chilensis Native and widespread in South America where various sub-species are located around the continent. They tend to frequent cultivated fields and damp meadows, which probably explains why I saw several in Argentine whilst filming Winter Wipeout in 2011....