A Cracking Easter at Birdland

There’s a host of egg-citing Easter events and activities taking place at Birdland throughout the holidays (Saturday 1st – Sunday 23rd April).
As well as Easter trails, quizzes and daily egg-themed talks and shows, the Gloucestershire wildlife attraction is also expecting some egg-stra special new arrivals in their hatchery.
Dozens of eggs in special incubators are due to hatch out over the Easter break and visitors will have the rare opportunity of watching the newborn chicks make their entry into the world.
“Although you can never guarantee when a chick will emerge we have got a large number of eggs in our incubators and we’re confident the majority of them will begin to hatch out over the next few weeks,” said Birdland’s Head Keeper, Alistair Keen.
The park, which is also home to the only breeding group of king penguins in the UK, has an excellent record with its captive breeding programme for rare and endangered bird species.
As well as the hatchery visitors can also find out all about the amazing strategies birds have adopted to survive.
Families can join in the Easter Challenge Quiz, throughout the Easter holidays, hunting down 10 hidden eggs around the park and answering some fun ornithological questions.
There are plenty of opportunities to brush up on bird facts at daily feeding and talks shows where visitors get to meet the keepers who care for all the birds in the park.
At the indoor Discovery Zone, visitors can meet other animals that lay eggs; ranging from fish and amphibians to reptiles and even mammals plus there’s the chance to enjoy some hands-on experiences in the Close Encounter Zone.
This year visitors will be also be able to go back in time to hunt for dinosaur eggs in the Jurassic Journey trail and explore prehistoric fossils in the Dino Dig.
Eggs-traordinary Bird Facts:

• Burrowing owls lay their eggs underground in tunnels they have excavated
• Flamingos build their nests on mud cones up to a foot high to protect their single egg from flooding
• Female pheasants lay up to eight eggs in a scrape on the floor, they use their dull plumage as camouflage
• Pigeons build a flimsy nest on a platform of twigs and lay two eggs
• Parrots will find empty tree holes to nest
• Female cassowaries will lay their eggs in the nests of several males and then leave them to incubate and rear the young
• In contrast the female trumpeter hornbill, seals herself into her nest using mud and saliva, only leaving a narrow gap through which the male can feed her for up to three months as she incubates, hatches and rears the chicks