September 2015 Newsletter

September 2015 Newsletter
New Enclosures on Track
Winter is the time of year when our staff have the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming breeding season. This year was not the
case. Not only have we got a number of new species on display in the park, but we have also started the redevelopment of some
old aviaries and had a number of birds breeding this winter. This has meant 3 months of moving birds around to make space for
those affected by the redevelopment and also trying to make space for the new species to be on display. The hard work has been
worth it though and we know the birds will appreciate the new enclosures being built for them.
In 2014 we had the opportunity to rebuild one half of what is known as the “Pheasant Corridor” which is the main path that leads
down to the show. These enclosures were damaged during the construction of the storm-water system. Funding though did not allow
for both sides to be rebuilt at the time so we eagerly awaited the funding to continue this year. Work commenced at the beginning
on September with the birds being moved to temporary housing and the demolition was completed by the end of the first week.
Once these enclosures are completed, they will mirror the enclosures rebuilt last year.
As I write this, most of the support structures are in place and the new wire is being installed on the enclosures. We aim to have these
enclosures completed by the end of October. There are some new birds planned for this section as well as some old favourites coming back. There are also plans to redevelop the Marsh Aviary which backs onto these enclosures and we are waiting for confirmation
of these plans.
The enclosures on the right are being rebuilt and will
look like the ones on the le once completed
A Sad Goodbye
In July we bid a very sad goodbye to one of the longest standing show birds, and the true star of the show. Griffin, our majestic
Cape Vulture passed away from complications caused by her poisoning almost 20 years ago. Through her 16 years at the show, she
brought an awareness of the plight vultures face in our country, and around the world, to almost 1 million visitors. Griffin was laid to
rest by the show staff and some of the staff who had worked with her over the years in a very moving ceremony. She may be gone
but her legacy and memory will live on in the hearts of all those who worked with her and saw her.
September 2015 Newsletter
Special Deliveries
September has been a month of a few very special deliveries in the park. Two of the most
notable of these deliveries have been the first Marabou Stork bred at the park, and the first
Southern Ground Hornbill chick bred at the park in the last 7 years. Even more special is that
the fathers of both these chicks were ex show stars.
First to make an appearance was our Marabou Stork chick. Still to be sexed and named, this
is the first time we have bred Marabou Storks in the 31 year history of the park. The father
of this chick is Clyde who came to the park in 2000 after being bred at the Johannesburg
Zoo. Clyde then moved to Johannesburg in 2001 when we established the show there. He
was retired from shows in 2012 and came back to the park in 2014 with a beautiful female.
They hit it off quickly and after only being with us for 3 weeks, the female laid eggs. These
were unfortunately infertile and never hatched.
In June this year they started building a nest again and we kept a close eye on the nest and
the two eggs which were laid. Both eggs hatched but unfortunately the younger chick only
survived for four days. The older chick though grew quickly and it was decided to hand-raise
this chick for the show. It was arranged to take this chick at 3 weeks of age into the baby
room. Sounds easy but the parents were not happy with the idea at all! They settled down
quickly though and have started adding to the nest again already which means they could
lay more eggs this year. We have decided to leave them with one chick and to rather take
the second chick to hand-raise again rather than risk losing it.
At the time of writing, our little bundle of joy weighs in at more than 3.5kgs and is growing
daily. We will be taking a blood sample at the end of September for DNA sexing and once
we know the sex, the naming process will begin.
The second special delivery is of our Southern Ground Hornbill chick. This little one started to
hatch on Heritage Day and finally pushed its way out of the egg on Friday 25 September. Its
father is Marilyn who used to be the start of the show before going into retirement, and a
captive breeding program at the park, in 2009. More than just being the star of our show,
Marilyn was also the inspiration and reason that the Mabula Ground Hornbill project was
established in 2000. This project supports both captive breeding of these endangered birds
and re-introduction programs in suitable areas. For more information on the project, go to
www.ground-hornbill.org.za.
Our chick is currently being reared behind the scenes for the first 3 weeks and will then move
into the baby room which can be viewed through the large glass windows. It is important to
have this timing right as they are easily stressed as youngsters and the first 3 weeks of their
lives are a critical time where anything can go wrong.
With less than 1 500 of these magnificent birds left in South Africa, every chick is important
and once this little one reaches maturity, it too will join the captive breeding program. The
good news for us is that they take at least 6 years to reach maturity so you can see this little
one in the show for a number of years following in dad’s footsteps.
Other New Arrivals
Some other new babies we have at the park include: Guira Cuckoos, Common Barn Owls, Swainson’s Lorikeets,
Black-capped Lorikeets, Spotted Thick-knees, Luzon Bleeding-heart Doves, Sun Conures, African Greys, Red-sided
Eclectus and Yellow-streaked Lories. There are also a number of birds sitting on eggs at the moment including our
Mute Swans on the main dam. Considering this is only the start of the breeding season, we look set to have a
bumper one this year.
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New on Display
The past few months have seen us add a number of new species to our collection. Many of these are already on display and
others will make their debut onto display once the construction in the Pheasant Corridor is complete.
Some of the new species in the collection include the following: White-faced Owls, Wood Owl, Rock Pigeon, Burchell’s Coucal, Javan Sparrow, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Golden Pheasant and Red-winged Starling.
Some new species planned to be added to the collection by the end of the year include: Vulturine Guineafowl, Moorhen,
Comb Duck, Red-eyed Pochard, Cape Shoveler, Cape Parrot, Yellow-billed Hornbill, Brown-breasted Barbet, Red and Yellow Barbet, Grey-headed Social Weaver, Hildebrandt’s Starling and more than 10 different Finch and Waxbill species.
These additions will take our current species total to more than 220 species and we will have more than 800 birds in the
collection.
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant Male
White-faced Owl
Social Media Updates
Our social media presence continues to expand and be one of our best forms of marketing. There is
no escaping social media as more people get connected to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and similar
sites. Whilst it is virtually impossible for us to be on all of them, we are constantly researching which
are the most effective and widely used to stay up-to-date.
We find they are also the perfect way to get breaking news out quickly and to as large an audience as possible. I would like to encourage you all to follow us on at least one of our social media
platforms and encourage your friends and family to follow us as well. Also comment on our sites as
we love to get feedback and want to know from you what you like to see, what you don’t think is
worth putting up and what you think in general.
Our website is also due for a major overhaul by the end of the year and we will keep you posted
on the progress being made on this project. There will also be a new domain name which we will
reveal when the website is ready to go live.
You can find the details of all our social media sites and contact details on the back page of this
newsletter.
December Holiday Plans
It seems odd to me that we are sitting in September but already planning for the December holidays! One of the main reasons
for this planning is that, for the first time in our history, we will be running a holiday program for the holidays. These will be 1
week long programs running from Monday to Friday. The exact times will still be confirmed but will more than likely be halfday sessions.
Activities planned for these programs include: behind-the-scenes tours, keeper experience sessions, craft sessions, guided tours,
the opportunity to watch show birds being trained, making enrichment for the birds and much more. Each week will have a different focus and all activities will be planned around these themes.
More details of the holiday program will be released in the middle of November so please keep an eye on our website and
social media sites for the latest news and costs. These programs will also be extended next year to all the school holidays
should the December program prove successful.
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490 Riverside Road
Durban North
4051
KwaZulu Natal
That ends it for our September Newsletter. Thank you for your continued support of our membership
PO Box 35205
Northway
4065
they have been in the planning for a while now, the wit will be well worth it.
Phone: +27 (0) 31 579 4600
Fax: +27 (0) 31 579 4574
E-mail: [email protected]
As always please do not hesitate to contact us with any queries you may have or comments on the park.
program. We look forward to growing the program in 2016 and look forward to having you on the
journey with us. There are many things planned for the park and for our members next year and whilst
We are planning a new exhibition for our 32nd birthday in March 2016 and are making an appeal to
anyone who may have old pictures of the park - particularly from 1984 - 2000 to email them to
[email protected] so we can add them to the exhibition.
Grant Aggett-Cox
Editor
Education and Marketing Manager
Social Media Information
You can find us on any of the above social media sites under: Umgeni
River Bird Park, UmgeniRiverBirdPark or umgeniriverbirdpark. If you
add any pictures to the above sites, please use the
#umgeniriverbirdpark tag to ensure it links to our official pages.
Our new website is up and running so go
check out www.urbp.co.za and let us know
what you think!