More from Sewerby Zoo

dianaT said:
Was that a Touraco feeding with budgies?
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It was indeed - the Red-crested that came from Harewood Bird Garden when it closed. It arrived with a Fischer's that has sadly since died and a pair of White-crested. Filey received a pair of Red-crested.
 
Wendy Cooper-Wolfe said:
Thank you once again for posting these lovely photos. 😃
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dianaT said:
Lovely photos, what is the bird with the yellow around the eye please.
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Thank-you, Wendy and Diana. It's a Masked Lapwing, Diana, a species native to Australasia. Sewerby received a pair from Harewood Bird Garden when it closed last year and they went to nest almost immediately, rearing two chicks which are still with them in the walk-through aviary. The parents are now on their second nesting attempt this year, the first one came to nothing unfortunately, the second nest being on the opposite side of the footbridge from the first.
 
I visited the zoo on Saturday, so an update on the Masked Lapwings @dianaT. A mixture of good news and bad I'm afraid. I saw three young chicks, but as I couldn't see the two juveniles from last year I asked the Assistant Head Keeper if they had been removed from the aviary. She told me the three chicks had hatched on Tuesday and all seemed well, with the parents ignoring last year's offspring which were keeping to the opposite end of the very large aviary in any case. That morning, however, staff found the juveniles had been attacked with one almost scalped. The IZVG was contacted but sadly the almost scalped bird soon died. The other is in a sick bay. The parents are very protective and last year they were flying at the faces of zoo staff at feeding times. It is ironic that the chicks they were protecting then became the enemy this year, but I suppose that is how nature can work. I'll jump ahead of my chronological order with a couple of photographs from Saturday...DSC08378 (640x480).jpgDSC08392 (640x480).jpg
 
dianaT said:
Oh no that is terrible, a shock for the Keepers too.
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It was a shock as things seemed to be going okay. Masked Lapwings can be very territorial though, although they don't seem too bothered by all of the ducks in the aviary.
 
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