Located in Surrey, Birdworld Park and Gardens are also home to the Jenny Wren Farm and Underwater World. Having stocked up on bird and duck food, our first stop was the penguin feeding. There are two species at Birdworld – the Humboldt penguins and the African penguins. We arrived just in time to see the latter being fed at Penguin Beach.
Afterwards we embarked on some feeding of our own which POD adored. Although apprehensive with the birds initially, she had a raft of ducks head towards her – even the black swans didn’t phase her.
POD wanted to see the fish before we checked out all the birds so we headed to Underwater World (located near the entrance of Birdworld). En route we passed many interesting looking birds like these rather spectacular pigeons
and a stand of flamingoes.
POD was in her element at Underwater World. There were stools available for younger children so she had a great view throughout.
She was a little taken aback when she first saw a catfish but quickly realised it couldn’t catch her!
There are over 30 exhibits at Underwater World from fish to crustaceans, amphibians and reptiles. POD liked these stripey yellow fish
plus of course Nemo and Dory! I lost track how many times she said “what is that?”
although when we saw a crocodile it became “Mummy is that crocodile real?”. POD realised it was when it moved!
In the undercover Temperate House, POD embarked on a little dancing to the background music while checking out the owls. Even though she’d been told about birds flying around above her, it came as a bit of surprise. There was much pointing – at the birds flying overhead then at the fish below.
One of the single largest aviaries at Birdworld is Parrots in Flight. Housing species from all over the world, the aviary allows the birds a huge free flight space to stretch their wings. POD thought they were the funniest of birds, we stood and watched their amusing antics for a good few minutes. It was great to see them swooping in the outdoor flying display too.
We also checked out Outback Landing which is a walk-though aviary with parrots, finches and other small birds. Along the small parrot walk we found aviaries with the smaller parrot species, brightly coloured with shrill calls.
It was glorious at that point so we had a quick stop for a lolly – and a few magic spells!
There are lots of hornbills and toucans at Birdworld but there’s a large group of them in the Hornbill Block. Our favourite was the Toco Toucan although we didn’t get too close!
The Crescent aviaries offer brightly coloured alternatives to the kinds of birds you’d normally find in your garden like starlings and thrushes. As you can see they’re quite unusual.
Around Birdworld are paddocks for the larger birds – such as great bustards, storks and emus. They can be viewed from the shelters which is a great way to see them in their own habitat. This little fella trundled over to say hello whilst chomping on a snack.
The owls kept an eye on us as we observed them. Looking back it probably wasn’t a good idea to tell POD they could turn their head all the way round. She was really disappointed I couldn’t do the same. We missed the owl prowl feeding but we must catch that on our next visit – and the Safari Road Train!
The Jenny Wren Farm is located at the far end of Birdworld. There’s a great collection of animals including sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits, reindeer and these wonderful creatures.
After checking out the children’s play area, we headed over to Animal Encounters. This provides children with the opportunity to handle small animals. POD was handed a mouse but she wasn’t very keen on holding it! She loved the rabbits and guinea pigs though, especially when she got to feed and brush them!
The Jenny Wren farm is fabulous at this time of year, the goats especially had been particularly busy.
POD loved spending time in a pen with the kids – great hearing her chat to them as well. She’d insisted on wearing a party dress too, not the usual attire for a farm! Seeing the kids was the perfect end to a great visit.
Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.
“Hello my name is Poppy” is not how you expect your toddler to introduce herself to a parrot. She was fascinated with it too. Until it squawked. Then she was off pointing and shouting “whatsatt?” excitedly at flamingos as their heads disappeared from view.
was able to stand on a portable step so she could see all the displays and ask “whatsiss?” at every available opportunity.
POD’s enthusiasm increased dramatically when we reached The Crocodile Swamp where young caiman and turtles were clearly visible. She would have been in there with them given half the chance. We had much “crocodile” and “snap snap” chatter. And “feesh”, not that you’d ever find fish in a crocodile swamp.
breeding programme to ensure the survival of their species. We saw ostriches, owls, ducks, geese, swans, pelicans and softbills plus an unnamed bird whose head resembled that of a dinosaur.
POD continued her ongoing questioning at the farm with much “I see the this”, “I go there” and “whatsatt?”. She struggled to say goodbye to the reindeer. Mind you her only real memory of them is in Stick Man and the ‘goat’ ornament she rode round on at Christmas.
