Sunday, April 22, 2012

Lory Loft @ Jurong Bird Park (裕廊飞禽公园), Singapore

For me, the Lory Loft is the most interesting and most interactive exhibit in Jurong Bird Park. In summary, this is the world's LARGEST lory aviary covering a big 32,000 square feet!

To prevent the 1,000 over Lories and Lorikeets from flying out of the aviary, these strings of beads are a necessary placement at the entrance.

Visually impaired persons would not feel left out here but do ask them to wash their hands after touching the Braille tablet - i bet you can see the two trails of fresh bird droppings.

You would see the chattering birds with vividly red, green, yellow feathers immediately upon entry. As their active level heavily depends on the weather, the time you choose to visit is of utmost importance. They are likely to hide when the temperature gets too high!

The first thing you should do - buy a cup of nectar mixture for only S$3! You would have no lack of birds flying towards you with the payment of this nominal fee.

Fear is thrown out of their minds once the free-flying lories realise you are holding the nectar mix!

Be careful - they do nibble. And as i understand from years of experience working in the pet industry, nibbling is often mistaken for biting. Therefore, if your threshold of pain is low, always handle the lories with caution. Parental guidance is required for families with young children.

One reason why i like this place so much is that the whole atmosphere feels very realistic; it is as if i am walking in the lories' real habitat with man-made structures constructed to enable us to have a closer look of these colourful birds.

An elevated platform of almost 9-storey high also adds to the realism by having a treetop view. At cooler times, you may even see them flying in groups of 20-30 around the aviary.

Well, the huge netting covering the entire aviary does reduce the imagination to a certain extent but overall, i thought it is still pretty awesome!

Another key attraction within the lory loft is this suspension bridge that can only accommodate a one-way human traffic.

Known ironically as the central feeding tower, it is the crucial pillar that physically upholds the aviary just like a circus tent. There is a slight problem - you don't see many lories when the temperature gets too warm. Walk down the stairs to shelter yourself from the hot sun!

Kon and I could not resist not shaking the bridge and we intentionally bounced like hyperactive children while walking across. Yes, these kind of cheap thrills excite us!

The feeding plastic containers holding the delicious nectar mix can be recycled so please place them at any one of the above once you are done.

Another view of the central feeding tower from the end of the suspension bridge. 

I should have brought along Alex's binoculars - many of them were hiding from the sun!

Random picture of a covered hut linking the trail. Maybe this is the right time for some basic information - lories are found in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and this aviary is based on a tropical environment in Northern Australia.

There is another suspension bridge; albeit a wooden and shorter one.

Taking pictures with animals and birds are commonly charged separately. In this lory loft, you can take as many pictures as you want using your own camera! A small risk exists - bird droppings.

It is very easy to entice them to come to you - besides the nectar mix, patience is a virtue and don't make any sudden movement. I am quite lucky; a lory boldly perched on my shoulder shortly after i entered the aviary even though i didn't have any nectar mix.

End of the trail. 

For those who hate to be in the sun, you can wait for your family and friends in this air-conditioned cafe. Enjoy their specialty; Dimbulah coffee which is made from native Australia coffee beans.

=====

Website 

Additional Information
For my post on Penguin Coast, please click

No comments:

Post a Comment