Charlie, our blue and gold macaw, has given her squawk of approval for a stunning limited-edition portrait hand drawn by our talented Trainee Bird Keeper, Sophie Savage-Eccles. Sophie has produced the colourful pencil sketch in aid of our forthcoming fundraising efforts for World Parrot Day on Tuesday, May 31 – a week today! As part … Continue reading Squawk of approval!
We can’t guarantee sunny weather, but we do know our seven new sun conures will brighten anyone’s day! One of the most beautiful of the conure species, these stunning parakeets sport bright orange and yellow feathers with splashes of green and have recently moved into the parrot aviary by Lemur Wood with our military and … Continue reading Stunning Sun conures
We’re kicking off the Easter holidays by bringing you some very adorable images of our newly hatched and very fluffy cygnets! The pair are baby black swans and are offspring to Sylvia and Clive, who recently relocated to the South American pools, opposite the Discovery Centre, from Lorikeet Lookout. It’s been more than 30 years … Continue reading Adorable cygnets!
Have you spotted our newest tropical addition to the Queen Mary aviary? Dini, the green aracari, arrived at DZC at the end of last year, but has only recently headed outside to join the scarlet ibis, mandarin ducks, ringed teals and puna ibis. One of the smallest members of the toucan family, green aracaris are … Continue reading Dini flies in!
Well done to Team Leader Nicola Wright, who has been named our Employee of the Month. Nicola was nominated by Zoo Manager, Matt Lewis, for her assistance in covering recent staff absences by stepping back in to help care for our chimpanzees and was awarded a certificate and gift voucher for her efforts. Matt said: … Continue reading Well done, Nicola!
Say hello to Jellybean and Sherbet – two baby Australian rainbow lorikeets. Our bird team are delighted with the arrival of two new additions to the zoo’s lorikeet flock, but their start in life couldn’t have been more different. It’s been a busy few months for keepers Nicola Wright and Kriss Pearson, who have been … Continue reading A tale of two chicks…
Well Done to Senior Keeper, Kriss Pearson, who has been awarded the top honour in our reinstated Employee of the Month scheme. The bird keeper has been commended by the zoo’s management team after receiving great feedback from visitors about his knowledge and enthusiasm for our newest arrival, Zeus the Southern Cassowary. Birds Section Leader … Continue reading Congrats Kriss!
Our Humboldt penguins have all been officially sexed by analysing their DNA – and we currently have 29 males and 39 females in our colony. As part of this year’s annual census procedures, which took place back in January, our bird keepers took the opportunity to obtain chest feathers from 21 of our younger penguins … Continue reading Analysing penguin DNA
Zeus, our Southern Cassowary has settled well into DZC and keepers even managed to this week weigh him for the first time on hidden weighing scales! Staff positioned portable scales near the fence, which they covered with wood chipping, before calling the ten-year-old over. An unsuspecting Zeus stood on the scales, allowing keepers to note … Continue reading Zeus weigh-in
We’re saying a big well done to our Apprentice Keeper, Becky Shore, who has been named Learner of the Month by her training provider. Becky, aged 20, joined our bird section in October as part of an apprenticeship scheme run in conjunction with KEITS Training Services and was nominated for the award by her assessor … Continue reading Well done Becky!
