Coastal Creek Aviary is open to visitors
The next time you visit Arundel Wetland Centre, you'll be able to explore the Coastal Creek aviary.
The new Coastal Creek aviary is landscaped with rocks, shoreline vegetation and waterfalls, to recreate a coastline feel, giving the seaducks and waders inside a more natural environment. Standing 15 metres tall and 40 metres long the aviary offers plenty of space for the birds to take flight. The large, glass sided diving duck tank opened on May 24 after an issue with the filtering system. The spectacled eiders and longtail ducks love clambering up the waterfall to swim on and dive in the tank. Special daily feeds & talks with our Keepers in the aviary will be part of our summer program in 2021.
Tim McGregor, Arundel Centre Manager. “With waders and ducks both swimming around and flying above visitors, it’s a truly multi-sensory experience.”
Three types of habitat exist in the new Coastal Creek aviary. The wader stream replicates the shallow estuaries and gravelled beaches for redshank and avocets, while seaducks will feel at home in the deep water dive tank or climbing the waterfalls that mimic coastal cliffs.
Who lives in the Coastal Creek Aviary:
- common scoters
- spectacled eiders
- harlequin
- scaly sided merganser
- long-tailed ducks
- avocets
- redshanks
This ambitious development began in Nov 2019 by moving our collection birds and relocating the fish and eels. Tree works began that December and earth moving began in January 2020 after the area had dried out a bit. The Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 temporarily stopped work during the first lockdown but construction resumed in June and finished in December. The deep diving tank and the equipment to flow water around the exhibit and out into the natural treatment reedbed were installed early in 2021.
In Feb 2021 the Collection Team began introducing seaducks and waders into their new aviary including new species like fantastic spectacled eiders. Avocets and redshank were added in late March with the pair of tiny redshank often taking flight around the large netted aviary.
Visitors can see the new Coastal Creek Aviary when Arundel Wetland Centre reopens on April 12. We ask for your patience as we will have a safe queueing system in place at the aviary to assist visitor entry as the birds get used to the increase in people on site.
Also look out for the new Pelican Cove exhibit next door, the home of magnificent Dalmatian pelicans. Our team will be on hand to answer questions at this exciting, new exhibit.
Arundel Wetland Centre reopened on Mon 12 April.
