The Umgeni River Bird Park is a bird zoo located in Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

History

Designed and built by Dr. Alan Abrey in an old quarry site, the Umgeni River Bird Park was opened in April 1984. The park was owned privately by a group of bird lovers who wanted to educate others about birds from around the world. It was run by Alan Abrey until his retirement in 1997, and in those years the artwork for the park (guidebook illustrations, park maps, and so forth) were done by his daughter Robyn Abrey.

Floods in 1987 washed away the road in front of the park, and resulted in the temporary evacuation of the birds to Abrey's home on higher ground. By 1989, the park was home to over 4,500 birds of 400 different species, and was given the “Premier Durban Attraction” award by the Durban Tourism Board.

Construction of the Free Flight Bird Show arena was started in 1995, with the venue staging its first show in 1996.

The park was purchased by Tsogo Sun in 1997, with the new owners agreeing to uphold the park's "Inspire to Conserve" philosophy.

Tsogo Sun closed the park at the end of August, 2009 because it was not financially viable. The Regency Foundation Network agreed to raise the R4.5 million necessary for the purchase, and the City will take over the R3 million per year operating expenses. The Park was reopened in June, 2010.

Exhibits

Set in a landfilled and landscaped former quarry, the park includes several natural waterfalls. Paths for visitors wind through three aviaries and past other aviaries and open exhibits. A viewing window in the nursery lets visitors see how the birds are hatched and raised.

Attractions

The Free Flight Bird Show, opened in 1996, features birds from North and South America, Africa, Indonesia, and Australia, and emphasizes conservation. Birds in the show includes a owl

Owl

Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

s, crane

Crane (bird)

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

s, hornbill

Hornbill

Hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...

s, macaw

Macaw

Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...

s, kookaburra

Kookaburra

Kookaburras are terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, and is onomatopoeic of its call...

s, toucan

Toucan

Toucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species...

s, vulture

Vulture

Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...

s, in an open air auditorium. The show is staged twice daily, weather permitting.

Conservation

The park breeds 17 of the 24 threatened bird species in its collection. The park is involves with the South Africa Crane Working Group in breeding and then releasing the Wattled Crane

Wattled Crane

The Wattled Crane, Bugeranus carunculatus is a large bird found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It is monotypical for its genus.At a height of up to , it is the largest crane in Africa and is the second tallest species of crane, after the Sarus Crane. The wingspan is , the length is...

. The birds are hand-reared using a glove puppet, and are then released near Dullstroom

Dullstroom

Dullstroom-Emnotweni is one of the coldest towns in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, and along with Underberg, it is one of South Africa's premier flyfishing destinations...

. Wattled cranes are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, and there are only about 8000 in the wild.