Species Spotlight: The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill

It has been a busy summer at the Park and we are glad to see fall arrive. If you haven't been to visit us in a while, now is the perfect time. The cooler weather makes your visit more pleasant, and the birds seem to be enjoying it, as well.

One of our newest birds on exhibit is the Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus). A native of African grassland and savanna habitats, this bird is an omnivorous ground dweller that eats mostly rodents, frogs, and snakes, as well as insects, seeds, and fruits. The hornbill's long beak even allows it to catch and eat venomous snakes, while keeping the bird's body safely out of harm's way. And the long featherless legs help it to move quickly and easily through the grassy environment.

One of the things visitors notice first about our female Abyssinian is her incredibly long eyelashes. Unlike ours, these lashes are not hairs but actually modified feathers that serve the same purpose and protect the eyes from sand and dirt.

That crazy looking thing on top of her beak is not really broken. It is called a casque, and is made of keratin. It is believed to help amplify their vocalizations so that other hornbills who are farther away can hear them. You may have noticed a similar casque on our silvery-cheeked hornbill.

Our bird can easily be identified as a female by her blue wattle, or throat pouch. Males puff theirs out during courtship, but they are different from the females' in that their wattles also have a bright red color surrounding the blue.

Her exhibit is located between the African aviary and the spur-winged geese exhibit. Next time you are at the park, be sure to stop and say hello!

What the Heck is a Lek?

Have you made a trip to the Park recently to discover our little secret? If not, let us introduce you to our newest exhibit and its distinguished inhabitants: Ruffs.

Visitors are now treated to a rare sight in North American zoos, as our group of 19 birds is the largest in the country. In fact, only one other facility in the U.S. – the San Diego Zoo – displays Ruffs, and we are happy to be able to join them in educating the public about this spectacular species.

Ruffs are named for the dramatic collar of feathers that encircles the male’s neck during the breeding season. Reminiscent of the fashionable “ruffs” worn by Europeans in the 17th century, these collars are impressive to behold.

Ruffs are also unusual for the variety of plumage colors and patterns among individual males during the breeding season. In the winter months, it is hard to distinguish males from females. But when summer arrives, individual males develop a breeding plumage in shades of black, brown, rusty red and white – all in unique combinations and patterns. This phenomenon is thought to be a means of identification, unlike most bird species, which use vocalization to distinguish one from another. 

Three of our male Ruffs beginning to come into breeding plumage.

But perhaps this species is most remarkable for the fact that they are the only “lekking” sandpiper. A lek is best described as an arena where male birds gather for the purpose of competitive breeding displays. For example, in the summer, groups of Ruffs will migrate North to their breeding grounds in Northern Eurasia. Once there, males will come together on a daily basis at a particular spot and compete for the opportunity to mate with a female.

Dominant, or “resident”, males are dark in appearance and aggressively defend a small territory within the lek. “Satellite” males have lighter plumage with white ruffs and, although they do not defend a territory, they are tolerated in the arena by the resident males.

With Ruffs, there is a third group of breeding males. "Faeder" males mimic females in plumage and behavior. They do not possess the colorful feathered collar of most males and do not perform any breeding displays. Instead, faeders roam between territories posing as females, and covertly mate with females when an opportunity arises.

At the leks, males perform a number of courtship displays such as “Wing-fluttering”, a “Strut-walk”, or “Flutter-jumps” to name a few. Females visit the leks to mate with the male of her choice. Afterwards, she leaves and assumes all responsibility for the care of the eggs and chicks. The male’s job is done.

Other lekking species include Sage Grouse, Prairie Chickens, Musk Ducks, Birds of Paradise, and Hermit Hummingbirds.

Breeding Ruffs primarily eat insects, but this diet varies during migration and in winter based on food availability, and may include small crustaceans, fish, grains and grasses. Here at the park, our group is fed a commercial diet for sea birds.

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park is taking advantage of this unique learning opportunity and is participating in an on-going Ruff behavioral research project with East Carolina University and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

So next time you visit the Park, be sure to stop by and check out our Ruff exhibit. It is located along the path leading to the Beaver Pond Blind.

Whooping Crane Arrives at Sylvan Heights

Sylvan Heights is proud to introduce one of our newest additions to the Park: a young whooping crane. Only a handful of places in North America work with these birds, and the Park is the only private facility given the privelege to display this endangered species. Hatched last spring at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin, the young male whooping crane incurred a leg injury and was deemed non-releasable back into the wild. Sylvan Heights is thrilled to be given the opportunity to use this bird as an animal ambassador to educate the public about the plight and resulting programs successfully created for this species.

The rarest of the 15 crane species, whooping cranes are native to North America. In 1941, a bird count revealed that only 16 living birds were left in the wild. Since then, extraordinary conservation efforts have been made, the result of which is that we now have just over 500 birds in the world.

The tallest bird in North America, an adult whooping crane is imposing. They stand between 4 and 5 feet high, with snowy white plumage, except for a brilliant red cap on the top of their heads, and black facial markings and black primary feathers clearly visible in flight. Their long, spear-like beaks and fierce golden eyes make an adult whooping crane quite formidable when protecting its young. 

They get their name from their distinctive "whoop-like" call, which pairs often make in unison. Whoopers are gregarious by nature meaning that they prefer to live in a group, or in their case, family groups. They frequent marshes, shallow lakes and lagoons where there is an abundance of aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates for their young to feed on. Sometimes adults may kill larger prey such as rodents, snakes and small birds.

In the wild, whooping cranes naturally migrate 4000 km from their breeding grounds in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park to their wintering grounds at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

However, scientists became concerned of the potential risk associated with having only one wild population of whoopers. They recognized that the group could easily be wiped out by disease, bad weather or other factors. 

So a successful captive rearing and reintroduction program using ultralight airplanes was implemented. It focuses on raising the chicks of captive pairs and "guiding" them on their first migration southward. Operation Migration has been remarkably successful in its goal to establish an eastern population of migrating whoopers. Each fall, a team of dedicated conservationists, guide a group of young birds from Wisconsin south to Florida.

But OM also works with other species including sandhill cranes and Canada geese. To learn more about their programs, please visit their comprehensive web site. It includes a great deal of information on everything from the natural history of the birds themselves, to video clips about training the young birds to follow the ultralights, to audio bites of vocalizations, and much, much more. 

Then grab your coat and head to the Park for your first encounter with our magnificent whooping crane and see it for yourself!

Species Highlight: Poison Dart Frogs

If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the park and see our new tree house, now is an excellent time. The mad heat of summer has ended, only to be replaced by gorgeous weather that makes wandering through the park a heavenly treat. And visitors are not the only ones enjoying the cooler temperatures. Everywhere you look, the park’s residents seem to have awakened from their summer slumber and have begun their social dances; birds are splashing in the water, flying around the aviaries, and vocalizing to one another.

The new tree house is a special place, allowing anyone who enters a bird’s eye view of the wetlands below. Songbirds flit among the trees at eye-level, as well as ruby-throated hummingbirds, some of who take an occasional interest in the tree house visitors.

But along the path to the tree house, visitors are in for a surprise when they pass the new building housing restrooms. What’s that you say? A surprise in the restroom? Well…sort of. As you enter the building, you’ll find a small foyer displaying three exhibits: carnivorous plants, a live beehive, and poison dart frogs!



All three are fascinating (seriously, who doesn’t love a good Venus Flytrap?) and worth the stop. The most popular exhibit may be, though, the one housing the Blue Poison Dart Frogs (Dendrobates azureus). These active little frogs are quickly becoming a park favorite. Unlike most amphibians, these frogs are diurnal, or active during the day, and their bright blue color is stunning.

Despite their name, these frogs are, in fact, NOT poisonous. Not in captivity anyway. According to scientists, their toxicity is apparently derived from their diet in the wild. It’s possible that the ants, termites and beetles that they consume are, in turn, carrying plant poisons from their own diets. Here at the park, the frogs are fed a diet of fruit flies and pinhead crickets for the most part.

Found on only a few small islands of Southern Surinam, the azureus prefer to live near small streams with heavy vegetation – including moss, lichens and such. Their vivid coloration serves as a warning by signaling their toxicity to potential predators. (However, the only natural predator of most of the poison dart frog family is a snake called Leimadophis epinephelus, which has developed a resistance to the frogs' poison.)

They are proficient climbers, so when you are looking at the exhibit, be sure you look up towards the top as well as the crevices under the rocks and logs. These frogs are fascinating to watch, because they are usually very active. In addition, the often seem to “walk” on all fours, instead of the typical hopping behavior that most fogs use. Surprisingly, they are not great swimmers, so the water level of their pool is deliberately kept shallow.

The frogs have an elaborate courtship that begins with the male vocalizing to attract a female. If she is receptive, the female will then stroke the male’s back with her front legs and follow him around until they find a suitable nesting area. After laying her eggs, the male will guard the nest and even add water to the clutch to hydrate them. About two weeks later when the eggs hatch, the male will crouch down, allowing a few tadpoles to wriggle upon his back and then carry them to a water-filled cavity to continue their development.

For more fascinating information about poison dart frogs, check out http://www.blackjungle.com/.

Flamingos: Some of the Toughest Birds on the Planet

To most, flamingos are tall, even delicate looking birds. But did you know that these fabulous creatures inhabit – and even thrive in – some of the most inhospitable places on the planet?

Lesser flamingos, for example, live in the Rift Valley soda lakes of Africa. Here they drink water from volcanic springs with temperatures near the boiling point! And temperatures can soar up to 154 degrees F – a harsh environment, don’t you think?

In fact, naturalist Leslie Brown who was the first person to discover a lesser flamingo breeding area, attempted to wade through the caustic water and mud to get a closer look. He received chemical burns on his legs that required three skin grafts and left them scarred for life.

On the other side of the spectrum are the flamingos found in South America. Chileans, Andeans and James’ flamingos can all be found living high in the Andes, where they survive temperatures that can dip to minus 20 degrees F - Yikes! In fact, a recent PBS show (Nature) which featured the Andes in one of their episodes, had incredible footage of a flock of flamingos roosting in one of the high altitude lakes. At night, temperatures plummet and the surface of the water freezes trapping the flock until morning when the sun rises and melts the surface of the lake.

These three species spend much of their time living on the Altiplano salt flats feasting on the brine shrimp and algae that flourish in the caustic waters of the volcanic lagoons. Amazingly, the flamingos’ long, skinny legs are completely unaffected by the burning and destructive waters, though they take care to rinse their feathered bodies in the nearby freshwater lakes. They also drink heavily from these freshwater sources because their feeding lagoons are not suitable.

In addition, the flamingo’s beak is highly specialized with bristles on their tongue and lamellae (or comb-like structures) on both the top and lower beaks. This allows them to efficiently filter out the tiny nutritious food particles from the caustic waters, thereby minimizing their ingestion of harmful substances such as sodium hydroxide.

So next time you visit the park and see our flamingos on exhibit, instead of thinking palm trees and sandy beaches, perhaps you might think volcanic springs and freezing lakes!

To check out more incredible footage on these amazing birds, visit the PBS web site featuring Nature’s episode, Andes: The Dragon’s Back.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this second installment of our "Pink Link" series!

No Crocodile Tears Here...

Let me introduce you to two new additions to the Park’s Education Program – American Alligators!

Okay, so they’re not waterfowl – nor even remotely avain in nature, but they are a great tool that our education staff can use to talk about the diversity of wetlands. Native to America, North Carolina is the northern most tip of their range. They are fantastic creatures who are located at the top of the food chain in wetland habitats.

Although they are not crocodiles, they are in the crocodilian family. Only two species of alligators exist in the world, the American alligator and the Chinese alligator, which is much smaller and very endangered. Other crocodilians include crocodiles, caimans, and gharials. However, they all share similar characteristics.

These predatory reptiles are cold-blooded, which means that they cannot control their body temperature the way mammals and birds do. Instead, they rely on their environment to warm or cool them. They are most active in the hot summer months, which isn’t saying a lot, because these cunning animals spend the majority of their time being very still. They use the ambush method to catch their prey, which requires very little movement and a good amount of patience on their part. Since they spend most of their time in the water hunting for food, their body is designed to help them camouflage in their environment. All of the senses that they need to catch a good meal, are located on top of their head – sight, hearing, and smell. This way they can submerge the rest of their body beneath the water keeping it hidden from their alert prey. When a bird or mammal gets close enough…SURPRISE! The alligator quickly snaps it up into its wide mouth and gobbles it down whole. If the prey happens to be too large to swallow, the alligator is equipped with about 80 teeth and incredible jaw strength to tear it into bite-sized pieces.

They also eat a lot of fish and turtles, so to aid them in their underwater dining, crocodilians have three eyelids – one on the bottom and one on top (like us,) but they also have a third one underneath these and it is clear. Called a nictitating membrane, this third eyelid is clear and allows the alligator to see underwater while protecting its eye from debris and such.

While a mother alligator is one of the fiercest animals on the planet, she is also one of the most gentle. Before laying her clutch of 30 to 50 eggs, the female carefully makes a nest of soil and rotting vegetation. Heat from the decomposing matter incubates the eggs for 60 to 70 days and the sex ratio depends on the temperature inside the nest. Eggs incubated at higher temperatures will turn into male alligators, while cooler temps produce females.
The mother will guard their nest until the babies begin to hatch. When she hears her babies making "chucking" sounds and digging their way to the surface, she will help dig up the eggs. If any are having trouble hatching, the female will carefully take the egg into her mouth and carefully break open the egg without harming the baby inside. Once the babies have hatched, she will take them into her mouth or onto her back and carry them down to the water. Many hatchlings will stay with their mother for up to a year for protection from larger predators.

To learn more about these fantastic creatures, call the Park and register for any of our summer camps, education or family programs to meet our scaly friends….

Eurasian Eagle-Owls Hatch!

We have recently welcomed some new additions here at the park. This past February, we were ecstatic to discover FOUR(!) fertile eggs beneath our pair of Eurasian eagle-owls on exhibit. All four chicks successfully hatched in late March. Sylvan Heights staff members are hand-rearing three of the chicks, one of which will become part of the educational presentations that we offer both on and off-site. The owl chicks are being hand-fed several times per day and we carefully monitor the growth of each chick. The parent owls are rearing the fourth chick in their nest on park grounds.

With a wingspan of 4 to 5 feet and weighing up to 9 pounds, Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo) are the largest owl species in the world. They are rumored to have killed prey as large as foxes and young roe deer. Though they mainly feed on mammals, they will also consume other birds such as capercaillie and other birds of prey.

A species of horned-owl, eagle-owls are easily recognizable by the tufts of feathers on either side of the head, as well as their size and large orange eyes. As with all owls, their large eyes are an adaptation to their nocturnal habits and allows them to see better during their night time hunts.

Their native range spans the entire Eurasian continent, from Spain and Portugal to Russia and China. Although widespread, Eurasian eagle-owls are considered rare or threatened in many parts of Europe.

In the wild, they prefer to nest on cliff ledges, cave entrances, or rocky outcroppings. At the park, you will find the pair’s nest box located at the back of their enclosure and high off the ground. The three-week-old chick has been spotted by several visitors to the park, so next time you visit, be sure to check out their exhibit which is located next to flamingos.

Are You Flamingo Savvy?

One of Sylvan Height’s most popular attractions is the Flamingo Exhibit. Located in the center of the park, our flock is a mix of lesser and Chilean flamingos. Visitors can enter the exhibit to view these colorful birds from a viewing deck located on the edge of the flamingo’s pool.

To celebrate the popularity of these birds, we’re excited to bring you the first installment of our "Think Pink" series, which will bring to you interesting information about flamingos once a month. We’ll try to cover a little bit of everything, from their biology to their history in captivity. And we’ll also include facts about the flamingo flock here at Sylvan Heights. So if you’re an avid flamingo afficionado, or your children have a research project that they need help with, or you're simply a fan of anything related to Sylvan Heights, hopefully you’ll find some useful information here.

How many flamingos are there?

One of the most distinct birds in the world, flamingos are instantly recognizable. To most people, flamingos are those tall, pink birds with the long legs and neck. And that’s absolutely correct. But did you know that there are six different kinds of flamingos? In Europe and Africa, you can find the greater and the lesser flamingos. In the Americas, there are the Caribbean flamingo, the Chilean flamingo, the Andean flamingo, and the James’s flamingo. And believe it or not, they can all be distinguished from each other. There are small differences, such as the size of their bodies, shape of their beaks, and the color of their beaks, eyes, feathers or even legs!

Take a look at these pictures of both flamingo species at Sylvan Heights. You’ll see a lesser flamingo on the left and a Chilean on the right. Can you see the differences in eye, beak and feather color? What about the shape of the head? The Chilean’s is slightly longer, less compact. They also tend to be larger birds with longer legs that are more of a pale pink compared to the lesser’s dark pink ones.

Next time you visit the park, take a little trip down to the Flamingo Exhibit and see if you can pick out the Chilean from the lesser flamingos. Then come back here and leave us a comment letting us know how you did!

We'll post more information about flamingos in our Think Pink installment next month. Until then, we'll be bringing you updates about the park, including events, membership opportunities, animal adoption kits and, of course, introducing you to more of the beautiful animals living at Sylvan Heights.

Welcome and Tundra Swan Project

Warmest welcome to all!

We're so happy to present to you the official blog of Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park. Located in Scotland Neck, NC, Sylvan Heights is the world’s largest waterfowl park and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Our main focus is providing our visitors a first-class experience in education, conservation and fun.

We plan to use this blog as a way to keep everyone informed about the spectacular birds at the park, like the Tundra swans we're blogging about today. We'll also let you know about any changes and additions to the park, including up-coming events, our education programs, and new exhibit openings.


Many of the visitors to the park really enjoy getting to see our Tundra swans up close. These beautiful birds are a true native of North America and breed on Alaska's North Slope. They then migrate east through Canada and the Carolinas. This unusual migration consists of traveling up to 8,000 miles round trip, and has been passed down from parent to offspring for countless generations. Tundra swans rely on tundra wetland habitat for breeding, wetland staging areas throughout their migration, and wintering grounds where parents and young can rest and feed.

The education department at Sylvan Heights is fortunate to be able to participate in the Tundra Swan Migration Research Program. It was developed by the Environmental Studies at Airlie, but Sylvan Heights educators contributed to the program by developing its educational component, which introduces middle and high school students to the world of field biology and wildlife research.

The park's education staff, Dan Louk and Carla Taylor, show the students how to collect data which allows the students to follow the swans and the research being conducted, share field observations and openly communicate with other participating schools across the continent. Students learn to use scientific equipment, conduct interviews, collect and analyze data and write a final research report. Local groups such as schools, scouts, college classes may sign up for this program and Sylvan Heights educators then schedule sessions and a trip to try to locate the collared swans.

If you're in the local area, and this sounds like a project you’d like your child or student to participate in, send an e-mail message to blog@shwpark.com, and we’ll forward your e-mail to our education department for more details. To learn more about this fantastic research program, click here to visit the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education's project description page, or visit swanmigration.org to see the map displaying each collared swan’s current location!

If you'd like to see the Tundra swans here at the park, you can find them in the North American Aviary. If you’ve never been to the park, here’s what you can expect: the park is home to over 1,000 birds, including many rare and endangered species. You can enjoy close-up encounters with many of these birds in our large walk-through aviaries, each of which represents species from six continents. Gardens and shaded picnic areas are located throughout the park, and your children will love our playground area. Many exciting new exhibit openings are in the works for this spring and summer, so check back with this blog often for more information.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl blog! In our sidebar, you’ll find a way to subscribe to our blog, which will deliver new postings directly to your email. Or you can bookmark our page for easy retrieval. We also want to hear from you. Feel free to click the comment button to let us know what you think. We're planning to post a new blog entry about every week, so stay tuned for our next post, which will feature one of the most recognizable birds in the world--the flamingo.