With the memory of the sloth painting fresh in my mind, I couldn't help but notice the Lego sloth perched on a branch outside of the Sloth/Tropical Bird Aviary. Decision made.
There is a limited number of people allowed in the space at one time, and so it was necessary to wait in line. Fortunately the line was short and moved quickly. Once inside, you are in a sort of vestibule with one glass enclosed habitat where the sloth can choose to hand out. It was there. But hard to see with the glare on the glass and the level of lighting which was tuned to be tropical jungle undergrowth shade level. All the better for the sloth--and the reason I have no photos to prove its existence.
Once inside of the actual aviary you have a single path the goes around a water feature and then exits. There are exactly 5 different species of birds and one tortoise to see. My cadre included a father and young son, and then a family grouping with grandfather, parents, uncle and two young boys--one of whom was clearly autistic and over-stimulated. There was a keeper inside to troubleshoot and answer questions. She spent the first portion of my visit gently asking the family group to not allow their son to go into the water, and not to touch the tortoise. Both expectations lead to there expedient visit. I lingered and asked her about the birds. She seemed more than happy to chat about that--a respite from various acts of crowd control.
Next, was a walk to the adjacent "Trails of the Jaguar" multi-species complex. It has a multi-habitat interior with viewing to 3 large exterior habitats. There is also an exterior garden with a lovely mosaic and pair of restrooms. Of the exterior habitats, one was unoccupied, one was home to both Golden and Bald Eagles (moved from their former habitat now absorbed by the construction at the zoo's old entrance), and the third was home to an Ocelot.
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