Smithsonian National Zoo: Aviary, part 1 of 3 - The Coastal Shores

 Anyone who keeps up with my Zoo posts knows that I have two particular structural loves at the zoos and aquariums.  First, Herpetariums, a.k.a. Reptile and/or Amphibian Houses.  And Second, Aviaries!  

Sometimes the quality of one or both of these can determine my impression of the entire facility.  

I love them because they are animal experience dense.  And when done well, both the visitor and the residents have wonderful experiences.  Of Course, a shitty version of either is pure hell.  Animals kept in cages... unacceptable.  Birds arrived at the National Zoo as early as 1900.  They were displayed in dispersed cages at first, and then those were clustered into a bird focused area.

The 1928 entrance is preserved in the lobby.

The Bird House, as the National Zoo in Washington, DC calls it, was first opened in 1928.  It was the height of the money rich, "roaring" 1920's!  The design and details were magnificent, and the birds were kept in spaces that allowed for maximum movement at the time.  Over the years up-grades happened and when I first visited it in the late 1990's, it was a passable, if dated Aviary.

What I couldn't see was how the bones were wearing thin.  The infrastructure was in need of a major upgrade, and in for a penny, in for a pound seemed a reasonable approach, versus the all too familiar "band Aide" option.  So in 2017, the Bird House closed.  

The new design was intended to occupy the original foot print, incorporate as much of the original, architecturally brilliant and historically significant building as possible, while also making across the board state-of-the-art upgrades based on a Gold Standard LEED rating.  Price tag?  $69,000,000.00!  The most expensive and ambitious project ever undertaken at the zoo.  Though I grant that factoring in inflation, this is an arguable statement.  

Enter the fuck-fest that was the Covid pandemic, and timelines are screwed.  But even this came to it's fruition in 2023.  The new design, full of features that create a sense of flight, is dedicated to the migration of birds across the Western Hemisphere. 

It is divided into three interactive, multi-species regional habitats.

1) The Delaware Shore: With a winding path through a room with large coastal shoreline water features that mimic tidal movements.  Natural plantings, multiple species of fish as well as both shore birds and coastal song birds.  

2) Prairie "Pot Holes": features a look at interior wetlands, but the bulk of the birds presented are more likely to be found in near Atlantic Ocean marshes of the eastern Piedmont (the Carolina's, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware).

3) The South American Nexus of annual migration, the Brazilian highland Coffee Plantation.  This fills the historic heart of the original Bird House, and focuses on species of song birds with long-range migration routes.

It is so easy to completely lose one's self in the magic of these environments, that I have to divide this record of my visit into three parts.  So we commence our visit with the Delaware Shore!  

The design guides visitors on a migration of their own starting with a turn to the right.  Wall text throughout is in both English and Spanish.  Que Perfecto, no?

This leads to a room with huge portraits of birds.  The perfect place to assemble a group of school children prior to entering the interactive bird spaces.

WELCOME TO THE DELAWARE SHORE

The right side habitat.  A similar configuration is on the left and birds are free to choose where to spend their time.  Natural like supports a natural cycle of day and night.  All the vegetation is living, and again, the aquatic features are home to various fish and have a built in tidal motion mechanism so that you can watch as the sea grasses ebb and flow--but wait, there's more.  The strength of those currents also varies to better mimic the actual tidal forces.  It's honestly like nothing else I have ever seen anywhere.

Black-necked Stilt

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

Sanderling pic photo-bombed by a Semipalmated Plover! (far right)

Americans Golden Plover

The close-ups don't fully depict the absolute flocks of shore birds that inhabit the space.  The are, like their Songbird companions, oblivious to the humans passing through which gives visitors who who care to linger amazing opportunities to view their natural world in an exceptionally well designed facsimile.

Blue Bunting

The Blue Bunting Preens in the company of a Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-capped Chickadee

Smithsonian National Zoo: Asian Small Clawed Otters

 A little interlude on a hot midday/early afternoon visit to the National Zoo.  The upper quarter of the zoo is dedicated to Asian Species.  The Iconic and much lauded, Giant Panda, it's little non-cousin, the Red Panda, Clouded Leopards, Fishing Cats, Asian Small Clawed Otters and Sloth Bears all live there, but on this particular day only one was out and about.  I give you the Asian Small Clawed Otters!  

Smithsonian National Zoo: Asian Elephants

 As with all modern zoos, to house Elephants has got to be a #1 priority.  Elephant habitats at accredited zoos probably have more requirements than any other mammal.  Where Elephants were once a mainstay of any zoo, today they are increasingly rare, and generally when you do encounter them, they live in august, multi-range spaces with state of the art healthcare and enrichment possibilities.  They also live in communities, ideally with multi-generational members.  

The National Zoo has been home to Asian Elephants since it first opened in 1889.  Over the years members have joined the herd as national gifts.  In 1961 India presented an Elephant to President Kennedy, and in 1976, Jimmy Carter received an Elephant from Sri Lanka. 

In the early 2000's the zoo began the process of overhauling its Elephant Hall into a state of the art LEED facility with all the necessary components to care for newborns.  The main building re-opened to the public in 2006, and the upgraded and completed exterior yards were finished by 2013.  At the time the zoo was home to 5 elderly females and the younger daughter of one.  Three of the old girls had spent time together at the same elephant orphanage on Sri Lanka before spending their younger years on various other adventures.  In 2018, Spike was transferred in from the Tulsa Zoo.  He had previously mated with the younger female while they had been at the Calgary Zoo.  Great hopes for another love match was in the wind, and while they enjoyed one another's company, no pregnancy resulted.

In 2022, a mother-daughter pair were transferred from the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands.  In 2024, the younger female, Nhi Linh, became pregnant, and earlier this year gave birth to her first calf, Linh Mai.  At 12, Nhi Linh demonstrated a lack of mothering instincts and the decision was made to place the primary initial care of Lihn Mai in the hands of the keepers.  As she has grown more independent, one of the older females, Swarna, age 51, has stepped in and demonstrated "auntie" care giving instincts.  As I observed during this visit, Swarna clearly enjoys Linh Mai's proximity, but even as the Matriarch, she doesn't dote over her little charge the way a mother might.  I feel like Linh Mai is set to become a very independent elephant.

With the loss of some of the older girls, the present herd consists of 7 elephants.  On the day of my visit, Spike (45) and Nhi Linh (13) (were chilling in the side yard with the large swimming pool.  Maharani (36), Swarna (51) and Linh Mai (6 mo.) were in the barn, and then Swarna and Linh Mai transitioned to the side yard.   Finally, Bozie (51) and Trong Nhi (23) were in the Main Valley, the largest exterior habitat.  

NHI LINH and SPIKE

Nhi Linh and Spike in the Swimming Pool Yard.

MAHARANI, SWARNA & LINH MAI

Interior Elephant Barn.

Maharani, Linh Mai and Swarna:  Swarna is Maharani's mother, and she's taken to giving some care to little Linh Mai.

Parting pic of Maharani.  She's the largest by height and weight of the herd.

Linh Mai and Swarna in the side yard.

BOZIE & TRONG LINH 

Bozie

Bozie moves over to the pool in the Valley Yard.

Bozie and Trong Linh (background)

Trong Linh

Smithsonian National Zoo: American Trail

As far back as the late 1800's when the National Zoo set up shop at its current location, a pathway was established along the western flank of the park.  The main pathway was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of Urban communal landscape design with nothing short of Central Park in New York City on the top of his resume!  President Grover Cleveland signed the law establishing a "National Zoological Park" in Washington, DC to be located on 163 acres along a steeply sloping ridge above an oxbow curve on Rock Creek.  While the growing city bloomed on the plateau above, Frederick and his crew set about laying the foundation for the zoo. 

1910 Map of the National Zoo
from the National Archives

Zooming in on "Beaver Valley": 10 = Wolves, 8 = Bears,
9 = Sea Lions, and 13 = Beavers

The turn around was stunning, and less than two years later the initial thoroughfare of the zoo opened to the public in 1891.  Just west of the main promenade lay an even steeper slice down the backside of the hillside formed by a smaller creek, more like a seasonal run.  Paths were added and this area was christened Beaver Valley.  The year was 1898.  By 1910, it was well peppered with cages and enclosures of various sizes--none large by today's standards, and guests could encounter a range of North American fauna their over the years and decades that followed.  The 1910 map of the park indicates Bears, Wolves, Beavers and Sea Lions; and descriptions from other sources indicate that Elk, Puma, Bobcats, Prairie Dogs, a range of raptors, North American River Otters, and such called the place home. 

As time wore on, incremental changes were made mostly to repair existing infrastructure.  In the 1930 WPA era the area noted as home to wolves was replaced by a series of more naturalistic habitats with faux stone-like concrete walls and "cave" entrances to off-view holding areas, and moats to ensure the public could see the animals without bars.  An innovation first introduced in Hamburg, Germany in 1880's.  The wolves were replaced with Bears and Puma.  in 1976! what a long time to wait, a functional storm water system was retrofitted into the valley.  And just over 30 later, the Zoo green-lighted an ambitious redesign of the entire valley from just north of the WPA habitats to the very top which leads to a plaza on the edge of the Asian Elephant's largest yard.

The Price tag was an astonishing $41,000,000.00 and the timeline was 5 years.  The result, and they're still making up-grades on some of the smaller habitats; the largest and most amazing Sea Lion/Seal habitat I've ever seen.  The main tank with wave action mechanisms holds over 300,000 gallons of water, and the adjoining habitat holds about 180,000 gallons.  Generous natural water features enhance both the Beaver and North American Otter habitats.  An expanded woodland habitat is home to wolves again.  And there are a range of iconic fowl from Ravens, American Bald Eagles to Owls and lesser raptors with the inhabitants changing over time depending upon conservation needs and opportunities.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the fact that the entire renovation was built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards; state-of-the-art materials and functions that account for everything from sustainably sourced elements to embedded recycling and reusable practices.  Also, in optimizing the pathway they were able to transform a crazy incline into a more manageable meander.

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS & GRAY SEALS

The first thing you encounter is a "cave".  Inside you view the California Sea Lions from underwater.  Above is an amphitheater from which you can experience Keeper Talks. 

To see them "fly" through the water you need only be patient and quick.

Quick because they are in constant zoomies modality.

As fate and timing would have it, three keepers were engaged in a chat with lots of amazing demonstrations.

The grandstand was full, so I retreated to the far end of the habitat were there is an underwater viewing area.

Patient...

...and, Quick!

In the adjacent habitat, the Gray Seals were soaking up the rays.

And demonstrating a little tender nuzzle to nuzzle communications.

BEAVERS & NORTH AMERICAN RIVER OTTERS

The Beaver habitat is also the largest I've ever seen at a zoo.  It consists of two pools with a faux dam in between.  

Initially you are at the lower pool, but you can walk up and around to the backside for a wonderful view of the upper pool.  And that's where the Beaver was today!

A little further along that upper path and you're looking down into the North American Otter habitat.  Generous of land area, but less so of aquatic.  It's not horrible, but no North American Otter habitat I've ever seen compares to the one at the Maryland Zoo.  I miss it.

The pair were both out and very active doing laps in the pool and investigating their dry land digs.