Smithsonian National Zoo: Parting shots

 On my way down the hill I stopped to buy a pretzel.  Slathered it in mustard and reflected on the visit.  Anytime you visit a zoo you will never know what you will see and what you won't.  If you go expecting anything, and especially something iconic--like Giant Panda's or a certain Baby Asian Elephant calf; you may very well be disappointed.  You must always remember that you are a guest in their homes.  

On the upper region of the zoo, there is a longstanding hill with a circular trail around it.  It, along with another smaller adjacent area on the lower side has formed the heart of African Animals at the zoo.   This is an area that has been under renovation now for over a year.  Most recently home to a major Cheetah habitat, along with homes for Griffon Vultures, Addra Gazelles, Sitatunga, Lesser Kudu, Oryx, Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, and Grevy's Zebra.  

Over the privacy fence, you can get a sense of what the new habitats and holding structures will look like.  Of what I could see thrilled me.  Besides it's flagship public facility here at the National Zoo, the Smithsonian National Zoo also has a very large campus in nearby Virginia where it homes several Endangered species like Cheetahs, Oryx, Addra Gazelles, Przewalski's Horses, and others.  It's not open the public.  But it is where much of the actual work of breeding and transferring animals between zoos to ensure genetic diversity and thus the survival of critically endangered species occurs.  Similar satellite facilities are associate with other Zoos like the San Diego Zoo, the Columbus (OH) Zoo, the Pittsburgh Zoo, et. al.

Leaving the zoo the road passes by the opposite side of this renovation.  A similar privacy fence was in place, but you could still clearly see both holding buildings with the same design and lots more of the stylized shade umbrellas.  

Finally, reaching the bottom of the hill and visiting the Great Cat habitats, I found both Lions and Tigers napping away the warm, humid afternoon.  

For many years, a Dynasty of Lions held court at the National Zoo.  In recent years, the Alpha male and female have died.  The present Pride is clearly in flux.

Smithsonian National Zoo: Small Mammal House

 A concept that has grown out of fashion with many zoos.  The idea of placing smaller animals together under one roof seemed like a good one when it first appeared.  Now, most zoos prefer to keep smaller animals in configurations that reflect their conservation status.  As a result, the early 20th century Small Mammal Houses have been disappearing, being repurposed, transformed, or simply razed.  I am in the camp that loves to see zoos repurpose and renovate these often well-crafted and historically fascinating buildings.  

An example of a zoo that has retained this aspect of its heritage while creating state-of-the-art habitats for small mammals is the St. Louis Zoo; and another in the middle of making these upgrades is the Toledo Zoo.

The Smithsonian National Zoo is doing as well as any zoo in upgrading this building, which also has the advantage of being large with adequate to generous habitats.  In addition, as a result of previous upgrades, there are a handful of connected outside clement-weather habitats for some of the species.  The building was originally constructed in 1937 using PWA  (Public Works Administration) funds provided through President F. D. Roosevelt's New Deal post Great Depression initiatives.  In 1983, upgrades were made primarily to the building's aging electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems.  In 2010, a more comprehensive renovation designed to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2012 was undertaken.  The interior flow and design of habitats was re-imagined and retrofitted.  This created many new and larger habitats.  

A Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda), native to the region around the Sahara Desert in northern Africa.

A pair of male sibling Collared Lemurs (Eulemur collaris), Bentley and Beemer.  The boys are 5-years-old.  Collared Lemurs have a life-expectancy of 20 to 25 years in the wild, and up to 36 years under human care.  The zoo is also home to colonies of Ring-tailed Lemurs, White and Black Ruffed Lemurs and Red Ruffed Lemurs.  

A Red-rumped Agouti (Dasyprocta leporina)

Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula)

Slender-tailed Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)

Emperor Tamarin (Sanguinus imperator)  Or...as I like to call them the "Lorax" Tamarin!

Smithsonian National Zoo: Aviary, part 3 of 3 - South American Coffee Plantation

 The heart of the new Bird House at the Smithsonian National Zoo is an open space full of tropical flora designed to mimic the environment on the South American end of New World Bird migration.  The former Bird House also featured a central aviary and some of the elements from the previous space remain.  But the variety and sheer joy you can experience in the midst of so many beautiful and lively creatures is hard to fully describe.  So like the previous post, I'll let the pictures tell the story, with this caveat.  I will do my best to identify the species; however, there was a whole lot of molting going on, so it was not always obvious.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female)

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Band-tailed Pigeon

Patagioenas fasciata

Blue Grosbeak (female)

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna autumn

Turquoise Tanager

Tangara mexicana

Blue Grossbeak

Passerina caerulea

A parting view of a male Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum).

Smithsonian National Zoo: Aviary, part 2 of 3 - Wetlands

 The next room features both ducks and songbirds that might be found in both coastal and interior wetlands.  This would be my third visit since the new Bird House opened, and I must say there were more species this time than I've seen before.  Again, the birds are completely free to fly anywhere within the space that includes two different water features, both with shorelines and plenty of live native vegetation.

A peninsula with a water feature is the main habitat.

An adjacent area under a skylight is a favorite of various songbirds.

A pair of Ruddy Ducks, Oxyura jamaicensis

Woodthrush

Hylocichla mustelina

Carolina Wren

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Red-winged Blackbird (female)

A range of Ducks: Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), Northern Pintail, (Anas acuta), Redhead, (Aythya americana), Gadwall (Mareca strepera)

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