February is National Bird Feeding Month. Feeding the birds has become a staple for us when we go to the zoo. Some people might not like the idea of birds crawling all over them, and pecking at your finger. But our oldest daughter absolutely loves it, and her younger sisters are beginning to tolerate it more and more each time.
Typically a zoo will have either parakeets (budgies) or lorikeets. Our advice would be that no matter the species, get there early – these birds aren’t shy and will land on you and eat when they’re hungry. But when they’re not…they’ll stay in the rafters, and you’ll just be standing there with a half-eaten stick. Most zoos will sell you a feed stick for a couple dollars. Other zoos might offer tiny cups of nectar – we find those a bit more fun.
“You aren’t just feeding the bird, you’re able to have a relationship with the bird by having it in your hand!”
Our daughter Jewel after feeding birds at the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois
Having fed birds at over a dozen zoos, we present to you our list of top 6 bird feeding experiences. This list is much more subjective than our other lists, as feeding experiences (as mentioned above) can vary by time of day. So this list by no means disqualifies other zoos from having nice bird sanctuaries – it simply lists out where we had above average experiences.
Top 6
6. Brookfield Zoo – Brookfield, Illinois: Brookfield’s parakeet building is the largest indoor facility on our list. The birds are not shy, and are pretty active every time we’re in there. I mostly enjoy when all of them flock from one side to the other – makes for a fun sight to see.
5. Columbus Zoo – Columbus, Ohio: The lorikeets at Columbus were the first time we had fed birds as a family. Back in 2014, we wer ethe first people to enter the bird area that day, so we were the first to feed – which resulted in dozens of birds flocking to us! The next time we journeyed there was in the afternoon, and although still impressive, the birds weren’t nearly as active. Going here early in the day is key.
4. Indianapolis Zoo – Indianapolis, Indiana: The lorikeets at Indianapolis were also very active. This zoo was the only one we’ve visited that has had both parakeets and lorikeets – typically the zoo will have just one. These lorikeets were also a bit more aggressive than usual. For adults, this was fun, but for the little ones, the aggressive birds were clenching too firm to their fingers.
Top 3 Bird Feeding Experiences
3. Nashville Zoo – Nashville, Tennessee: Nashville does a better job with branding in their lorikeet area than most zoos. It’s a larger area, and the handwashing station has lorikeets on it! These birds weren’t as keen on landing on people here, but the exhibit is set up with lots of limbs where the birds can safely perch and feed at the same time.
2. Miller Park Zoo – Bloomington, Illinois: Miller Park Zoo takes the number two spot on this list as they do something slightly different than the other zoos. The enclosure is a small indoor room off of one of their buildings, which makes for a cozy environment with several guests assisting in the feeding. However, what’s unique is that they pass out the feed in tiny cups, and encourage you to keep the food in your hand so that you can have a better interaction. Our seven-year-old daughter thought this was absolutely amazing, telling us that “You aren’t just feeding the bird, you’re able to have a relationship with it by having it in your hand!”
- John Ball Zoo – Grand Rapids, Michigan: Coming in at number one on our list is the John Ball Zoo. This zoo has parakeets, and to date is the only time that we’ve had trouble leaving the area due to the birds being still on us. It was a cooler day in the fall, and there had been a lot of rain that week, so per the exhibit attendant visitors had been scarce. These birds were very happy to see us – and our girls were happy to see them!
Honorable Mention: Blank Park Zoo – Des Moines, Iowa: Ok, so the Blank Park Zoo doesn’t have a place to feed parakeets or lorikeets. But, they do have an opportunity to feed ostriches! This was a fun experience!
Thank you for reading about our favorite bird feeding experiences. To read about our favorite animal feeding experiences, click here.
© 2019, Zoo With Us. All rights reserved.