Parc des Oiseaux

Mimi and I packed a lunch and headed for the bird park at Villars-les-Dombes. I remembered this rotary, or rond-pont and just had to pull over for picture. Mimi was convinced we’d never reach the park if I kept taking pictures, but we didn’t pass any others that tempted me.

The birds nearest the park entrance are the flamingos. They aren’t caged, but they don’t wander away from this area.

Then we entered a large caged space. The birds didn’t pay much attention to us as we walked near them. 

I wondered why Mimi ducked under a roof. It turned out that she was cleaning bird poop off of her jacket and didn’t want to get splattered again!

found these guys around the next corner

We headed for the section of lake inhabited by the pelicans, who spent most of their time on a small island, along with a few ducks. One white duck had a feather in his beak that he somehow was able to twirl like crazy. I kept trying to get a picture of his antics, but the only decent picture was when he briefly dropped the feather and quit shaking his head. If I’d been smart, I’d have tried a video.

Then we saw this fellow, called a hornbill, with his huge tail and what looks like an extra beak. 

A pelican nursery of sorts was near the field for the ostriches.

Ducks, geese, and swans were content to mingle in the open whereas other birds were caged, such as this eagle.

In the early afternoon the aviary for the small parrots is open. Some people pay to have a cup of nectar, but several were willing to climb on us even though we were empty handed.

These white and black birds were also in the aviary, but they seemed to prefer their own company.

This little guy kept nibbling on my ear.

Another caged section held colorful parrots with long tails.

Mimi decided to walk around the whole lake while I opted to only do half, so I had time to wander into the rainforest and find these scarlet ibises. 

Meanwhile, Mimi was watching this bird put on a show…

…and the show obviously worked because suddenly a partner appeared...

Then it was time for the planned daily spectacle, all done to music… 

 There weren't many people watching, but the birds didn't care.

This fellow walked in, found the fake snake, shook it to get the food to fall out, gobbled that down and then proudly marched off.

The next bird found his snake in a different hiding place.

 There were handlers behind us so some birds flew back and forth from one handler to the next...

 This fellow hung out behind us, probably watching the handlers, before returning to the ground and walking off the stage area.

This handler did a lot of explaining...in French of course!

 Meanwhile, birds keep zipping by us...

People weren't sure which direction to be looking, but it didn't matter...there were birds in every direction. I just kept clicking my iPad in hopes of catching something flying by...

 Then the sky became even busier...

 ...a crowd was arriving...

...and went looking for the handler...

 ...who then returned to the stage area for a little longer...

...while the parrots continued their flight patterns.