Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls

Bird Kingdom is the largest free flying aviary in North America where guests can mingle with a variety of birds. Over the years, we have visited Bird Kingdom a couple of times with our children, and have enjoyed this indoor attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  

The journey starts off at the Old museum, where they have Egyptian artifacts, a few items related to Niagara Falls, and a section of bird eggs. It is a little strange to see this Old museum, as we were not sure how it is related to birds or bird kingdom. 

Since our children are fascinated by Egyptian history and civilization, they enjoyed looking through the artifacts and taking pictures. 

We also thought the barrel with the Niagara Falls background is a good spot to pose for pictures.   

We like that we can follow the bird prints on the floor at our own pace and make sure to visit all the different sections at the Bird Kingdom, as there aren't any guides or maps to direct us. 

The next space we went to gave us a feeling of an archeological site. Children liked the small space with the archeological excavation tools, as they were able to imagine being in that setting. 

There were different types of turtles, lizards, and reptiles in tanks and enclosures, as well as a Kookaburra. However, for us the highlight of this area were the bright coloured macaws.

We saw an array of macaws and parrots. The guide was very enthusiastic, and interacted with a macaw to show how amazing and intelligent these birds are.  

We were happy, we got an opportunity to hold a macaw for a picture. Its gripping claws were strong against our skin. Macaws have a lifespan of 20 to 70 years or longer. These bright and colourful birds are beautiful to keep watching. 

After admiring the macaws and parrots, we went to the small bird area. There were birds from all over the world such as white cheeked bulbul, village weaver, red capped cardinal, java sparrow, different types of finch, and more. These birds were continuously in flight and active. Watch them in action in the video below. 

We then went to a section dedicated to nocturnal animals where we saw a sugar glider native to Australia, book owl, bats, spiders, frogs, and even a skunk.

It was interesting to read facts such as...

There are 116 species of Poison-Arrow frogs whose colours vary from bright green to red, pink, and gold. The colours warn potential predators such as birds to avoid these frogs. Some edible frogs mimic the colouration for protection. Poison-Arrow frogs can only eat the tiniest of insects such as ants, termites, and small spiders that are difficult to find. The male tends to about 1 to 14 eggs, each measuring 2 mm in diameter for about 10 to 14 days. The eggs begin to hatch in about four days, and the tadpoles swim up the male's legs and onto his back and the male frog releases the tadpoles into the water. After two months the froglets move out of the water. These poisonous frogs are native to Central and South America.

Sugar gliders have five known subspecies in Australia, and in islands such as Papa New Guinea and Tasmania. They are known to glide and reach up to 90 meters between trees. They love eating nectar, and their diet consists of gums of wattle trees and eucalyptus trees, honeydew, flowers, pollen, sap, and invertebrates. They live for 4 to 5 years in the wild. They are a marsupial that carry their young in a pouch, and usually have two young per litter. The young forage with their mother until they are 7 to 10 months old. Male sugar gliders usually care for the young gliders as well. The dominant male marks the territory with saliva and scent produced by glands located on the forehead and chest. Their native predators include kookaburras, owls, goannas, and snakes. 

It was interesting to watch the bats busy eating a variety of tropical fruits. After spending some time in the dark looking at the nocturnal animals in action, we went to the large bird area, where we encountered birds in their natural environment. 

The area has a waterfall, tropical plants, trees, ponds, and  a stream recreating a tropical atmosphere. Here we got to be close to the birds, as they are not caged and can fly around and over us. 

There is a Javanese tea house with beautifully carved wood and a space we can go to read about birds, and find out about wingspan of birds. 

Across the tea house there is a caged space dedicated to Australian rainbow lorikeets. We went in at feeding time and were given a small cup of nectar that lorikeets flocked to get, while a Bird Kingdom staff member took a picture of us that we can later purchase. 

The nectar makes the birds poo everywhere, so if you are going inside the enclosure be prepared to get dirty. The feeling of lorikeets latching onto our arms, hands, fingers, and shoulders is a fun and exciting experience. If you wear floral designs or colourful shirts they will not leave you alone.

There is also a gift shop located in the main floor on your way out with plenty of souvenirs, clothes, carved wooden items, native decor, soft toys and more that is hard to resist from buying. 

The multilevel rainforest is a family friendly attraction open all year long, it took us a couple of hours to go through all the sections. There is paid parking on site. Bird Kingdom is an exciting place to visit for children and adults when visiting Niagara Falls. It offers an unique and relaxing experience.   

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