Niagara Falls, Ontario - Day 2 - Bird Kingdom and The Falls

March 4, 2011

Continued from my last blog post about the Bird Kingdom - now we have entered the Main Aviary!  We did not expect this at all!  It was a huge multi-level room where the larger birds all fly around.  There is a waterfall with a swampy area below where some of the birds live.  We saw so many interesting birds and some of them seemed to be not afraid of people as you could get very close up to them!

One of my favorite parts was going into the lorikeet cage to feed the lorikeets!  I paid $2 for some nectar in a small cup and all of the birds landed all over me!  I had at least 5-6 birds all on my hand and up my arm to my shoulder, and one of them landed on top of my head!  It was hilarious and felt so strange to be covered in birds!  Thankfully, none of them pooped on me.  They were all very friendly and loved the nectar!  Even when I just had the nectar cup out without any nectar in it, they knew what was going to happen and all flew over and landed on me.  It was an amazing experience to interact with the birds so closely!

We were able to get right close up with several different birds.  The birds all had free reign of the huge room from floor to ceiling and were all flying around as they pleased.

White Cheeked Turaco (Africa)

 Red Crested Turaco (Africa)

Victoria Crowned Pigeon (New Guinea)

 

Mandarin Ducks (South East Asia)

 Scarlet Ibis (front) and Giant Wood Rail (back)

The Main Aviary also is home to an authentic Javanese Tea House, originally built in 1875 in Java, Indonesia!  It is the only one of its kind in North America.  They serve tea and treats inside.  We just looked around - it is a masterpiece of detailed carved wood.

Afterwards, we had to check out the gift shop, where I purchased a bird Christmas ornament, some postcards, and got a touristy pressed penny made.  Of course, we had a bit of fun trying on some hats and playing around!

After the Bird Kingdom, we wanted to go to a restaurant called Taco & Tequila, but it was closed (despite its sign saying it should be open!)  Lunch would have to wait.

We decided to check out the Falls.  They looked majestic, frozen, and beautiful in the Winter.  I will never grow tired of their breathtaking beauty, even though I have visited on numerous occasions!  It was very misty and parts of the waterfall were frozen solid.  The water was so icy and a vivid shade of blue.  Everything around the Falls - the railings were mostly covered with ice and snow, even though much of the Niagara area is no longer snow-covered.  The constant cold temperatures and mist generated from Niagara Falls must keep this area frozen for a longer amount of time.

After taking in the beauty of Niagara Falls, we drove back towards home with a stop at our very favorite authentic Mexican restaurant in Burlington called Adobo.  After all, if we couldn't get our Mexican food in the Falls, we were going to have it eventually elsewhere!  We got some yummy vegetarian burritos, nacho chips with guacamole, and Poolie got a mango juice and I got a guava margarita!  Yum!  Then, we visited the Vegan cafe next door called Kind Food and got some dessert - a chocolate macaroon cupcake and a chocolate brownie.  

Our trip to Niagara Falls was such a fun little getaway and a wonderful way to celebrate our 6-year anniversary!