EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Budgies, nearly 300 of them, are in an indoor holding area at Mesker Park Zoo being prepared for their public debut in the zoo’s new aviary.
A grand opening ceremony is May 17, but the colorful, long-tailed birds will gradually populate their new home before then so they can get comfortable being around people beyond zoo staff.
“We want to make sure it’s warm enough for these birds to be outside 24 hours a day, even though there are places inside that are warm and temperature controlled and have heaters,” said Erik Beck, director of the zoo. “We don’t want them to get stuck outside in too cold weather.”
Budgies are friendly and native to Australia. Their aviary at Mesker, covered by a woven, stainless-steel mesh ceiling, will allow lots of sunlight. Breeding will take place.
Zoo guests will be able to enter the aviary for free and mingle with the birds. For $2, guests can buy a seed sick – a tongue depressor with birdseed on it – and do some feeding.
Having a seed stick will instantly make a zoo guest more popular with the budgies.
“We’ll show you how to feed them and where to feed them,” Beck said. “They’ll be in here wherever they want to go. They’ll land on your head, on your shoulder; they’ll be everywhere. Especially if you have food with you.”
The aviary is adjacent to the Englebrecht Carousel, which opened in summer 2017. Two second-floor event rooms overlook the aviary and are available for parties and corporate events.
The area altogether represents a $2.5 million to $3 million upgrade at the city-owned zoo. Most of that cost is coming from private sources. The Convention & Visitors Bureau, which receives hotel room tax revenue, made a contribution, and the city paid design expenses.
Next on the zoo’s capital project list is Penguins of Patagonia, estimated to cost $6.5 million to $7 million.
The city is paying about half of the project's cost, and with the recent approval of $750,000 by the Convention & Visitors Bureau, the zoo expects to break ground later this year. A private funding campaign is underway to raise the remaining funds.
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