Parc des Oiseaux

The day after our energetic day in the mountains, we were all pretty happy to lay low – especially Vicki who twisted her ankle on the last leg (sorry) of the hike.

Thank heaven for Michael P who never travels anywhere without his handy dandy ankle brace. Vicki spent most of Friday with her foot up, but when she had to walk, she had great support, thanks to Michael’s brace.

Mario, Kate and the kids didn’t want to leave La Dombes without seeing Parc Des Oiseaux, which is renowned for its great bird shows and lovely grounds.

The show was very impressive, with gorgeous exotic birds swooping across the amphitheatre, narrowly missing the heads of the audience, as they landed next to their trainers.  

We saw a Southern Ground Hornbill demonstrating its hunting skills on a rubber snake, and some bright red scarlet ibises.

After the show, we walked through the shady, well-laid-out grounds and spotted all kinds of birds from every part of the world, including kookaburras, pelicans, flamingoes, ducks, herons, ostriches, and many storks, including the jabirus from Senegal with a bright yellow patch on its nose. It did a nice mating dance for us.

The highlight, though, was a screened-in aviary with rainbow lorikeets. The price of entry was the purchase of a 50-cent cup of nectar, which the colourful and comical birds will do almost anything to get a taste of. It was hard to tell who enjoyed it more – the lorikeets or the kids.