The National Aviary is starting a new virtual program that shows the unique sides of birds’ social, feeding, and nesting behaviors. The “Aviary Insider Tour” is a 30-minute exploration of the facility’s habitats and animals, including close-up views of the birds.
The National Aviary is open for in-person visits, but not everyone wants to come due to COVID-19 risks, according to the Aviary’s curator of education and public programs, Jennifer Torpie.
“This is a really great way of coming to the Aviary and connecting with birds and with nature in a way that is calming but also kind of exciting to see them in a different way,” Torpie said.
This tour includes information about the Aviary’s efforts to save threatened Andean condors and their breeding program that helped bring the Guam rail, a flightless bird, from “extinct in the wild” to “critically endangered.”
Viewers will also see a Victoria crowned pigeon nest in the tropical rainforest, watch African penguins during mealtime and see finch species in the grasslands build nests and preen each other.
The Aviary has experimented with other virtual programming since the start of the pandemic last year, including cyber distance learning programs and a virtual speaker series.
“These opportunities have really allowed us to become truly national and international, and we are really grateful that we were able to meet these new communities in a different way. We're going to definitely continue this once things open up again,” Torpie said.
More information is available here.
