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Niagara Falls Aviary
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
3 reviews for Niagara Falls Aviary
3 reviews in English
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Review from Adrian G.
Mississauga, ON
6/15/2011
Expensive. No one will argue that. However, its an absolute delight, and considering the prices you surround yourself with being in a tourist area.
Its a great overall experience though.
The nectar for $2 with the rainbow lorikeets is a must do for at least one person in the group.
Some gorgeous birds in the main aviary as well. Takes 30 minutes for most. If you go very slow, and enjoy it, you're looking at an hour, max. -
Review from Sue Ellen E.
12/24/2010
Want to go somewhere where the birds are so beautiful, you get dizzy?
This was a happy stop! Rainbow lorikeets, oh my! I had four of them on me at a time! They are little clowns! Who knew? Oh, my kingdom for a picture!
They did not allow personal cameras to be brought into the lorikeet handling area. I understand that -- they charge money for pictures that they take, then sell you -- but at the time we went, no one was there taking photos so we missed out. That rather sucked, considering it's likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us. I don't know when I'll next come into contact with rainbow lorikeets. I'll forever cherish my memories in my mind's eye, that's for sure!
If you haven't seen them or held them before, imagine if Mike Myers and Will Ferrell mated and these birds are the result. They really are goofy lil' monkey-type clowning birds. It was so much fun being around them, but the girl whose station it was had the longest face ever. Seemed awfully depressed, and like she didn't want to be there. I guess there can be unhappiness even around tremendously colorful birds.
Speaking of colorful, I couldn't get enough of seeing the brilliant scarlet ibis. There were several of them. I'd never seen one in person! Absolutely gorgeous. The purest, clearest, brightest red I've ever seen on any creature. I've been interested in these birds since high school, yet had never set eyes on them. You can imagine how intense the moment was for me to finally see these precious, impossibly beautiful birds. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't working right and I relied on my phone camera, which produced blurry and unsatisfying shots.
I've never seen such a variety of exquisitely beautiful birds in my life. So many kinds I couldn't list them all here. We had precious little time to spend, but I think our feathered friends realized how much we love them just from our vibe. Doesn't matter that they live thousands of miles across the country; we were there!!
Because it was the off-season, we took advantage of an online discounted admission rate which was very attractive. It also gave us a discount in the gift shop, which I utilized to buy postcards with clear pictures of my new bird-friends.
The staff was friendly, but I expected to see more people working there. Maybe it's so much slower in the off-season, but from the website, it looked like there would be staff throughout the building, not just in admissions/gift shop.
If you go, make sure not to miss the Javanese Tea House! It's one whole piece of teak wood, no nails were used in its construction. The intricate carvings are mind-blowing in their detail. They sell refreshments in there on the weekends or with pre-arranged bookings. It's very impressive to see the level of precision and care that went into creating this house, the only of its kind on the whole continent!
A pair of exotic ducks allowed my partner to get very close to them, so sweet! I don't think I could ever get tired of a place like this.
The parking is free, right next to the building, so don't worry about having to use one of those overpriced lots just to see a lot of gorgeous rare birds. The gift shop is large and has a wide range of prices. My favorites were the Christmas ornaments, night lights (I was SO tempted to buy them all but it wasn't practical for the trip home), soft toys, and garden stones/statuary. If I lived locally, I think I'd do a lot of shopping here, but many items are heavy and it wasn't going to work out with having to ship/pack things. Some of the prices were so good it may as well have been a regular store and not a touristy gift shop.
If I could transplant a place like this out in California where I live, I'd be a constant presence. -
Review from Alexander T.
8/14/2008
My 8 year old wrote:"I think that the aviary should get some parrots that could fly down on the visitors arms and shoulders, and were allowed to be pet.". Overpriced. Birds sing great.
