Colorful birds at Mystic Aquarium, CT, USA

Beluga whales may be the stars of Mystic Aquarium, but the exhibit I enjoyed most during my visit had nothing to do with the sea.

It was called Birds of the Outback.

Birds, birds and more birds. Look left, there were birds. Look right, there were more. Some flew above my head, others sat on branches, and a few were quite happy to come much closer once they realised I was carrying food.

Yellow, green, orange, white, grey and several colours in between filled the enclosure. For a few minutes, it felt less like entering an aquarium exhibit and more like walking into a large aviary where the birds had been given complete freedom to decide whether they wanted to interact with us.

Birds from Australia

Birds of the Outback was a seasonal, free-flight exhibit at Mystic Aquarium featuring hundreds of colourful birds, predominantly species associated with Australia.

Cockatiels, budgerigars or parakeets and rosellas were among the birds found here.

The exhibit first opened in 2009 and operated during the warmer months rather than throughout the year. That outdoor, seasonal nature suited the experience because the birds were not simply sitting inside conventional cages.

Feeding the Birds

The real fun began when we entered with a small seed-covered feeding stick.

That was all the invitation the birds needed.

They would land on the stick and begin eating almost immediately. Some were bolder than others. A bird might first sit cautiously at the end of the stick, while another would simply fly in and take over.

And the feeding stick was not always necessary.

Birds could land on our hands, shoulders or belongings. Once that happened, even adults behaved like excited children.

Watching a colourful bird from a distance is enjoyable. Having one suddenly fly towards you and settle comfortably on your hand is a completely different experience.

They Were Not Afraid of Us

What I remember most was how comfortable the birds appeared around people.

They flew freely within the enclosure, moving between branches, visitors and feeding areas. Their constant movement meant that every few seconds something different was happening.

One bird might be feeding from your hand while another flew immediately above your head. Somewhere else, several birds would gather together before suddenly taking off.

That unpredictability made the exhibit entertaining.

There was no need for a show or scheduled performance. The birds themselves provided enough activity.

My Favourite Mystic Aquarium Exhibit

Mystic Aquarium has much larger and rarer animals.

I saw beluga whales, sea lions, penguins, sharks, octopuses and several other marine creatures during my visit. Yet Birds of the Outback remained my favourite exhibit.

Perhaps it was because there was hardly any barrier between the visitor and the birds.

We were not simply standing outside an enclosure and looking in. We had entered their space, and for a few minutes the birds decided how close they wanted to come to us.

One Warning

I had written one warning in my original article, and I still stand by it.

If Birds of the Outback had been your kind of place, visiting it first would have been dangerous.

You might have spent far too much time feeding birds, photographing them, waiting for another one to land on your shoulder and completely forgotten that Mystic Aquarium had several other exhibits waiting outside.

That almost happened to me.

Happy travelling.

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