Attack of the Birds

Recently I took the girls to the Jurong Bird Park because we hadn't been there in over a year. We met my friend Ivy and her three children for the afternoon.

I'm not really a bird person. You'll never catch me with a caged bird in my house and I would rather spot a bird in a nearby tree than admire them in cages. That being said, I enjoyed the Bird Park the first time we went much more than I expected. The problem is that every time we talked about returning, it rained.

It actually rained the afternoon we went but thankfully it was merely a sprinkle and didn't ruin our plans. Our second experience at the Bird Park was equal parts enjoyment and drama, with not much in between.

After a quick peek at the penguins, we rode the monorail to the lory loft, an enormous walk-in aviary where you can feed the free-flying lories. I bought 3 cups of a milky substance to feed the birds and that was the beginning of the adventure. When you hold a cup of food you are instantly popular. I handed Emily one cup and when a single bird landed on the edge for a snack, she screamed and threw her cup in the air. That was the end of Emily's lory feeding experience. Elizabeth, on the other hand, enjoyed being a bird magnet. She had a couple birds on her forearm drinking their snack and at one point, a bird perched on top of her head. Megan tried her best to act cool about feeding the birds but ended up tossing her cup after a few minutes, opting to observe with Emily instead.

Mom displays proper bird feeding technique :)

The Birds Loved Elizabeth

When Elizabeth's bird food was gone, we walked around the park to view other exhibits. Along the way, the kids spotted two beautiful swans swimming nearby in a small pond and went to get a closer look. When the birds swam close to the path, Megan quickly jumped back and I asked her in a teasing tone, "What do you think the swans will do to you?" I had barely uttered the words when Elizabeth began screaming because one of the swans was biting her sandal, apparently looking for a snack. It turned out Megan was wise to keep her distance from the bird. And obviously it was not my finest moment as a mother.

The rest of our visit went smoothly but I think the next time I head out there, I'll just take Elizabeth since she enjoyed it more than her sisters. We'll definitely keep our distance from the swans though.

Pretty Flamingos