sylvan heights waterfowl park

Off season visit was great, very little guests and weather was nice and cool. Had our 2 year old grand daughter with us and she really enjoyed running around and looking at all of the birds. The Landing Zone was especially fun. It was new since we were here 2 years ago. It is closed from1-2pm. There are lots of parakeets flying around. You can buy a small popsicle stick with bird seed on it to feet the parakeets for $1, best $1 ever spent. My husband was thrilled he had parakeets all up and down his arm eating the seed off the stick. The one stick lasted a long time. They also had small bags of food for the Flamingo's that were also in this enclosure. I fed the Flamingo's I was amazed how gentle that they were taking the food out of your hand. Best time to visit is when it's not hot so early or late in day if it's summer. Mid day this time of year was perfect. If you are a photographer they have special photographer passes that get you in one hour before and one hour after the park opens. It also gives you a key for special access to port holes to photograph the birds. I won't give away their secret but I know a couple of wildlife photographers that have gotten some of their best bird photos here! You can be sure we will be back again.

If you like checking out attractions off the beaten path and are interested in birds, don't miss an opportunity to visit Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park. Well kept, an enjoyable stroll and lots of lovely birds to see.

This is a great place to visit, especially with family or friends. Many zoo memberships are honored and if you are local, this is a great place to purchase a membership and use here regularly and other places when you travel. The displays are great and it makes a great afternoon with the kids. They do have evening programs for school groups and I other options, ask when you visit.

Like many, our visit was prompted by a deal from Groupon/Living Social, and what a lovely surprise it was! Scotland Neck is a reasonable drive from a lot of places, but probably far enough from most that it doesn't come up in a search for those areas as something to do. It's a shame, because it's a great way to spend a few hours, strolling through the shaded paths visiting their many birds. We were there on a weekend and saw groups of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, grandparents with grandchildren, couples without children, and families of all sorts.We forgot our camera, and realized we'd probably come back as a result, so we looked at the cost of admission - and this is where I hope to save someone some money. Admission is $10 per person for adults, so $20 for a couple to visit once, or $40 to visit twice. For $54 I was able to get an "Individual Plus" membership which entitles me to a full year of visits - for myself and a guest. So 3 visits over the cost of the year would cost more than the membership. As we live relatively close, I bought that membership, figuring at some point I'd take a guest even if hubby didn't want to go twice more.What I didn't realize was the membership includes free admission to the NC Zoo (reg. $12/adult) and the NC Aquariums (4 different locations, up and down the coast, from Nags Head to the north to Fort Fisher in the south, reg. $10.95/adult) - what a deal! Don't miss the opportunity to hand-feed the birds for a minimal cost (you buy the seed stick/pellets) - they're much less aggressive here than we've found in other places.Enjoy!

We recently paid a visit to Sylvan Heights Bird Park after getting discounted admission from Groupon/Living Social and had a really good time. It's basically a zoo with just birds, more than 200 species in all. My favorite exhibit was the Landing Zone. You can purchase seeds sticks or food pellets and feed the birds in here. The budgerigar parakeets love the seeds sticks and will land on your hands to eat the seeds. Sometimes they'll even fight over who gets the seeds! There are also a number of American flamingos in the exhibit who will eat the pellets. This was my first time feeding flamingos and they are really interesting birds. They have what look like rows of tiny little teeth on their beaks, though I think they're for straining food out of shallow water, not biting. They also don't like dry food, so will knock the food out of your hand or spit water in your hand to moisten the pellets. Most of the rest of the exhibits are arranged by continent - North American birds, South American birds, etc. We visited in the winter and it was somewhat cold, so many of the warm weather birds were off exhibit. But we still got to see quite a few that were still on exhibit. Some of my favorites were the demoiselle cranes, Eurasian eagle-owls, burrowing owls, toco toucan, and the kookaburras. At first the kookaburras didn't seem to be in a singing mood. So we looked up their sounds on a phone and played it and immediately they flew together and started singing their little hearts out. It was really cute! We had a really good time here and will likely visit again, probably in the spring when more of the birds will be on exhibit.

Spending an afternoon at Sylvan Waterfowl Park is a great way to spend time with your family. The park is well maintained, the paths are ready to walk, with the variety of birds exceptional. Beware of the pickpocket birds that cleverly sneak in your pockets as you feed them....lol

We stumbled on this wonderful birding paradise while staying. Near here The privilege of walking through and close to gorgeous birds from various continents was outstanding my favorite was the scarlet ibis we had missed in Florida this would definitely be on a return trip must stop!

Four friends and I visited on Nov. 11. What a beautiful day in every way. One friend is 86 and almost blind and has difficulty walking. We reserved the Golf Cart tour and what a great reward we got for doing this. Lee was our guide and she was so knowledgeable and gracious to all of us. I told her about our friend's difficulties and Lee gave colorful explanations and descriptions of the birds. She drove the cart as close as possible to the various fences and cages so our friend would have the best opportunity to experience the birds. Our friend was thrilled with the colors she could see and those described. Lee made information about the birds vivid and interesting to us all. If you go, be sure someone tells you about the Queen.The Park has lots of paved walking trails many going right through the middle of the specific bird habitat. Visitors get very close up views of all the birds. Some fences have "photographers' " windows for nonobstructive views. The paths are wheelchair friendly, however the park is built along a slope. Going side - to - side of the slope helps, but still will need some strength. Two men were pushing a lady in a chair the day we were there and seemed to be doing ok. The Landing Zone is a covered aviary with all kinds of parakeets flying free inside next to flamingos. You can purchase a stick with parakeet seed on it. Holding is in your hand the birds land all over you to get the seed. Our friend was thrilled they were so close she could see, hear and feel them. The flamingos could eat pellets right off our open hands. Such beautiful birds! We had their food left over and threw some bits out into the ponds to bring some of the waterfowl even closer to us. The colors of these birds are magnificent! Many birds I had never even heard of before and some I had previously seen only in pictures. Their Visitor Center is modern and has nice rest rooms, a meeting room and gift shop. Only drawback, there are about 5 steps going into the front. The area was decorated for fall with pumpkins on the steps next to the handrails. People who needed the rails couldn't get close enough to them to use them. There was a ramp at the side of the building, but I didn't notice a sign for it so didn't know it was there until after we were leaving the Visitor Center to go on our tour.We all had a wonderful time here and I would recommend it to anyone. If there is no interest in birds when you go in, there should be some when you leave.

We accidentally stumbled upon this place in a brochure from the Pine Knoll Aquarium and decided to visit for our Friday homeschool filed trip. It was a long drive but everyone was captivated by the beautiful place and the overwhelming beauty and variety of the birds. It wasn't until after that I realized how significant the place was and what a fantastic founder, Mike Lubbock, was. I would encourage everyone to visit but get some information ahead of time. It is so much to take in without knowing what to expect. We will go again with others.

Really nice time of the year to go. Weather was beautiful and was relaxing. My son enjoyed feeding the birds. It's in the middle of no where, literally, but worth the trip.

Heard about this place months ago, finally went to visit, and I am very glad we made it. Is worth the drive; such a beautiful and well kept place. We did not know what to expect, and were nicely surprised. No need to take a pack lunch, the best Italian Restaurant in right there in town. Have fun!!!

We visited the bird park on a Sunday afternoon, joining me were my wife, 5 year old daughter, her 4 year old friend, and her friend's mother.The staff were very friendly, the person who sold us our tickets gave instructions on how to explore the park, but the kids wanted to go in the complete opposite direction. :) That's ok, we did the entire thing backward. It is basically a small, bird-only zoo. It has several interesting birds, Macaws, Toucans, Nene and an Emu. Several are very pretty. But, it only takes about two hours to see the entire park, it's a little too small to justify the drive from Greenville, in my opinion. The kids enjoyed the playground more than the exhibits, with the exception of the feeding zone.The highlight of the park was the feeding zone. For only $1 each, you can buy a bag of Flamingo food, or a popsicle stick with parakeet food. The parakeet feeding is fun, the birds will jump on your hands, arms, shoes, shoulders and heads and try to get the food off the sticks. Our daughter had a blast with this, but her friend found it a little frightening. I had fun too, although they ate off the plastic tip of my shoelace. Also, there is no food at the park. You are only about 5 miles from the town, which has maybe 6 or 7 choices. I saw a few fast food choices, but we ended up at Abrams BBQ, which was pretty good. Overall, we had a nice afternoon. It is basically a small zoo focused on birds with a cool feeding zone. It is worth doing once, but I don't plan to go back. The staff were very friendly and welcoming.

This was my third visit in a years time. Never get tired of seeing all the different birds in their natural habitat. You can take your time strolling and reading all the information provided along the well kept pathways. I especially enjoy the landing zone! The parakeets will land on your head and shoulders and nibble on your neck. The new finch exhibit was a highlight also. I never knew there were so many different color finches. I will go back again and hopefully this year!

We (Mom, Dad, 12-year-old daughter) enjoyed this professional, unpretentious bird park on an afternoon jaunt from Raleigh, a quick 1.5 hours each way. The daughter declared she did not want to go, but on arrival, her mood completely changed when we saw the eggs in the incubator with fresh baby ducklings just hatched. Then, feeding the flamingoes was quite an experience. You think they can do a lot of damage to your hand, but they are so gentle, they only take the food. I really enjoyed seeing the unusual and endangered species, such as the Trumpeter Swans and the Whooping Cranes. My husband seemed to like the Macaws and Toucans, and daughter loved the koi fish.This park is a great value - less than the price of movie tickets - and everything is nicely laid out, clean and well-maintained. It is clearly a labor of love and they seem to be well-supported with friendly, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic staff.How can a teenager stay grouchy in a place like this? Clearly it is time better spent than stuck in front of a computer screen!

A really fantastic place to spend an afternoon, Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park has an impressive collection of birds from all over the world. It's great for photographers and the kids I saw seemed to be loving it, especially the ability to feed birds in an enclosure called "The Landing Zone."Definitely worth a visit.