KL is for the birds!
Visit to KL Bird Park, Kuala Lumpur
The Oldies spent the next few days pottering around in the city centre. It’s quite a concrete jungle, but a pretty one at that, with some stylish modern skyscrapers and funky modern architecture. All dominated by those amazing Petronas Towers, of course. What I hadn’t realised at first was that there is plenty of greenery around the towers, in the shape of a lovely park with plenty of water features. There were even musical fountain shows – the so-called Lake Symphony – every evening. Nice!
From our rooftop pool, we also regularly enjoyed the light show put on by the KL Tower every evening.
Her Ladyship and I brought the 421m high KL Tower down to size…
It wasn’t long before we got back to nature again, however. The beady-eyed Oldies had noticed the KL Bird Park close to the National Mosque and Islamic Arts Museum, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before we paid it a visit. It would be nice to feel that they were only thinking of me, and how much I might enjoy being amongst feathered friends. I suspect, however, that they were simply attracted by the shade offered by the trees in the landscaped valley gardens. And the cold drinks and ice-creams on sale inside.
This is apparently the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world. Which meant we could get up close and personal with the birds. Not that I particularly wanted to in some cases…
Here I felt like a gull amongst the pigeons, although in this instance, I was actually amongst cattle egrets. I somehow felt that they were giving me the evil eye, so I beat a hasty retreat.
On that note, would you believe that this is actually a pigeon? A western and Victorian crowned pigeon, to be exact. A fancy name for a fancy bird!
The flamingos, storks and pelicans were all rather intimidating to say the very least. I’d once seen a pair of Dalmatian pelicans, swimming peacefully on Lake Skadar in Montenegro. Even at a distance, I could see that those guys were big. Up close, the great white pelicans in the KL Bird Park are enormous! One gulp and I’d disappear inside that huge beak!
One thing I learned that day: you don’t want to get between a pelican and his dinner! His Lordship was unceremoniously poked out of the way by one hungry specimen who had spotted a staff member approaching with a bucketful of fish. And when the storks were being fed, it was absolute bedlam. It was a case of every bird for himself. This bird certainly kept well out of the way! His Lordship stood his ground here, however.
I was amused at Himself and this yellow-billed stork, both looking down their noses at each other.
Just like they had in the Papago Park in Croatia, the Oldies made a great fuss of the parrots. They didn’t bat an eyelid when those cheeky birds landed on their heads, started chewing their necks and ears, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. In fact, I think the Wingless Wonders actually enjoyed it! I dread to think what sort of a reception I’d get if I ever got up to such nonsense.
I thought I’d seen the last of that lot when the Oldies finally moved on to take a look at some of the other park inhabitants – owls, peacocks (not my favourites as you know, but their chicks are sooooo cute), emus, ostriches, hornbills…
Then, all of a sudden the Dynamic Duo made a mad dash to the amphitheatre to get ringside seats for the bird show. Muggins here had to endure a performance during which macaws, cockatoos and other parrots made a right spectacle of themselves, talking, spelling out words, running races, doing aerobatics…
I was pretty peeved by the Oldies, laughing, clapping and generally encouraging these shows-offs, once again forgetting that they have the most intelligent seagull out there as their constant travel companion. Believe you me, my beak was out of joint!
