Aviary 2 years down the line

[monotwine]

We moved home late in 2011 and rebuilt my aviary in November that year.

I thought some might like to see the progress (nothing structural changed), but how nicely the plants grew.
This is from the beginning:

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And now lately:
The little dry river bed was completed and even though you cannot see it, behind all the grass there is a rocky ditch the birds like to use to shelter out of the wind.

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I can see I will have to paint the wire again , but I'm happy with how the plants have all taken off in there.
The birds love using them for nesting, eating and hiding in and love the big shrub in the middle. The waxbills like using it to sun themselves under cover, or just be out of sight.

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They very cleaver about crossing grass stems so they can support their weight while they strip away pollen or seed.

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[monotwine]

Here is just a cute pic to the canaries feeding one another. They rather shy about letting me take pics of them doing it:

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And my two Senegal / Red-billed Firefinches that were a surprise fledged from my pair.

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A not great pic, but to the side originally and now moved in the corner behind my bigger aviary is my holding aviary for youngsters. These are some of them bred this season.

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[Ginene]

Thanks for sharing the amazing photos! Your birds and set up are gorgeous!

[MiaCarter]

Wow! it filled out very nicely!
It looks like a little hunk of forest, which makes for a perfect aviary!

What's the little guy with the purple cheeks? He's in the right on the second to last photo. He's pretty! Is he a violet ear waxbill?

How many birds do you have in all?

I was looking at aviary designs myself and I realized none would stand up to a hurricane or tropical storm. (I live in SW Florida)
So alas, I think I'd be limited to the expensive metal one-piece aviaries, which don't allow for nice plantings, making me forever envious of you folks with the wonderful aviaries! LOL

[Sally]

Thanks for the update, and what a lovely aviary. The birds must be very happy in there, with all the natural plantings. Th.e more we can replicate nature in their captive home, the better they will do healthwise IMO.

[monotwine]

Thanks all. I do enjoy the aviary and the setting of being able to offer them a fairly natural existence. Although being outdoors, exposed to elements and natural dirt, they do also easily get diseases than say a bird in an indoor aviary.

Mia it is a Violet ear waxbill. That is the hen.

We do get strong winds where I stay. Though thankfully no hurricanes. When it is particulary bad I herd them all into the shelter (wooden shed) and close them in. There they have a lamp for heat and its fairly draft free. In some of our hair raising windy days I have to get up in the middle of the night to make sure the roof is still on! I doubt it would ever come off with the amount of roof screws I used, but one never takes chances. LOL

I have 34 birds in there at present (all those in my signature).
Many are non breeding, or older retired birds. So only about 6 breeding pairs in there if I am lucky.

[danaday]

Very beautiful set up! Your birds are gorgeous!

[Finchtastic]

Very Nice... if only I had the weather here for my birds to sun themselves haha

[wildbird]

Beautiful birds & lucky to be in such a well planted aviary! How do you keep the rodents (rats, snakes, racoons etc.) from getting in from under the wire?

[Olympic_Aiairies]

Beautiful!!! Slightly jealous. Wish I could have an outdoor aviary but I live in an area where it winter 8 months of the year.

[sandri_90]

Well, there's a little piece of heaven!!! Absolutely breathtaking! I wish I lived in a warmer climate...

[MariusStegmann]

Very nice. Do you have an enclosed area for wintertime or do you just leave them in the shed? Living so close to the sea, you would probably get a lot of mist in winter. Leon Bester has said to me many a time that I bring my birds inside for the winter. Maybe I will listen to him this year.

[monotwine]

wildbird I cannot stop them coming. I wanted to get rodent proof wire, but none was available when I built. I used the smallest mesh size available and it deters most big things. The sides of the aviary are dug into the ground to a fair depth. Partially to stop any of my dogs trying to dig under too.
Mostly I try to keep the aviary clean and give a rodent no reason to come in. I have had a mouse or two take up a short term residence. I live very close to natural land with a wetland and it is infested with mice. I have had to accept that they will come and now I do unfortunately also leave poison for any mice trying to get into the shelter part. I have good dogs that help keep an eye on things too and let me know if there are any around.
I have had snakes twice. Small little house snakes that are constrictors. Once they killed a bird the second I found before it found anything.
Snakes usually only come once there are rodents. So if I keep them away generally the snakes are not a problem.

[monotwine]

and we don't have raccoon. My biggest predator that could dig would be a mongoose, but have not had any of those visit. Not with 3 dogs.

[monotwine]

MariusStegmann I only have the shed which is warmed and dry. I have two cats which would love me to bring my birds indoors.... winter time snacks.
My birds I have slowly selected over the years to those species that survive my conditions. It is definitely not a good setup for all bird types. The Australian birds are quite tough and thrive even in cooler damp conditions. My favorites, the Africans don't do well. So as they pass now I generally don't replace them unless they are like the firefinch that are hardy. My fires live outdoor most of the year. The shed is closed with a small optional hatch for them to use to get in and out. They still sleep outside. In major storms, I'm the lunatic woman catching birds at night to pop them back into the shelter.