Bird House — Attraction in Washington

I'm very disappointed because I expected the experience to improve after years of renovations; however, it's worse. They removed at least half the exhibits and you have to wait in lines twice to see only 3 rooms. They traded exhibits for a big entrance, a large area to hold one of the lines of people, a store, and classrooms. To make it worse, the lines which they say control the crowds only make it worse because they release a bunch of people to fill the first room and wait for it to empty which creates the tour bus effect for the other rooms. There would be less crowds if they let people go in freely and control entry to the building when it gets busy. How about moving all those workers controlling the lines to the exhibits to tell us about the birds. Sadly, they removed the duck pond for some bushes. I've not been to a zoo without a duck pond. And there are...

The bird house was great. So many species, beautifully done habitats inside and out. I got to see a silver cheeked hornbill named Kanga . Her keeper brought her out, and she displayed her amazing flying skills going after grapes and catching them in mid-flight. Meeting her keeper Phung and meeting Kanga was the high light of my visit to the zoo. Seeing native species like the Ruddy ducks, Green Teal Golden eye ducks, Whooping cranes, Sandhill cranes, and the Blue Grosbeak was memorable. Also, seeing more exotic species like the Cassowary and the 2 baby Scarlet Macaws was a delight. The animal ambassador programs at our national zoo should be preserved. If you visit the zoo and go to the bird area of the zoo, ask to meet Kanga, the Silver Cheeked African hornbill and her keeper Phung. I guarantee they will...

Long Wait, Half Closed – Disappointed Visit

I waited in line for half an hour just to get into the bird house, and once inside, I had to queue again for another 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the exhibit was only partially open—half of the bird house is currently under renovation, which wasn’t mentioned in advance. It honestly felt like a big waste of time.

Important note: Only half of the bird exhibit is currently open. The other half is under construction. If you’re thinking of waiting in line—don’t. Just walk around the outdoor enclosures instead. You’ll actually see more birds there. After entering the area, just turn left outside, and you’ll find them without needing to wait at all.

Really disappointed—wish I had known before. This visit left me feeling a...