See Birds in a Whole New Way at Sylvan Heights Bird Park This Summer

Sponsored - The following content is created on behalf of Sylvan Heights Bird Park and does not reflect the opinions of Gray Media or its editorial staff. To learn more about Sylvan Heights Bird Park, visit https://www.shwpark.com.

See birds in a whole new way by visiting Sylvan Heights Bird Park this summer.

Sylvan Heights is one of the nation’s largest avian conservation centers, housing more than 2,000 exotic birds from around the world. Visitors can get an up-close look at waterfowl, parrots, toucans, flamingos, and many other colorful birds. The large, walk-through aviaries feature birds from North and South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.

Our bird park offers the perfect place to take the entire family on a summer day trip. Join us on any day we’re open or stop by for one of our scheduled events. Exploring and learning about birds never stops at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.

Our Exhibits and Aviaries

The Landing Zone offers an experience to feed birds, a favorite of children and adults who visit Sylvan Heights Bird Park. Visitors may encounter flamingos, parakeets, parrots and more. The Wings of the Tropics aviary introduces visitors to fascinating and colorful tropical birds, such as toucans and hummingbirds.

The lower edge of the park is also bordered by a natural wetland, teeming with local plants and wildlife. Explore the Wetland Safari Trail for a chance to spot native bird species, as well as turtles and other critters.

Education and Conservation

Education and conservation are at the core of Sylvan Heights Bird Park’s mission. During the school year, children from eastern North Carolina and Virginia flock to the park for field trips and hands-on science programs. Lifelong learners can also enjoy educational programs year-round, including daily keeper talks, which give an opportunity to meet some of the birds up close and learn about conservation efforts.

Behind the scenes, Sylvan Heights Bird Park is working to ensure the population of the world’s rarest birds are protected from extinction. The Avian Breeding Center works to propagate endangered species, like the White-Winged Duck from Sumatra and the Scaly-Sided Merganser from China. Some species of birds have fewer than 250 individual birds of their species remaining in the wild. And while the breeding center isn’t open to the public, you can see many of these endangered species in Sylvan Heights Bird Park’s aviaries and exhibits.

“I think just seeing endangered species up close will help our visitors to support conservation as we go forward,“ says Executive Director and Co-Founder, Mike Lubbock. “And as long as they get the idea of how important it is to have these birds on our planet, I think there’s going to be hope for some [of the endangered species].”

Our Story

In 1981, Founders Mike and Ali Lubbock moved to the United States from England, bringing with them extensive knowledge of waterfowl. They founded Sylvan Heights Waterfowl in the mountain town of Sylva, North Carolina, and began breeding rare waterfowl from all over the world.

In 1989, the Lubbocks and their waterfowl moved to Scotland Neck, North Carolina, where they established the Sylvan Heights Avian Breeding Center. In 2003, under the guidance of the North Carolina Zoological Society, the Lubbocks began planning the bird park, that would allow the public to enjoy and learn about birds, without any disruption to the breeding center.

Sylvan Heights Bird Park opened in 2006, and now has around 60,000 visitors per year. As a 501c3 non-profit organization, admission, membership, gift shop purchases and donations to the bird park all help the park continue its mission of conserving the world’s birds, and teaching the next generation about the importance of saving wildlife.

Learn more about the park and check out upcoming events on the Sylvan Heights Bird Park website.

Support Sylvan Heights Bird Park.