Bloom Hours
Fledge Season Open House
Two weeks in April when the year's young birds are learning to fly badly, and the upper walk opens to anyone who wants to watch them do it.
All sessionDrop inIncluded with a ticketApril 6 to April 19
Fledging runs for about two weeks in the middle of April. The exact dates move with the weather and are confirmed on this page roughly a fortnight ahead.
Young Drowsebirds fly badly for the first four or five days. They overshoot perches, land on handrails, and sit on the floor of the main loop looking affronted. Staff do not move them unless they are somewhere genuinely unsafe, because the parents are still feeding them and a bird carried to a better spot is a bird the parents have to find again.
During the open house the upper walk is staffed and open for the whole of Bloom Hours rather than in timed groups, because that is the one place you can be at canopy height while it is happening.
What to expect
It is louder than usual and it is busier than usual. If you want the quiet building, come in May.
Buggies are fine on the main loop as always. The upper walk has eleven steps and no lift, and everything visible from it is also visible from the loop, though not at the same height.
If you find a bird on the ground, leave it and tell a member of staff. It is almost certainly fine.