Sylvan Heights: Scotland Neck’s Secret Bird Park

The Sylvan Heights Bird Park is a great day trip for bird lovers of all kinds of adventure seekers. As the name implies, this zoo is 100% feathered. Tucked away in Scotland NC, this is the lesser known, publicly funded zoological park in North Carolina. This is one of many hidden gems rural NC has to offer.

The Park

Originally, the park was not a park at all . The private waterfowl collection of the Lubbock family was a passion project and was located in the opposite side of NC. The now park got it’s name from the small town, Sylva, where Lubbock family’s collection grew into it’s own. When the collection was moved by the family to Scotland Neck, it then included many rare species and was designated “The Sylvan Heights Avian Breeding Center”. In the 2000’s the NC Zoo Society took note of the breeding center’s potential. The result is a partnership between the Lubbock family and the Zoo Society to create the park we enjoy today.

Now the park is still located in outskirts of Scotland Neck. This town is one of many smaller municipalities in eastern NC that is neither near the beach nor a major highway. Be ready to drive a little while regardless of where you are coming from.

When you pull onto the grounds, you might be a little confused. The entrance is not grand and the driveway from the main road to the parking area is a little long. Worry not, you are in the right place. When you get out of the car you will probably already start to hear the birds in the park. Head into the large main building to pay for your tickets and grab a souvenir. When you walk out the back, the adventure really begins

Welcome to the Jungle!

Really! you will feel like you stepped right into the wild with the flamingo pond right outside the welcome center. Madilyn probably could have just chilled out here for a while looking at these guys strut around but there is so much more to check out. Here is link to the park map.

One area, I recommend checking out is the Landing Zone. This is a large walk in cage that you can interact with smaller birds (parakeets?). They can land on you and eat from your hand. The handlers are very helpful and hand washing stations are available just outside the exit . We enjoyed watching these little yellow guys dash around us even if Madilyn was dead set on jumping into the water. I am kicking myself for not taking any good pictures while we were in there.

Walkable Enclosures

Many animal parks have enclosures that you can walk up to and look in. At Sylvan Heights, they took a different approach. Similar to the Landing Zone, the enclosures are designed for the birds to be able to have space to fly and or hop about some as they likely prefer. The designers took it a step further to allow you to walk into these areas and get up close with the birds. No feeding allowed for these areas (unlike the Landing Zone). There are warning signs where applicable but we had no issues with our crazy toddler running around.

There are more bird species here than I could ever hope to name. I would often just say “wow look at… that …bird” because I was hopeless out of my depth here. It is great to be able to enjoy the natural beauty of these birds while also getting the sense they are being taken care of.

Though the park is designed around viewing captive water foul, there are two other observation areas worth checking out. The viewing areas are designed to allow you to spot some local birds in natural habitat. We used these observation decks to overlook the wetlands next to the park that are left mostly natural. A very nice use of the wetlands in the area for sure. If you find yourself here in the warmer months, make sure you have some bug spray on before heading down to these viewing areas. A lesson we learned the hard way.

Shameless Plug

This is not a sponsored post for the NC Zoological society but it is worth talking about the passes they have available. The NC zoo system is apart of a larger system of zoos and other educational centers in North America. You can purchase a 1 year, 2 year or life time pass with the NC zoo system and will gain free or 50% off entry to all of the institutions that are with the system. There is a really cool pass for families that provides free entry to two adults living in the same household and all their children under the age of 18. Similarly there is one for grandparents also in a similar capacity. As much as we go to these types of places, we are strongly considering getting one of these. If you are intrested, check out the membership page here

Overall

Sylvan Heights is a great day trip for a family or an off beat outing with your significant other. If you are a big fan of the Asheboro zoo, this is a great place to check out too. With less ground to cover it can keep you from getting too tired. Staff is friendly and the birds are taken care of (no Joe Exotics here!). We have come back here once already and will likely be back again.

Want More? Subscribe! Or Check out our Activity Map for more cool Activities