National Aviary at Night

Fundraiser 7−11−15 was fabulous and very well run. Food selections were tops. Do opt for the flamingos up close and personal. So worth the extra$ 5. What a hoot!

I attended the over 21 night at the Aviary and was very impressed with it. Great night out without having a bunch of kids running all over the place. Then penguins were adorable to see. I also enjoyed the grasslands and tropical rainforest. I loved the mice running around the grasslands area! I would definitely come back during the «adult» night at the aviary. So much fun!

I visited the Aviary for the first time for one of the «Aviary at Night» events. Once a month on a Thursday, the Aviary opens its doors from 5:00 — 9:00 for an over 21 event. The down side to this event is that there are no scheduled feedings or shows. The plus side is that you aren’t swamped by kids, you can wander through certain areas with a glass of wine (the main hallway with the bald eagle and the penguin area) and you get to see birds at a time most people don’t get to see them.
In addition to the no kids, the café has a nice menu of specials (pulled pork nachos, salmon grilled cheese, a fruit and cheese tray). There is also a bar with beer, wine and mixed drinks. It was a fun event and something I will likely return to in the future.
General Aviary Review:
The Aviary is divided into themed areas. There was at least one volunteer in each area ready to answer questions you had about the various birds and bird calls.
There is a tropical rain forest with an array of colorful (and talkative) birds. It is a free flight area where you may need to watch your step and look out above. Most of the birds will keep their distance. One that seems to greet you and say «you’d better behave in MY house» is the Crowned Pigeon. It has a beautiful blue color and peacock like tail. There was a very distinct call, but I had no way of knowing which bird it was. It would be nice if they had some sort of interactive display or listening station that had examples of the various bird’s calls so you can know what you are listening to.
The wetlands is another free flight area. The most visible birds in this area are the flamingos. I’m not sure what was going on that evening, but the flamingos were having some sort of fight (or very loud play). It was interesting to watch and seemed to get all the other birds riled up. It got quite loud! Another interesting bird in this area was the brown pelican. A lot of the other birds were interesting but unfortunately, not knowing a lot about birds, I couldn’t identify them.
Grasslands has another free flight area with finches, doves and more. They were quite vocal as well. And colorful. At the end of this exhibit were two lively parrots who chatted saying things like «hello» and «hi ya!» along with whistling. It was fun watching them and waiting to see what they would say next.
Canary’s Call, Eagle Hall and Penguin Point all feature birds that you watch through the glass. The bald eagle was incredibly majestic. Seemed like he was strutting his stuff saying «yes, I know I am impressive!» And the penguins were quite fun to watch splashing and swimming around in their enclosure.
I had plenty to see, I just expected that the Aviary would be larger then it was with more to see. I guess if you go during normal hours your visit can be expanded by one of the feedings or shows. I also wish there was more signage or interactives to give visitors a better sense of what they were seeing (and hearing).
Overall, I really enjoyed the Aviary and will have a return visit.

Love the aviary and the only reason I am not giving this 5 stars is because at the after hours event for +21 crowd they do not offer any of the shows/​feedings. This makes sense as the aviary is normally closed and it is after feeding times but there wasn’t much to do but walk around and look at the exhibits which took about an hour. The staff was so friendly and walking around to answer any of our questions. They had wine, a few cocktails and different types of Yuengling beer for purchase-​between 4 and 6 dollars. You could hang out in the café with your drink or there were a few sections of the aviary where you could take your drinks. We sat and watched the penguin exhibit (my favorite) for a long time with our drinks. They also had their café, Atrias’, open although the menu is mostly snack items. They have a new bat exhibit which I thought was fantastic and a must see! Another great thing for the after hours you can find free street parking. This event was not super crowded but a really nice crowd walking around and having drinks in the café.