Birds mean big business in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. Almost 60,000 people come to see them each year. Megan Cain went to the town of less than 2,000 to see if it’s all it’s quacked up to be.
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Birds of every color.
With personalities of every type.
The avian residents of Sylvan Heights Bird Park are keeping their handlers and their town busy.
“I think people are saying, ‘well if it wasn’t for you, Scotland Neck would be a dying little town,’ which it probably nearly is, but is not, and we’ve actually brought it back,” Executive Director Mike Lubbock said.
Brought it back by opening the park twelve years ago. Now, it’s the world’s largest collection of waterfowl, conserving some of the planet’s most vulnerable species.
“I want us to make it known that we’re trying to save birds as well as show birds,” Lubbock said.
Lubbock has brought numerous species back from the brink of extinction, like Hawaiian geese. Their population dwindled to 47 in the world. Now, thanks to the efforts of Lubbock and other conservation organizations, there are more than 3,000.
“To me, that’s got a little bit of a feather in my cap, because I was very involved in that,” Lubbock said.
He stays involved with conservation efforts through the on-site avian breeding center. Kat Lewandowski works at the center, helping more than a thousand hatchlings make their way into the world each year.
She says educating visitors makes her feel like she’s a part of something greater.
“It lights up my day to see somebody get inspired by these animals,” Lewandowski said.
Inspiration that Bill Stafford hopes his grandkids gain from their first visit to the park.
He’s also learning a thing or two.
“And I thought I could identify most waterfowl. I’m being proven wrong that I can’t, and so it is a great learning experience for me for that,” Stafford said.
As the Stafford family makes its way through the open aviaries, they’ll see more than 200 species of birds. Mike Lubbock hopes they’ll take away one thing from their visit.
“You’re looking at a species of birds that, sooner or later, they might not be around,” Lubbock said.
But if he has anything to do with it, they’re not going anywhere.
