March 20th marked the first day of spring, and our animals have been hard at work vocalizing, defending their territory, building nests, and laying eggs!

Because CuriOdyssey specializes in exhibiting rehabilitated wildlife, most of our animals are unmated. This however, doesn’t stop one of our oddest and most well-known animal couples: Jabby, our snowy egret (Egretta thula) and Lefty, our black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). For the past five years, Jabby and Lefty have been courting, nest-building, egg-laying and even incubating eggs together! Despite their best efforts, Jabby and Lefty’s eggs are never fertile because they belong to different genera.

So why do Jabby and Lefty try to reproduce with each other every year? All animals are driven to ensure the survival of their species through reproduction, and Jabby and Lefty are no exception. It is instinctual for them to prepare for spring by finding a suitable partner and try to reproduce. Since they are the only individuals of their species in our aviary, they have found a partnership in each other. This interspecies relationship is not uncommon in other aviaries with similar circumstances. Their nest can be seen in our aviary by the exit doors. It is in the largest tree and their nest is in the same place every year. Try to spot it on your next visit!

The walk-through aviary isn’t the only place where our birds are experiencing spring fever. Our two common ravens (Corvus corax) Onyx and Charuka have been seen courting each other, collecting nesting materials and defending their territory recently. Our animal keepers will often provide them with extra branches and browse during this time. Although our ravens don’t always build a nest, they still collect the necessary materials and carry them around the exhibit. Due to the ravens’ increased aggression during this season, two keepers must service the exhibit together. One keeper will give the ravens delicious mealworms to reinforce them remaining on their perches, while the other keeper cleans the exhibit and distributes food and enrichment. Interestingly enough, our ravens seem to defend their territory only against those “intruding” into their space. Because of this, their two turkey vulture (Cathates aura) roommates Penny and Stan appear unaffected by this increased aggression.

In addition to our feathered friends, there are other critters on CuriOdyssey grounds that have been keeping busy as well. As mentioned on our Facebook page earlier this week, wild Northern Pacific tree frogs (Pseudacris regilla) in our gardens have been singing throughout the day and laying hundreds of eggs in our tree frog pond!

Although these frogs are not part of CuriOdyssey’s live animal collection, the pond was built in 2009 specifically to provide habitat for this California native frog species. In fact, the species is doing so well that last year, our animal keepers were finding Northern Pacific tree frog eggs in our North American river otter exhibit on a weekly basis! The tree frog pond is located near our Butterfly Garden and across from the bobcat and raccoon exhibits. This pond gives our visitors the unique opportunity to observe the development of these amphibians up close.

Spring is always an exciting time for wildlife. When you visit CuriOdyssey, ask our animal keepers and volunteers to point out the interesting behaviors our animals are displaying this season!

– post by Rachael Tom, animal keeper

[photo credit: Rachael Tom]