Paradise Park is a wildlife attraction situated in Hayle, Cornwall. During our recent Cornish trip we stayed in Hayle for a week and the park was about a mile away and easy to reach by shanks's pony.
It's the only sanctuary I've been to which consists mainly of aviaries- they have over 130 species, totalling 1000 birds- although we did get to see a few four-legged friends as well.
Open since 1973, Paradise Park sanctuary's stunning range includes: flamingos, toucans, parrots, owls, choughs, cranes and kookaburras, as well as rabbits, guinea pigs, mini donkeys, pygmy goats and sheep.
We passed the Bird In Hand pub at the entrance (they couldn't really have called it any other name, could they? Well, maybe The Feathers...😁) and entered through a very well-stocked and attractive shop.
We walked through the outdoor seating area, partially shaded by this statuesque tree, then began our walk round...
The park was well kept and adequately signposted and I liked the fact that they gave you are circular route to follow. It meant that we got to see everything with ease.
Here are a selection of my favourite shots, but I haven't listed the names of each species as I didn't capture every written detail. I did notice a couple of discrepancies, however, when whatever was inside the cage clearly bore no relation (literally!) to the advisory label.
I did bother to check out the name of this dazzling Scarlet Ibis as it was one of my favourites, and very distinctive. It inhabits tropical South America and the islands of the Caribbean...
It looked more striking in the flesh, especially when highlighted against the green grass...
Waterfall next to the mini-railway tunnel...
A selection of dinosaurs. These are not just to interest children but actually tell a tale...
...As birds descend from a group of meat eating dinosaurs called theropods...
...Which is the same group the Tyrannosaurus Rex belonged to...
These miniature donkeys were very friendly and came to see what we were about. Mind you, I think they were maybe hopeful that we had carrots to offer them. But we didn't- they do have a feeding time which visitors can get involved with, but we'd just missed it...
Baa-Ram-Ewe (as the chant goes, from the film Babe). This chap was definitely a ram!
Pygmy goat...
Piebald goat...
Here's me! That's right, I've always felt a bit of a black sheep (a position I revel in). There were a couple of white sheep in this pen as well, and behind that a falconry display and the view over the Carnsew Pool, which sits in front of the River Hayle.
Fish pond...
The beautiful, tropical Victorian Gardens...
Note to self: learn how to use your camera properly. It was a bright day, and these photos all look a tad overexposed!
This section of the park is beautiful and relaxing. Here is the attractive summerhouse...
Caribbean Flamingos...
These birds live until they're about 40, and are able to breed from the age of 6...
In this exotic setting- and taking into account that it was a very warm day- it didn't really feel like you were in England!
The park is devoted to the rehabilitation and breeding of all species (especially those which are threatened) so that they can be returned to the wild...
Penguin pool...
Closer view of the two waddling friends we spotted...
This was my favourite. It is called a Bleeding Heart Dove and gets its name from the red feathers on its breast which roughly form the shape of a heart...
This was the best shot I got, so I honed in on it...
As well as what we DID see, there were also a couple of no-shows:-
Otters- these notoriously reticent animals refused to come out to swim in their pool.
Red Squirrels- they were also not present. I believe there were birds in their mislabelled cage!
Red Pandas- another shy animal; I did get a glimpse of one, but he didn't want to pose for a piccie. He's the red flash to the left of the photo.
And that concludes my day at Paradise Park. After afternoon tea in their cafe, looking out over the very quiet otter pool, we made our way back.
I would definitely visit again as it's a lovely, clean park filled with interesting species, and a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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