Get up close and personal with Australian budgies at Franklin Park Zoo

A pair of budgies make short work of a stick full of seeds held out by a visitor to the Franklin Park Zoo on Wednesday. The yellow and green parakeet swooped down from its perch to land on the seed-coated stick. A second later, half a dozen more followed, bending the wooden stick with their weight and nibbling just inches away from the fingers of curator Fred Beall.

The birds – known as budgies – live in the Aussie Aviary, a new exhibit at Franklin Park Zoo and one of the few of its kind in the country. To bring visitors closer to animals, the budgie exhibit breaks down the barriers between visitors and the birds.

“There’s something magical about a bird flying to you and landing on you,” said John Linehan, president of Zoo New England. “There’s a thrill when you have that connection.”

At a time when the economy has slowed the zoo’s plans for a $53 million renovation, the relatively inexpensive $250,000 budgie exhibit keeps alive the movement to create a world class zoo.

“It’s not transformational, but it adds a new experience that will bring in more people and it’s another cog in what we’re trying to build,” Linehan said.

At first, it’s a little startling when the birds abruptly descend in an explosion of color – bright yellows, greens, cobalt blue, aquamarine. Wings flapping, they find a spot on the stick – or on a forearm – and settle down. Their four toes tickle on bare skin.

“We’ve had staff members who were scared, but in a few minutes were transformed,” Linehan said.

Budgies are native to Australian grasslands and scrub, and are a popular pet here and many other countries. In the wild, the birds are yellow and green, but they have been bred to get a variety of color patterns, including cobalt and aquamarine blue and white. Because they have been domesticated, they’re a safe choice for an interactive experience.

Marina Ferreira, 6, of Quincy, feeds a pair of Budgies at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston.Unlike pet budgies, though, the zoo budgies live in a flock, as they do in the wild. That means visitors can see their natural behavior. When even a small number of the 350 birds fly, there are masses of movement inside the aviary, which is about 50 feet long, 30 feet wide and 25 feet tall. In the trees, they can be seen clinging upside down to chew the branches, a behavior that keeps their beaks in good condition.

“There’s a flock mentality, so that when one comes down the others follow,” said curator Ed O’Brien. “And they chew so much that we will need to replace their trees.”

The small budgies – only 7 to 9 inches tall and weighing 1 to 1.5 ounces – are pretty. When they’re just inches away, visitors can see the details of their feather patterns, their small black eyes, and their blunt beaks as they efficiently remove the seeds.

While the budgies are entertaining, they’re also intended to further the zoo’s mission. Initially, Beall was skeptical about the aviary, since wild animals are the zoo’s priority. In fact, the aviary is part of the Australian Outback Trail, home to a variety of wild animals. On a recent day two emus seemed to race as they trotted back and forth, a kangaroo stood on its hind legs and inquisitively eyed a visitor, and a kookabura bird puffed its chest in display.

“I wasn’t thrilled at first because the birds are domesticated,” Beall said. “But now I’m excited. If people, especially kids, have this experience with the birds, they’ll come away inspired and hopefully get interested in protecting wildlife and their environment.”

However, visitors need to be patient if they want an up close experience.

“Pick a spot and wait,” Beall said. “If you keep moving and ask them to come, they won’t. You want to be slow and deliberate.”

But getting that close to birds isn’t for everyone. If you want a little – but not too much – distance between yourself and the birds, you can extend the sticks toward a long railing. The birds then will perch there, instead of the stick. Or you can stand outside the aviary and see the birds through the wire net walls.

Other advice – wear a hat if you want to avoid bird droppings on your head. And don’t wear spike heels – hardly zoo footage anyway – which can get caught on the walkway. The walkway has separated wooden slats, designed to let the seed drop through so birds don’t gather underfoot. And don’t try to touch the birds, since they can nip.

“In the wild, they feed off the ground, but we don’t want them on the ground where people could step on them,” Beall said. “And they can pinch. If you grab them, they will defend themselves.”

If you want to better understand the budgies, you can talk to an educational interpreter, who will always be on site. And you can visit the nearby exhibit, Bird’s World, where there is a diorama of the Australian scrub land where budgies live in the wild and plenty of information about birds and their behaviors.

Bird’s World – which features an elegant Chinese style building from 1913 and a large aviary – has exotic birds like tawny frog mouths, boat billed herons, Chilean flamingos, and Andean condors. One of the largest birds of prey, the 25-pound condors are massive, especially when they extend their 10-foot wing span.

While Bird’s World is one of the least visited areas in the zoo, Linehan expects that to change. In the master plan for the future zoo, the pagoda-like bird house would become the centerpiece of a an exhibit of Asian animals, Linehan said. In the next year, he said he hopes drawings will be completed and a major fund-raising campaign launched.

“It’s a masterpiece of a building, and something like it would not be built now,” Linehan said. “It’s fully worthy of restoration. We have big hopes for the zoo to become one of the finest.”

IF YOU GO . . . .
WHAT:   The Aussie Aviary
WHERE: The Franklin Park Zoo,  1 Park Road, Boston
WHEN: General zoo hours are 10 a.m.  to  5 p.m.  Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. The Aussie Aviary opens one hour after and closes one hour earlier than general zoo hours.
HOW MUCH: Admission is  $14 adults, $11 seniors, $8 ages 2 to 12, and free for those younger than 2.   Free admission to fathers on Father’s Day. Parking is free. Feed sticks cost $2 and can be purchased at the aviary entrance.
MORE INFO: Call 617-541-5466 or go online to www.zoonewengland.org