A natural reserve near Zurich welcoming to visitors is Bird Life Nature Center Neeracherried. Its two observation huts, equipped with spotting scopes, are freely accessible. From our hide, we saw the great egret, with its statuesque, unblinking demeanour, and the greenshank, named after its green legs. And, of course, lapwings appeared throughout the exhibition in the form of cute illustrations.
Until the end of October, the center offers an exhibition called “Experience bird migration.” Here, visitors may find the birds’ departure slightly easier to bear amid a barrage of scientific tidbits. The material is varied and engaging, making it easy to immerse in the topic.
One highlight is the bird simulators, equipped with 3D helmets, allowing visitors to flap their “wings” and – whee! – experience the thrill of flying, but also dodge hazards, like glass buildings and hunters. As for the multimedia projection upstairs, it’s synchronized with ambient effects triggered at key moments in the story narrated by a red-backed shrike (As I found out, this species is known in German as a “Neuntöter”, a fitting name given the bird’s butcher habits.)
In the puzzle section, we enjoyed learning about the remarkable biological adaptations of the migratory birds. A notable fact is that, much like some aircraft, they appear to have a “jettison valve”, used to drop their organs over cities below, thus becoming lighter for long flights. Just kidding. They do, however, use another trick that sounds similarly unbelievable, but is true: in some bird species, the reproductive bits are metabolically reabsorbed before crossing large obstacles. Fortunately, they grow back when needed. The bar-tailed godwit takes this further by shrinking its digestive tract during its multi-day, non-stop flight, which in addition to making the bird lighter, helps redirect vital energy.
I also learned that, if one wants to brainstorm a “non-traditional” solution with a friend, sitting with a white stork might be a good choice. While the migration path is innate in nearly all bird species, the white stork occasionally deviates from its instinctive route. One might imagine it borrowed from Thoreau’s habit of questioning the advice of his elders.
Cranes and grey geese, by contrast, are less inclined to improvise. This brings to mind the 1996 film “Fly away home,” in which a young girl and her father use ultralight aircraft to lead a flock of geese on their migration south. The film was inspired by the true experiences of Bill Lishman and his “Operation Migration” project. It turns out that while the biological drive to migrate is innate, the geography of the journey is a learned behavior. A captive-born goose (as was the case in the film) has to navigate without having learned the route from other geese. As a result, it may struggle or even fail to find the correct wintering grounds. Lishman’s achievement in 1988 was proving that he could act as a kind of “surrogate parent.”
Coming back to the exhibition: it spans two floors and three rooms, and offers plenty of visual and brainy treats; unfortunately, we didn’t fall within the age range for trying out the “Chinderhöhli,” but the small cave looked like a cozy spot to take a break (catch a nap?!) between two exhausting simulator flights.
Outside, Neeracherried is a peaceful wetland reserve with shallow ponds, marshes, reed beds and easy nature trails, including a quite short circular walk on a footbridge that leads to the two huts. Along the way, one may spot not only birds, but also water frogs, dragonflies and presumably other small wetland creatures. At various points, an intriguing dare may pique one’s curiosity – for example, how can nettles be picked without getting stung? Apparently, it can be done without gloves, or relying on a songbird to charm away the nettles’ defenses! For now, though, we were content to just hypothesize.
We really enjoyed our time at Neeracherried, and I particularly appreciated the informative and engaging parts of the exhibition. We’d recommend setting aside at least a couple of hours for both the indoor and outdoor activities on offer.
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