Hands on approach to aviary tender

Council’s Percival Pacific Andrews bird aviary in Queens Garden will remain in the safe hands of local business Hands on Wildlife after they were awarded a three-year tender.

Hands on Wildlife, a mobile wildlife exhibitor based locally, took over the running of the aviary in 2020 and have made it their own with a wide variety of birds on display.

The aviary, nestled among the serene beauty of Queens Garden is a popular attraction among locals, and Hands on Wildlife’s Ranger Krystal was excited to extend the successful partnership with Council

“This building was constructed at the end of 2019, and we first stocked it at the start of 2020,” she said.

“It was handed over to us as a blank building and we stocked the birds, completed all landscaping and perching, and got it up and running, so it’s good to get it back for another three years.

“We’ve themed our aviaries by habitat type with semi-arid, rainforest and bush.

“We are happy with our assemblages now, but we aren’t ruling out the idea of changing some of our birds, breeding more species and bringing more on display for people to see.”

Business Services and Finance Committee Chair Cr Margie Ryder said it was great to see this locally based business continue their good work with another tender, which will include running free bird education sessions on site for the public to enjoy.

“Hands on Wildlife have a brilliant track record and take great care of all the birds in the aviary in Queens Garden,” Cr Ryder said.

“There will also be ongoing education sessions again this year during school holidays for the public to get a better understanding of these birds and learn more about how they live.

“Being able to educate the public was a strong need identified by councillors during the tender release process and Hands on Wildlife do a fantastic job sharing their knowledge with the people of Townsville.

“Council is focused on developing a procurement process that has 90 per cent expenditure to local business and supporting a great local business with this tender also helps us achieve that.”

Ranger Krystal said Hands on Wildlife, who are also involved in school and information sessions and venomous snake handling training, were delighted to have the chance to continue their good work for Council.

“This is a fantastic free resource in a beautiful part of Townsville, in a lovely open space here in Queens Garden and for us it’s great to have that stability for the next three years,” she said.

“We have some families who visit every week, they know some of the birds by name and check in on their progress and see how they are going.

“It’s great to be able to get people up close with these birds.  Even though they can see them in the wild, they probably don’t get such a close experience with them.

“Our birds are very used to people and some of them are extremely interactive as well, it’s a brilliant place to come and meet the birds, get to know them and enjoy the rest of Queens Gardens as well.”