1) It’s cheaper. Freeflight isn’t in business to make money from tourists. It’s a place where exotic bird owners can board their large and often noisy feathered friends. A sign asks visitors for a $5 donation. The zoo’s current one-day admission price is running almost five times as much ($34).
2) You get up close and personal with the inmates. Sure the Zoo has a couple of nice big aviaries. But I’ve never had any bird there climb onto my wrist and engage in a virtual necking session, the way the Freeflight birds do. Not all of them are friendly. Biters sit on perches in a se
ction segregated by ropes. But many parrots and macaws and cockatoos are extremely social creatures, who crave attention and even physical interaction with people. That’s why Dr. Robert Stonebreaker, the veterinarian who owns Freeflight (as an adjunct to his Bird & Animal Hospital of Del Mar) decided to welcome the public. Having company makes the birds happier, he says. Some of the big vocal Freeflight birds nuzzle; others almost turn themselves upside-down to better position themselves for scratching.
3) Freeflight feels like a find; a place that only insiders know about. Stonebreaker has created a tropical landscape on the property and staffed it with ladies who patiently answer questions (and supply birdseed for a dollar a scoop). They advise that the best time to come is first thing in the morning, when the birds are eager for interaction, rather than burned out on it for the day. (Hours are 10 to 4:30 daily.)
Okay you can’t also see elephants and orangutans and tigers there, so it’s not a fair comparison. Still, Freeflight holds its own.
