This stop was worth the $5 entrance fee, anyday! This 32 acre farm is just our kind of roadside attraction.
Here we found the biggest, heaviest and fastest birds on the Central Coast – and in the world.
We even learned some cool egg facts. The giant eggs are the largest of any living bird at 6" long and weighing as much as two dozen chicken eggs, though they are actually the smallest eggs relative to the size of the adult bird. The eggs are incubated by the dominant female by day and by the male by night, using the coloration of the two sexes to escape detection of the nest, as the drab female blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the dark. When the eggs hatch after 35 to 45 days incubation, the male usually defends the hatchlings and teaches them to feed, although males and females cooperate in rearing chicks.
Blake Fowler manages the 32-acre farm, his family having taken over OstrichLand 16 years ago and put him in charge. Fowler says the first ostriches were brought to the farm by the original owner in the late 1980s from South Africa where the birds are native. What a cool find in California.
We even got to witness the ostriches performing their complex mating ritual. This dance consists of the male alternating wing beats until he attracts a mate, when they will go to the mating area and he will drive away all intruders. They graze until their behaviour is synchronized, then the feeding becomes secondary and the process takes on a ritualistic appearance. The male will then excitedly flap alternate wings again, and start poking on the ground with his bill. He will then violently flap his wings to symbolically clear out a nest in the dirt. Then, while the hen runs circle around him with lowered wings, he will wind his head in a spiral motion. She will drop to the ground and he will mount for making baby ostriches. So interesting.
We then met some emus, the second-largest living bird by height, after its relative, the ostrich.
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 6.2 ft in height. Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary can sprint at 31 mph. These guys were just happy chilling out and letting people feed them (a whole bowl only costing tourists $1- this place is a deal).
This video does a good job showing how these pampered guys eat. So fun to watch. This was a perfect place to play tourist.
These birds are the most interesting and also bizarre creatures! I think they are fascinating too. Glad you got to stop and explore. I second $5 well spent! Thanx for sharing, Lisa xo
2 comments:
Did you see the ostrich and emu eggs I have when we were in Belmont?
These birds are the most interesting and also bizarre creatures! I think they are fascinating too. Glad you got to stop and explore. I second $5 well spent! Thanx for sharing, Lisa xo
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