Take a sneak-beak at Queens Gardens’ newest resident

Birds living at the Queens Gardens’ Percival Pacific Andrews Aviary are ready to take the park’s newest addition under their wing with the arrival of Jellybean the pink galah.

Jellybean has made their debut at the much-loved aviary, filling the hole left in many locals’ hearts following the passing of senior galah Gordon late last year.

Six-month-old Jellybean hatched in Ayr and has been brought up to Townsville to be part of the bird family at Queens Gardens.

Hands On Wildlife ranger Jackie Hasling said the lovable bird was still too young to determine their sex, but at this point rangers thought it may be a male.

“Jellybean will eventually live with Sophie the sulphur-crested cockatoo and Pops the long-billed corella. Both these birds have lived with Gordon the galah before, however we are taking our time introducing Jellybean to them,” she said.

“Now that Jellybean has completed quarantine, we will slowly introduce him to the birds in the aviary. This will all be supervised at first and our rangers will monitor all introductions until we are confident that Jellybean can move confidently around the exhibit and all of the birds are compatible.

“Visitors to the aviary will start to see Jellybean more and more during our weekly keeper chats at 9.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We will also have Jellybean out for short times in the mornings while we are cleaning the aviary. If you do not see Jellybean, please keep coming back and visiting, we are taking things very slowly to ensure that Jellybean feels safe and happy at the aviary.”

Ranger Jackie said Jellybean already had a sweet personality and got along well with the rangers.

“Jellybean is super friendly with all of the rangers and loves to come out for cuddles. Jellybean has also started talking and says ‘hello’ and makes a few other whistles and sounds,” she said.

“Jellybean loves to play with different toys, but he especially loves kicking around a little bird-safe ball. Jellybean is already starting to learn some fun behaviours such as step-up, wave and putting a harness on. Our rangers use positive reinforcement training to teach Jellybean these behaviours - sunflower seeds are his favourite treat.”

Divisional Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney said it was heartwarming to see Jellybean doing so well in the aviary.

“Gordon the galah was so well-loved by our community and his passing was felt right across Townsville, including by his aviary-mates Sophie and Pops,” Cr Greaney said.

“I’m so pleased to see Jellybean settling into life at the aviary and working his way up to living with Sophie and Pops full time. I’ve heard he has a very sweet personality and is very smart, so I’m sure he’ll be very popular with families visiting the aviary.

“I hope Jellybean keeps going from strength to strength in his training and that the community embraces him with lots of love and care.”

Mayor Nick Dametto said the addition of Jellybean to the aviary gave the Hands On Wildlife team another stellar ambassador to help educate the community.

“The team at Hands on Wildlife does a great job hosting Bird Chats at Queens Gardens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I’m sure Jellybean will be a fantastic addition to these family-friendly events,” Cr Dametto said.

“Kids love getting outdoors and learning about the world around them and I think Jellybean will be a great ambassador for all galahs.”

The Percival Pacific Andrews Aviary is located in Queens Gardens and was first established in 1938. The aviary is home to a variety of native Australian birds which are cared for by a team of rangers from Hands on Wildlife.

The aviary is free to visit and is open to the public seven days a week from sunrise to sunset.

For more information about visiting Queens Gardens, visit Council’s website.