Spring mornings at Banham Zoo start just like any other time of year for me… feeding the critically endangered African black-footed penguins! I’m usually greeted by Maneno and my favourite, Smithson (don’t tell the rest!). Each penguin can eat up to 7kg of fish a day, with sprats being the breakfast of choice.

Last year, we welcomed three chicks, Pumpkin, Spice and Cinnamon, who now join the adults during feeds, following their parents and enjoying early morning swims. Once feeding is complete, I check the pool filtration and test the water to ensure it’s perfect for our penguins.

Next, I head to the wader aviary, home to African Spoonbills, Scarlet Ibis, Little Egret, Northern Helmeted Curassow, and our Giant Wood Rail, Doris. Doris is instantly recognisable by her red eyes, yellow beak and love of mealworms. Each species receives a carefully prepared diet, from filleted herring to specialist pellets and insect mixes. By mid-morning, the black hornbills are ready for their dinner. Sirius and Biru arrived on Christmas Eve and have already formed a strong bond, often sharing food — a natural behaviour linked to how hornbills care for their mates during nesting. As omnivores, they also play an important role as seed dispersers.

My final stop is the Chilean flamingo habitat, shared with red-breasted and bar-headed geese. We have flamingos at every life stage, including chicks, teenagers, adults, and two remarkable females aged 57. Flamingos are known to even live until 70! The flamingos receive a specialist pellet called a flamingo pellet (creative, I know). This feed gets soaked and is fed in water due to flamingos being specialised filter feeders. They stick their beak upside down in the water and filter the pellet from the water. The geese will get a waterfowl pellet as well as the occasional treat of a lettuce - they love to destroy it!

If you’d like to find out what it’s like to be a zookeeper for the day, why not check out our Keeper for a Day animal experiences? It’s a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes, meet our animals up close, and learn what it really takes to care for wildlife at Banham Zoo. By Morgan, Qualified Keeper at Banham Zoo