FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
     Laurey Peat
     Laurey Peat + Assoc.
     214/871.8787

Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with Caldwell Zoo on Saturday, May 1, 2004
Interactive Exhibits, Zookeepers, and the Tyler Chapter of the Audubon Society provide opportunities to learn about colonial birds at the zoo, including flamingos, spoonbills, herons, egrets, and pelicans.

Tyler - Wednesday, Apr. 28, 2004--Each year millions of migratory birds make an incredible journey between their breeding grounds in North America and their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central and South America. On Saturday, May 1, 2004, International Migratory Bird Day celebrates the return of these amazing creatures with the warmth of spring. Join Caldwell Zoo, the Tyler chapter of the Audubon Society, the Master Naturalists, and other organizations this Saturday for the celebration and opportunities to learn about colonial migratory birds at the zoo, including flamingos, spoonbills, herons, ibises, egrets, and pelicans.

"This year's event was planned to encourage bird conservation and increase out visitors' awareness of the fascinating migration of colonial birds in particular," said Caldwell Zoo Executive Director Hayes Caldwell.

Colonial birds are those that nest together in colonies, which is a safe way of life for one in eight bird species, including herons, egrets, gulls, swallows, purple martins, and blackbirds. Saturday's activities will include talks with zookeepers and members of the Tyler chapter of the Audubon Society. Interactive booths will enable visitors to participate in learning about colonial birds and their way of life and will include feathers, nests and eggs that visitors can look at and touch. Children will also have the chance to be "banded" just like all the birds at the zoo.

For visitors who haven't been to the zoo since last spring and summer, the activities will also showcase the Caldwell Zoo's $6.5 million construction project completed in the fall that includes an exciting new entryway with new exhibits for lemurs, squirrel monkeys, tamarins, flamingos, and spoonbills, along with a new Children's Zoo animal contact area, gift shop, visitor services building and other visitor amenities.

Over the last fifty years, the Caldwell Zoo has delighted millions of visitors. The zoo began as the backyard menagerie of Tyler business leader D.K. Caldwell. Today, true to Caldwell's vision and under the caring guidance of his nephew, Executive Director Hayes Caldwell, the Caldwell Zoo has become one of the finest small zoos in the country with two thousand animals representing 250 different species. A regional destination, the zoo attracts thousands of visitors each year and has been recognized as one of the top zoos in the South.

The Caldwell Zoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., Apr. 1 through Sept. 30; and from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. from Oct. 1 through Mar. 31. The zoo is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.