Smithsonian National Zoo’s New Bird House Highlights Migratory Birds’ Incredible Journeys

First on the circular route is the Delaware Bay Aviary, a gorgeous, immersive recreation of a mid-Atlantic salt marsh populated with shorebirds and ducks. As recordings of laughing gulls play overhead, large saltwater tanks suggestive of a vibrant estuary hold fish and horseshoe crabs. The sandy shores are built at eye level, so guests can get a close look at the red knots, ruddy turnstones, and blue-winged teals—which are not behind glass or nets, but are free to fly among people walking through their habitat.