Crystal Palace Park: Dinosaurs and birds

For a child who's seen Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs at Crystal Palace Park must seem a bit of a let down, since they are made of concrete and can't move. Personally, I'd rather live near them than the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar. 

Iguanadons and Hylaeosaurus (on right), April 2023

Birds are now considered to be dinosaurs, so I suppose it's appropriate that they live among the dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park. I am an avid birder and many of my photos of the dinosaurs include birds on or around them. The theme of this blog post will be the way the dinosaurs blend into their environment and are integrated into the habitat by local wildlife. 

Some facts about the dinosaurs:

• Most of them are not strictly dinosaurs, but they're all based on real prehistoric creatures
• They were created on site by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, with scientific advice from Sir Richard Owen
• They were based on the best knowledge available at the time, but in some cases there was quite a lot of artistic licence used where they didn't have full skeletons
• They are arranged chronologically, spanning a time period of almost 600 million years, on three islands
• There are some geological displays as well, including one showing a coal seam.
• Most of them are still there, having been restored a number of times.

Mosasaurus, Nov 2024

The Mosasurus, seen here in its position by the dam between the two parts of the lake, was an aquatic mammal.

If you want to know more about the dinosaurs, or how they came into being, I recommend the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs website, plus the book The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs by Steve McCarthy and Mick Gilbert, published by the Crystal Palace Foundation in 1994, which I borrowed from Croydon library. All the photos in this blog post are my own, unless otherwise stated.

In order to help conserve the dinosaurs, most of them can only be viewed from a distance across water. This separation from humans has the added benefit of giving the shyer birds some space from human interference. 

Mallards feeding in shallow water, July 2011

When I visited in July 2011 for the first time in years, sadly the water level was low and it looked like the islands had been recently re-planted. That did mean however that some of the dinosaurs that are currently partly hidden by foliage were more visible. I think it had been rather hot and dry that summer. 

Some of the birds present in Crystal Palace Park are there year-round, while others are seasonal migrants. Many of the birds will have been visiting since the lakes were created, but a few species have colonised the area in more recent years.

Egyptian goose standing on a Labyrinthodon, 2019

One example of a more recent coloniser is the Egyptian goose, which like its Canadian cousin was originally brought to the UK to be part of ornamental collections. Their population has really taken off in the past 20 years or so here and they breed at unusual times - at the time of writing, there's a family with youngsters at nearby South Norwood Lake.

The photo above is a mallard mother with her cute fluffy ducklings - but hang on - there's a huge foot next to them! 

Ducklings calmly swimming under the jaws of a Teleosaurus, April 2021

The foot belongs to a Teleosaurus, a saltwater-dwelling ancestor of modern crocodiles and alligators. It looks pretty fierce!

Grey heron by an Ichthyosaurus, May 2021

In actual fact, the mallard ducklings would have had more to fear from the grey heron in the above photo - thankfully taken on a different occasion - than any of the dinosaurs. The Ichthyosaurus was a sea-dwelling reptile, streamlined like a dolphin. They evolved to give birth to live young, so they didn't need to lay eggs, however they are thought to have spent some time basking in the sun on land. 

Male broad-bodied chaser dragonfly on Ichythosaurus, July 2024

Earlier this year, some restoration work was being done to the Ichythosaurus and it was partly covered with a cloth. This had attracted a male broad-bodied chaser dragonfly, proving it's not just birds who like to perch on the dinosaurs.

A robin perched on the tail of a Teleosaurus, Nov 2024

Female shoveler duck with Plesiosaurus

A particular favourite of mine among the winter visitors is the shoveler duck, easily distinguished by their oversized beaks. They seem to quite like Crystal Palace Park, mostly sticking to the large lower lake, but sometimes venturing into the shallower dinosaur areas.

Moorhen on Megalosaurus, Nov 2024

Moorhen peering into the eye of Megalosaurus, Nov 2024

The photos above show a plucky moorhen walking along the back and head of a Megalosaurus. This dinosaur is now believed to have walked on its hind legs only, although no one has ever found a full skeleton. It was a carnivore, believed to have been an apex predator, and at least 6 metres long. I like how it looks like they are looking at each other, despite the moorhen being around the same size as the Megalosaurus' eye.

Grey squirrel on Iguanodon, Nov 2024

This grey squirrel has chosen a less formidable dinosaur to climb on - Iguanodons were herbivores. The rhinoceros-like horn on the Iguanadon was apparently an error - it should actually be a spiky thumb on their hands. They also mostly walked on two feet, not four. 

There are other models I haven't included here, particularly the early mammals, so I will try to include some photos in future blog posts. I hope this post has been entertaining and maybe a little informative too.