emerald forest bird gardens

If I could give zero stars I would. I called two weeks in advance to schedule a tour, also emailed to confirm. We spent five hours in the car. Sat at the gate for an hour, all the while trying to reach someone on the phone. No one ever answered or let us in. So we finally turned around and drove all the way back home. Mind you I'm 8 months pregant and we had a very unhappy two year old in the car. I was livid. So the next day my husband called again, reached the owner and explained what we went through yesterday. He was completely unapologetic, claiming he had to take an employee to the hospital. His staff must not have seen us at the gate or on the cameras. He was rudely chewing food on the phone the whole time and didn't say anything else besides ask if we wanted to reschedule. He didn't even offer to give us a free tour which I honestly would have expected from any sort of decent business . I sure as heck won't be rescheduling to drive that far and hope and pray someone is there or picks up the phone. So unprofessional. We will continue to purchase our birds from better people.

My husband and I went here last week and were amazed by all the beautiful birds. Tours are by appointment only and cost $35 per person, so don't just show up without booking a tour, because owner Jerry may not be there. There are approximately 300+ birds on the premises, all in large outdoor cages. Everything from toucans to macaws and more. Jerry raises all types of exotic birds and some are also for sale. He is a true bird lover and has done much to protect birds in Peru and Costa Rica as well. The gardens are between Temecula and Escondido, so if you were going to make a trip to the Safari Park in Escondido and you REALLY like birds, you may want to book an appointment the day before or after to go to Emerald Forest. It's not like an amusement parkt - it's simply a large bird sanctuary set on acres of private property. We really enjoyed our visit and thought Jerry was great.