Parrot Blogger - Nikki Buxton
– About Nikki –
Nikki Buxton, along with her partner Jerry Larder, own and operate a private rescue and rehabilitation centre in Belize, Central America: Belize Bird Rescue.
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November 08 2009
Hormones and new feathers
by Nikki Buxton
A cranky parrot upsets the Residents, and new feathers all round.
We’ve been having fun recently with some hormonal episodes from Bibi - a two-year old red lored. A couple of weeks ago he suddenly decided he no longer liked two of our older red lored residents, Michael and Iran: formerly known as “Bibi’s Good Friends Michael & Iran”.
All three used to hang out in one corner together, sharing food and defending their turf against would-be interlopers. This is the favourite corner of all, by the way, as it is closest to our marvelous patented food-distribution station, and those that push their beaks through the wire while I’m dishing up tend to get a tasty treat for being so cute. Anyhow, one day, I arrive to find Iran clinging desperately to the side of the aviary above me and Michael a gibbering wreck in the corner, not at all interested in tasty treats. And there’s Bibi, flitting merrily between the two, growling and cawing like a lunatic. Hmmmm.
Bibi seems to terrorise Michael more than Iran, presumably because Michael doesn’t fly as well as the other two and ends up trapped in the corner. Many days I have had to bring him out of the aviary for a rest, at which point he shows his schizophrenic tendencies: cuddly and loving as I carry him to safety – cheeky, whistling, biting and aloof once he is safely indoors. Parrots really are ungrateful, arrogant creatures, don’t you think?
There seems to be no rhyme or reason to Bibi’s behaviour: some days he leaves them completely alone, others he is the playground bully, and yet others he is back to being friends with them again. Odd.
Unfortunately, as none of them are ready for release, we shall just have to continue playing referee and hope status quo is restored soon.
On a brighter note, it appears to be moulting season again, and both Spike and Chili are displaying some lovely new flight feathers. I’m saying a brighter note because it’s wonderful news for the birds: it’s not such good news for me. Spike absolutely hates me and can’t wait to start dive-bombing again, so once he is flying, I shall have to brush up on my ducking and stick-fending skills once again. Yes, yes, very amusing Spike. These pictures of Spike were taken on September 4th after her returned from his kidnap ordeal, and yesterday (November 8th).
I know I promised I would, but I still haven’t managed a single new case history for the website. I am going to go right now and write about Chili & Spike so you know exactly what I am rambling on about. www.belizebirdrescue.com
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November 02 2009
Introductions All Round
by Nikki Buxton
A very brief introduction to Belize Bird Rescue
My partner Jerry & I run an avian rescue centre in Belize, and over the years have become more and more focused on parrot rehabilitation and release. The local pet trade is a serious threat to the country’s 9 resident species of Amazon, and although we don’t imagine we could ever bring it to a halt, it would be nice to think we had made enough of an impact with what we do to at least slow the trade in wild birds.
Hopefully in next month’s PsittaScene you can find out exactly how we ended up knee-deep in parrots, but needless to say, whatever the reasons for us being here today, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
So – what do we do for these birds, exactly? Well, we take captive wild ‘pet’ parrots and we provide the environment and stimulation necessary for them to learn to be wild birds. And then one or two years later, we cross our fingers and let them go. That’s it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But for the most part, we honestly believe that whatever happens to these birds when they leave our care, they are way better off than they ever were in their captive conditions.
I’d love to introduce you personally to everyone in the programme but it would take up far too much of your valuable time. They are all amazing little personalities, with a history we can only know the half of.
In the flight cages right now we have 7 white-fronted (Amazona albifrons), 18 Red lored (Amazona autumnalis) and a Moluccan Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) (spot the odd one out) plus 2 crazy olive throated conures (Aratinga nana) out on soft release. Our blue-head Mealy (Amazona farinosa) and a red lored that have been out and about for a few months now, appear to have left home but we’re hoping they’ll pop back for a visit soon. This is a shot of Timba, one of our oldest residents. He's been with us for 18 months now and was a 12-year cage veteran. He' going to be a tricky one to release.
I’d also love to point you to our website to learn about our little guys, but slick and well organised as always, I have only just started compiling the case history pages for 2009. The Plan is to do one case per day, starting with the 28 parrots currently in and around the centre, and work my way back to January in time to be up to date for next year. I have a theory that if I tell enough people that I am going to do something, I feel I actually have to get on and do it. Of course, playing with parrots is infinitely more appealing than sitting at a computer… I’m sure you see my problem.
So, introductions over, I shall endeavor to keep you regularly posted on the progress of our little family, and in the meantime, will go and write at least one new page for the website. www.belizebirdrescue.com
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