Home

Surprise! Surprise!

by Loretta Erickson

Babies, babies, everywhere babies!! We are now in full swing of fledgling season and the little ones are doing their very best to learn how to be a full-fledged parrot from learning to land on the wires (most have a tough time at first) to their ever so interesting attempts at the proper vocalizations. I always get the biggest kick out of some of the strange and unusual noises that come from those sweet little dark-eyed bundles of pure life.

Rain has been extremely scarce in Southern California this year and usual food sources have come and gone earlier than usual. As a result, the flocks break up quickly and head off in small groups to forage. This isn’t the ideal situation for keeping tabs on members of the flock -- it makes it much more challenging.

With 2007 on the downhill slide, this year is sure to go down in our record books as a year of strange events!

Seth and Syra, our most documented pair of Red-crowns (see previous post) did themselves proud with a record clutch. In previous years, these wonderful parronts had always fledged two chicks...this year, much to our surprise, we discovered there was three! And shortly thereafter, the strange events began.

Syra is, by far, the most amazing little thing – her exotic, expressive eyes are hypnotizing, her patience is that of an angel, and her dedicated devotion is purely incredible. Yes, if I were a mama parrot, I’d want to be just like Syra. Imagine sitting on bumpy little things for hours – days – weeks on end waiting for your Prince to arrive with your next meal. Even when the boredom is written all over her face, she still has a sense of supreme purpose about her. Ah yes, and her Prince-charming, Seth, what a guy he is! Like clockwork he arrives with all the male pride of tending to his mate and new family. Though Seth outwardly appears a Red-crown, his mostly hidden subtle markings tell us differently. Believed to be a Red-crowned/Blue-fronted hybrid, Seth and his family are visited each year by the only known Blue-fronted male in our flock who is mated with a female Red-crown. Shasta, as we call him, comes religiously to check on Seth and his family and assists Seth in guarding his territory – so much so that Shasta will take it upon himself to run off every parrot who so much as approaches the vicinity. Once Shasta is satisfied with the outcome, he will leave Seth to continue his duties and return to his own Red-crowned mate and tiny developing young. For Shasta and Seth, their families are their most important task, but it won’t be long until these two proud Papas come together again once Parrot Pre-school begins (an event where adult parrots with young all come together). And Seth and Syra will be bringing a crowd.

In the pre-launch days leading up to Seth and Syra’s first chick’s take-off, we saw Syra do something rather odd – after feeding her three young one by one, she went all the way inside the nest and stayed there for an extended period of time. That was something we had never seen her do before! Sure, we had seen her go in, turn around and come right back out when she was trying to explain to the little ones what they are supposed to be doing, but this had a whole new feel to it. What on earth was she doing? We had no clue – we just watched.


Over the next week and a half, the babies took their first flight, each a few days apart. Again, we witnessed something strange – Seth, Syra and their newly flying young didn’t leave the area as they had always done before…they stayed. They were hidden away -- but still there.

We were completely baffled by this behavior. Little did we know, they had a MAJOR surprise in store for us. We were now approaching 2 1/2 weeks after the third little guy took his maiden flight and their presence in the area became more puzzling by the day. And what do we discover? ONE MORE!!! Yes, a fourth chick!! I can honestly say that not once did it occur to us there may be another one. Had we even suspected, we would have noticed the signs. Now the answers to our questions suddenly became clear, their prolonged stay had been justified. Never again will I ever doubt what I see a parrot do. Why? Because they know what they are doing!

The last little one has since fledged and Seth, Syra and family have all left the area. Yes, it was a record year for them with four little ones. Unfortunately, as this years young grow and mature, they will take off on their own and disappear into the flock, but we will see Seth and Syra again on many occasions.

Syra with two of her four chicks



Pure Gold

From the time we first spotted her, Tav was a single bird. An older Double Yellow-head we frequently found her hanging around with mated pairs. When nesting season rolled around, she would always try to help her friends but when they chased her off, you could see the disappointment in her eyes. Eventually she would go off by herself in search of a place of her own…all alone. This happened two years in a row, until one spring morning, she just disappeared – we could find her nowhere.

Bandini, a certain escapee (* see important note below) by the quarantine band on his leg, entered the flock in the summer of 2006 (see previous posts). It wasn’t long after he found our missing Tav that these two senior birds established a solid relationship becoming our first known mated pair of Yellow-heads in the flock.

Tav and Bandini began their search for a suitable place to raise a family long before any of the other parrots – months before. Both being older birds, I can’t help but feel it was because they had waited all their lives for this moment and time was running out. By November of 2006, they staked their claim on the perfect territory and made sure every Amazon in ear shot knew they were entering Yellow-headed turf. They chased Red-loreds down the street, warned the White-fronts to keep their distance and filled the air with multi-octave vocalizations any opera star would be proud of. For more than 8 months we waited in anticipation wondering if their union would produce young – they sure were giving it a heck of a try. Every indication looked positive until one morning they took off for parts unknown shortly after Mike thought he heard the begging sounds of a chick coming from their nest in late June. With no warning, they had left their heavily guarded fortress which was home to them for more than a half a year. Even with questions unanswered, their disappearance wasn’t too surprising. If they had a chick, it was probably about time for the little fella to fledge -- but where had they gone? Our search continued for seven weeks with not even a clue as to what we were looking for. Did they have chicks? If so, had something happened to them? Are they out there somewhere? It was their first time nesting and it was anyone’s guess to the outcome. Only twice were we lucky enough to catch a quick glimpse of them, but sadly both times were without little ones. Hope began to fade and all the questions in our minds remained. Mike and I continued our search. We split up in order to cover every possible location we could think of over and over again – then one morning, Mike saw them approaching from the west with two beautiful little youngin’s flying right along-side. Yep, TWO! THEY DID IT!!

It was obvious the little ones weren’t just out of the nest, their eyes had begun to change colors, which coincided with the amount of time we believed they would have fledged. The only possible assumption now is for all that time, Tav and Bandini kept their little bundles of joy hidden until they felt they were ready. These two first-time parents (at least that we know of) have proven to be extraordinary and we have the good fortune to be able to watch it all. What could be more exciting?



Bandini and one of his two little ones. This little fellow follows his dad
everywhere and does everything his dad does. Not to worry -- right
now most of the parents look much like Bandini with dried food on their
beaks and soiled feathers. They spend all their time caring for their
young with little concern for themselves. Soon they will be all cleaned
up again and not a feather out of place.



Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

This year will go down in our record books as the big Blue-fronted Amazon shake up of 2007. Two of our well-known pairs, Notol and Ripley & Chaco and Collie, were constant companions since we first discovered them in 2004. We had always suspected each pair to either be the same years young or possibly siblings. Neither pair had ever exhibited ‘mate’ behavior until last year when each pair went through what I could only describe as ‘practice nesting.’ This year, these two pairs have parted ways with their long-time companions and one from each pair, Ripley and Chaco, have become mates. Notol and Collie are missing.

This will continue to be a puzzle until we can account for Notol and Collie. In their absence, I’m hoping they have established a companionship of their own or maybe possibly together. I won’t feel comfortable until we’ve seen them…just to make sure nothing has happened to them.

Coming Soon!

The lives of our other Blue-fronted, Yellow-headed and BF/YH hybrids continue to change by the day. Their developing stories are materializing before our eyes! Stay tuned for interesting developments and a special bonus – Kukui versus the Cooper’s Hawk


*Please note -- very few escaped companion parrots make it out there.

Posted by Loretta Erickson on 08/26 at 08:18 PM
(0) Comments •

---

Tragedy & joy

by Loretta Erickson

It has been an unusually quiet ‘beginning of summer’ in our little section of Southern California with only the begging sounds of two fledglings heard so far. No doubt that will change in the upcoming weeks!

Along with the wonder and excitement of this time of year -- the fledglings taking their first flight and their proud parents soaring behind also comes the heartbreaking stories of those who don't make it.

Not many things would hit closer to my heartstrings than last week’s events. On my way to work Friday morning I made a quick pass by the only Blue-fronted Amazon nest we had been able to locate this year. This site had put a new twist to the life stories of our slightly more than a dozen Blue-fronts. For the first time, we discovered two of our well known Blue-fronts nesting -- two who had never been known to be a pair before. This discovery reinforced what we had previously thought and that was they were younger birds and not ready yet, but spring 2007 brought Ripley and Chaco together. From their appearances they looked to have been successful either in laying eggs or maybe even better, laying fertile eggs. There was no way to tell if there were chicks in the nest and with this being a first year for these two nesting, it was anybody’s guess of the outcome. Friday however, put an end to the anticipation. On a quick pass by their nest site I came to find their palm tree had been devastatingly destroyed by despicable tree trimmers!! There was nothing left but a pair of forlorn, confused parrots darting back and forth between their ‘once’ nest site and the nearby trees they had found to observe from. At the bottom of their tree, nothing but dead palm fronds and the remnants of what looked to be a promising future for this newly mated pair. I searched at the base of their tree for clues to fill in the blanks, but found nothing. The dead remnants of the tree were too deep to offer any insight. I was able to find out who the tree trimmers were and made inquiries as to what might have happened, but they claimed to have seen nothing. We’ll never know what might have transpired, but for now, the sight forever etched in my mind of those two beautiful birds trying to figure out what happened to their nest site is deeply heart-wrenching.

Ripley investigates the destruction of her palm tree by tree trimmers.
Update: She and Chaco returned every day for more than a month.


The Blue-fronts are no strangers to tragedy. I suppose no more than the other Amazons, but more noticeable because there are so few and it's incredibly easy to notice when something is amiss among them. Late last year (2006) they lost the safety of their roost to tree trimmers and the year before that (2005), they lost one of the babies to a human inflicted shot from a pellet gun and from stories we have heard, an adult along with him. As a result, our breeding pairs were reduced from three to two. So far, all indications point to the fact that they do not nest every year. This of course could change as more in-depth observation continues.

Unfortunately, this won't be the only sadness we hear of this year and with the heartbreak of some, the joy of others can't be ignored. Seth and Syra, our most watched and documented mated pair of Red-crowns fledged the first of their three chicks on Friday morning. This was a record year for them in that the two previous years they had two chicks...this year THREE!!

And what has become of Tav and Bandini, our first recorded mated pair of Yellow-heads (see previous post from November 8, 2006)? Just one week ago, Mike was able to positively confirm they indeed had a chick in their nest. Has he fledged? Was there one or more? No one has been seen at their nest site since last Wednesday. Do we now have our first Yellow-headed fledgling(s). You can be sure, as soon as we know...you will!!!

Posted by Loretta Erickson on 06/27 at 01:39 PM
(0) Comments •

---

Youngin’s

by Loretta Erickson

From the conures to the amazons, what a fun time of year this is! Last years young are experiencing their first season without the over-sight of the elder members of the flocks and the older juveniles are to be looked up to. While mated pairs are off nesting, the youngin's are having a blast chasing, racing, quarreling and having a rip-roaring good time. They seem to enjoy the lack of regular baths and many look as though they've been rolling in the mud. A true "home alone" situation!

It's hard to believe it's almost been a year since little Blutu (named after her mama 'Blu') made her debut. The only known Blue-fronted young of 2006 among our local flock, she was an instant charmer! I recall the first morning I saw her and I swear, it had to have been her first day out of the nest. She was such a precious little thing and so well behaved -- she stayed right where she was supposed to while mom and dad flew off to fetch her morning meal. Lucky for me, I was there to watch over her in their absence -- not that she needed me a bit, but it was a profound experience for me.

Perched way out on the edge of a limb, little Blutu was perfectly camouflaged among the green leaves -- at least from the average eyes. Crows passed by and noticed her -- they flew in closer for a look and then went on their way. That was a blessing, I had no idea how I was going to make it up that tree if she needed protection. I felt absolutely helpless watching from 15 feet below. Soon a couple of Red-crowns flew in and landed on a limb above her. They watched and watched her with quiet vocalizations. It was as if they had come to see the new little addition and also to introduce themselves. As mom and dad returned, the Red-crowns flew off in haste as daddy Blue-front 'Pooch' warned them to keep their distance.

Little Blutu's debut (Summer 2006)

Through the last year, we've watched little Blutu go from the protection and teachings of her parronts, to her intermediate travels with the other Blue-fronts, to her "off-on-her-own" lone jaunts with the larger mixed flocks. And recently, her pairing off with Tio (a male BF hatched in 2005). Blutu and Tio are now, without a doubt, an item. It's a little sad though, Tio and his sibling Rio were inseparable for the better part of two years before little Blutu turned Tio's head. Rio is without a pal for now, but they are all still among the same small, tight-knit group of four young Blue-fronts along with one teenage Yellow-head. The five of them stick together and though they will sometimes meet up with the larger juvenile mixed flock, for the most part, the Blue-fronts keep off to themselves. Here's hoping this year brings Rio a buddy of her own.



Tio (2 years old) and Blutu (1 year old)

It will only be a matter of days now before we hear the first fledglings of 2007 -- those baby begging sounds are unmistakable. From that moment through the fall, we'll have the pleasure of accounting for as many new young as we possibly can and for those adults we are able to keep close track of, we eagerly await what this season will bring.

Posted by Loretta Erickson on 05/11 at 12:45 PM
(0) Comments •

---

Banded

by Loretta Erickson

It has been our experience that escaped companion parrots, in general, just don't have much of a chance of making it out there. We've seen this first hand by the lack of new birds/species among our local flock and we believe this to be representative of most of the flocks in California. After all, companion parrots escape all the time and yet those who we believe may be escapees (one-of-a-kind or very few in number) make up less than 1% of the flock. And most of those have been with the flock since before we began observing them. For those without distinct identifiable differences, there is no way to tell their success. One thing is for sure, not once, in the thousands of photos we have taken of our local flock, have we ever seen a leg band. But, as with most things, there always turns out to be an exception and this past summer gave us two -- along with our first real chance to watch their progress from the beginning.

The first came one late June morning during my usual visit to the flock. I found a good number of Red-crowned, Lilac-crowned and Red-lored Parrots high in a patch of eucalyptus trees loudly greeting the day. Off in the distance and outside the flock a lone bird caught my eye -- it was a Blue-crowned Parakeet. I wasn't too surprised, we have one Blue-crowned Parakeet among the flock that is mated with a Red-crowned Parrot. I suspected his mate must be nearby, so I watched him for a while. Faced away from the flock, he seemed aloof and unsure of himself. I wondered if something may have happened to his mate. The sight of this little fellow sitting on the outskirts just didn't seem right. It wasn't until a few weeks later we would find the answer to his odd behavior.

As we were photographing a small group of adult Red-crowned Parrots with recently fledged young, a Blue-crowned Parakeet joined them on the wires. He seemed to be a happy little guy, but had some obvious trouble balancing on the wires -- just as much trouble as the babies surrounding him. This couldn't be our well-established Blue-crowned Parakeet, he's been documented in the flock with his Red-crowned mate since 2001 and is very comfortable with his surroundings. Sure enough, a closer look revealed a leg band -- the first we had ever seen. Now it all made sense. It was he I saw sitting on the outskirts of the flock and not our previously known Blue-crowned Parakeet. We had a new bird!

This raised some new questions in our minds -- how would the presence of another Blue-crowned Parakeet in the flock affect the relationship of the other Blue-crowned Parakeet and his Red-crowned mate? There was no way to tell if they were the same sex or not, but would the presence of another of their own species draw them together?

As of October 2006, our Blue-crowned Parakeet and his Red-crowned mate are still together. The new Blue-crowned Parakeet is doing well and though he hasn't yet bonded with another bird, he looks like he's going to do okay.


It's Magic!


On July 10, 2006, I received an e-mail through our website telling of a Yellow-headed Parrot who was loose in a not-too-distant neighborhood. The gentleman reporting him gave an excellent description of how this bird would arrive every morning about 5:30 AM and sit high up in some eucalyptus trees. The bird would chatter, preen and play with the small limbs on the trees. He also described him as being totally unaffected by the humans, traffic and other birds around him. When I questioned the man as to whether he had seen any of the wild parrots in this neighborhood, he said he had never seen any parrots in the area at all, but this parrot had been around for a couple weeks and the gentleman subsequently sent photographs.

There wasn't much doubt this bird was probably a fairly recent escapee and I knew his only chance of making it, however small, was to catch sight of some of the wild flock and hopefully follow them. But that would be a treacherous route. From his location, he would have to make it through some heavily raptor-patrolled territory with no protection if he were pursued. Was he a strong enough flyer to make it across those large open fields to parrot-friendly territory? Would he be able to make a nine mile flight? He was an older bird with a full yellow head and not a trimmed down wild-type. That bright yellow head was just like a neon sign.

One August morning, I received a phone call from Mike. He was excited to tell me he'd discovered a new Yellow-head among the flock hanging out with 5 or 6 adult Red-crowned Parrots. It was obvious to him this bird didn't quite know what he was doing and struggled with keeping his balance on the wires. A pretty hefty bird to begin with, this new Yellow-head was not yet a skilled flyer -- when he took off following his new-found friends, he was always a distance behind the others.

Mike was able to get some good photos of him and when matched to the photos we had received from the man reporting the loose Yellow-head, we found we had the same bird -- there was no doubt. He made it! Mike's photos also revealed something else, a leg band on his right leg -- a quarantine band. Our new Yellow-head had a name, "Bandini." We could now safely assume he was most likely an imported parrot and was at least 13-plus years of age (my guess would be closer to 20 or above).

With a name like Bandini, you would expect him to be able to work a little bit of magic, wouldn't you? After all, he's lived a charmed life so far. Well, that's just what he did! Not only did he brave the odds against him and make it all the way to the flock, but he also found our long-lost Tav for us.

Tav was the first Yellow-head we discovered among our local flock and with only a handful of Yellow-heads to account for, it's easy to notice when one is missing. We had followed and photographed her for a couple of years before losing sight of her in May of 2005. We always thought she would turn up again somewhere and that we probably just hadn't been in the right place at the right time to catch up with her. As time went on though, hope faded. We ran across the birds she had been known to hang out with in the past, but no Tav. We regularly checked the various spots she had been known to visit, still no Tav. Hope diminished further and I really believed we had lost her for good -- she probably wasn't with us anymore. Sixteen months was a long time to have not even caught a glimpse of her.

Late September rolled around and on a clear crisp morning Mike was photographing a break-off flock when he heard a Yellow-head. He tracked the calls and discovered Bandini with none other than our missing Tav. What a guy! He did it! He found her! Not only that, but they had become a solid item.

We now have our first mated pair of Yellow-heads. I can see those little bobbing heads already!

Bandini & Tav

Posted by Loretta Erickson on 11/08 at 08:54 AM
(0) Comments •

---

Page 1 of 2 pages  1 2 >