http://www.parrots.org/index.php en samwilliams100@hotmail.com Copyright 2012 2012-12-31T20:18:43+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/what_a_great_year/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/what_a_great_year/#When:20:18:43Z Today, some friends who are visiting encouraged me to slow down for a moment and reflect on what the Echo team and I have achieved over the past 12 months. I must admit these days I prefer just to "get on with it" rather than to reflect, but it was a satisfying pause. If you'll spare me a moment of your time, I'd like to tell you about some of the highlights. Please keep in mind that our achievements are only possible thanks to the donations of incredible parrot enthusiast around the world. When 2012 began, we were already in full swing with the rescue of over 100 parrots and parakeets. In February, Echo moved to Dos Pos, a top parrot spot on Bonaire that was the perfect place to release the rescued birds. It was the perfect location for the Echo team, too. Over this past year, we released 35 parrots in addition to the nine we had already released in 2011. Most were illegally captured but some were injured. Four of those who were injured had broken wings, one been shot, and another had a broken leg. All recovered and were released. The rescued parakeets recovered well, too. 94 birds were rescued, and though three died and four had to remain in permanent captive care, 87 were released into the wild. Some have even come back to the release site with chicks of their own this breeding season. Our rescue work continues, and you can find out more about our adoptable parrots at http://www.adoptaparrot.org. Sally, who you can adopt, has already lost her "Fat" title Our work with wild parrots kept us busy this year, too. 2012 was our seventh year of population monitoring. We have been banding parrot chicks since 2006, and though it is hard work, we're hoping to learn new insights about parrot survival by recording sightings of the birds after they have fledged. Thanks to support from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, we were able to share our parrot fieldwork experiences with two great guys from Puerto Rico, where they are working with one of the world's rarest parrot species. Having them here was a real honour and we're sure the parrots will benefit from the experiences we shared together. In addition to monitoring, we're trying to help the breeding parrots as well. We've been busy making nest boxes, which we hope will compensate for the loss of ancient trees, which were cut down in the 1800s. Introduced bees have taken over many of the remaining natural nest sites, so we have also begun to manage bees. We hope to remove every hive in a known parrot nest during the upcoming non-breeding season. It's clear that we need to restore the parrots' habitat and we're working on this in various ways. This year, we established a native plant nursery and we've been growing trees that will one day be sources of food and nesting sites for the parrots. We are in the process of building a fenced area to keep out herbivorous feral goats, donkeys, and pigs where some of those trees will be planted. And we are doing a lot of outreach to show people why habitat is so important not only for the parrots, but for people, too. Though none of us saw the ancient trees that were on Bonaire before the 1800s, we can still celebrate the incredible trees that are here. That's exactly what we've been doing with local students. The results are an online Google Earth map and a better appreciation of nature among local kids. In addition to that, we've been working very hard simply to get children and young people outdoors. Echo team member Michaela says, "You know it works when, upon seeing the released parrots, they all go quiet." Almost every child from the nearby town of Rincon has now been to Echo's Dos Pos Conservation Centre. Many adults have, too! 2012 was only Echo's second official year and I think it was a successful one. The achievements I've mentioned here are just the highlights - there is much more going on. We're growing the organisation and establishing projects such as the native plant nursery that will benefit Bonaire's parrots in the years to come. It is the support of parrot enthusiast like yourself that makes this all possible. We have big ambitions for parrot conservation in 2013 and I'd like to encourage you to help the parrots. Right now the best way to do so is to adopt a parrot! Sally, Bubba, and Olivia are incredible parrots whom you can support. I am sure that following their adventures is something you won't want to miss. Also, if you adopt Sally now, you can double your support thanks to conscientious parrot-keeper Cornell from Connecticut, USA, who has pledged to match the first $2,000 raised for Sally. Please find out more and adopt a parrot at http://www.adoptaparrot.org. 2012-12-31T20:18:43+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/where_to_begin_lets_start_with_help/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/where_to_begin_lets_start_with_help/#When:14:33:47Z Yes yes it's been too long and goodness there's an awful lot to tell you dear reader. I can't even begin to explain it all right now so this may well just become a list of all the things I need to tell you about, soon. I promise! First two new baby parrots and oh heck it's terrible. We couldn't believe it. One has probably had his leg broken for him and he'll never be right, unlike his namesake Forest Gump. His brother Bubba is marginally better but dramatically underdeveloped. As in, he's about where we'd expect him to be at two months of age but he's actually five months old. We were in the process of setting up an adoption program, that is to say I was thinking about it. So now Forest and Bubba are here we've thrown that together as quick as we could because we haven't got spare funds to care for them properly. That means poor old Monty has lost out because Bubba is up for adoption instead of him. Please please take a look and help these little scruffs out. http://www.adoptaparrot.org So that's our new microsite. Have I mentioned our other new online thingy - the tree mapping website? Oh dear, or the trails website? I really ought to blog more often. Both of those are aimed at getting more people out into nature. The latter is only just related to parrots but as we are out and about anyway we thought we should put it together as there wasn't one on Bonaire. We also made a Facebook page if you fancy it. I'll dig out the links next time, but right now there's a bit too much to sort out, especially with the new chicks. Before these latest additions we had already rescued a chick from this year, Ville named her Freya (something about Nordic mythology). Not long after her "Our Bryan" another chick in need of help arrived. So all in we're up to four chicks now. We're not only collecting them though. We have done two more releases and although they were very different, they were both successful. Worry not dear reader, I do have pictures. I just need a moment and the alignment of the internet planets, so that I might be able to post them. Many of friends are now flying free. King Arthur, and the New Year's Eve or was it New Year's Day twins are out. All of them had badly clipped wings but they are strong flyers now. So that's nearly a year that we've been looking after them, and actually more than a year for King Arthur. Are you in any doubt as to why they need your support? The wonderful Cheryl Rutherford has created a new logo for Echo. And it's a donation don't ya know! She's great! Our first logo "The Happy Parrot" was a design Cheryl had made for T shirts. I went on to butcher it into a logo. But this new one, we all love it and we hope you do too. I'll tell you about all those nice arty details next time. Of course you know Fat Sally is back and working out. She's a real character and it's going to be challenge to get her to be a parrot again, that is one that can fly. It might be easier starting with a Rhinoceros. Bruce and Thatcher in the rehab continue to be little devils. We had another broken bird, Goliath a 400g champion with a broken wing. He healed and flew off back into the wild. There were several days where the released parrots didn't come in for food. This followed some rain so we we not too worried. Anyway now they are back and we're happy to see more happy healthy free flying parrots, hoorah. And then we had two great guys visiting from Puerto Rico. It was an exchange visit so we could all learn from the other's work. I can't wait to get over to see their incredible work. What else could there be… grant writing, hmm something more exciting, oh yes Michaela has been dragging the team through the spiky trees in search of other parrot nests. They found more bees in what could have been parrot nests. We already have a lot of them to move. Luckily honey is yummy! We're planning our first fenced area and the nursery is full of nice trees ready for the planting. When out checking nests we found a Hoba tree, which is locally rare. There were loads of seeds on the ground so we collected about 200 and just about every seed germinated. Even ones that were left in the plastic bag. So why don't we see any seedlings in the wild? Hello Billy Goat, Hello Donkey! We also had visitors from the Netherlands who have developed a parrot population simulation. We're looking forward to working with them more to improve the predictions of what the population might do but also because the simulation is going to be used here in the local high school. Yes well, like I thought there is much to come back to and explain properly but at least now dear reader you'll have an idea what on earth this new website and logo are about and that we haven't just been on the moon for the last few months. I look forward to telling you more soon. I hope that even after reading this rapidly written and not reviewed report you're also looking forward to that too, until then…. Sam 2012-12-07T14:33:47+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/parrots_reunited/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/parrots_reunited/#When:18:56:48Z A few Mondays ago we got a call that another parrot had bounced off a car. Normally we'd expect a parakeet, a broken wing or both but this call came from Jim and Jane who sponsor Echo so it was definitely going to be a parrot. Sam headed over but was still in for a surprise. It was an unweaned parrot chick who had had a lucky escape, he was knocked about but otherwise ok. Except he had lost his parents. The story has a happy ending so do read on. Jane has given us permission to share her nice email and she tells the story well: "On Monday evening after you left, when the parrots came through on the way back to the roost two of them stopped in the tree out front. Junior was on the wall in the carrier and we opened the door to it hoping their chatter would cause him to talk back and maybe fly to them. He was still very frightened and I think Mom and Dad were a bit intimidated by the carrier. They moved on back to the roost. We put Junior to bed once the sun went down, he could barely keep his eyes open he was so exhausted from all the "trauma" I think. So then as you suggested we got up about 15 minutes before sunrise on Tuesday and sat on the porch with Junior in the carrier waiting to hear the group of parrots that usually come through. We first heard them about 6:30 and Jim put Junior back on the wall.  BUT...this time we had the idea to take the entire top off the carrier, it was then just essentially an open box, as we thought this would be a little less fearsome for Mom and Dad and for Junior too (particularly if they could sense that Junior was in a CAT CARRIER!!!) Even with the top off, Junior was still all huddled in a corner of it.  AND THEN, within about 5 minutes Mom and Dad showed up in the same tree out front and started talking. Junior's head popped up over the side of the box, he gave a little shout. Mom and Dad started talking louder and Junior hopped up onto the edge of the box and answered. Next thing you know he flew to them and the three of them flew off together after a quick burst of what I like to think of as "thank you".  It was just delightful to see them reunited. They teach children in the U.S. that if you lose your Mom and Dad you should always go back to the place that you last saw them because that is where they will look for you. I guess the same lesson is taught to Bonaire parrot children too! Thanks again for all your assistance and advice in facilitating this happy reunion."   2012-09-18T18:56:48+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/biscuits_great_escape_-_the_conclusion/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/biscuits_great_escape_-_the_conclusion/#When:21:56:24Z Biscuit was alive. It was incredible because breaking his leg at such a young age would have normally resulted in his very own personal extinction. Back then he couldn’t even feed himself, but despite his many and malicious protests the parrot team persevered and Biscuit as a result had not died a slow and painful death. Hurrah for the Echo team! It was not all rosy though and Biscuit’s not-dying had come at a heavy cost. He was a prisoner. Biscuit was an optimist, however, and he knew his situation wasn’t as bad as that of some of the other parrots he had met. Bruce, Bob Mad Max and Thatcher all had broken wings, which Biscuit, being a vastly intelligent parrot, knew was a bad thing for a bird. Billy the kid had been shot through his wing in the part equivalent to the human hand and that too could be considered a bad thing. Worst of all it hadn’t been their fault. It was of course the goats and donkeys that had caused these broken wings! Because Bonaire is so green you, Dear Reader, would be forgiven for thinking this is a wild accusation and that the habitat is in great shape. But those introduced mammalian herbivores have caused such a reduction in the variety of parrot feeding plants on Biscuit’s island home that great gaps in food availability result. It is in these times of hardship when the parrots come to town. This of course is when they bounce off cars, fly into telegraph wires or ironically get shot for eating the mangoes of a goat farmer. There was no sign of a limp as Biscuit moved along the branch on the morning of his great escape. One of the other parrots was whistling their Great Escape ditty and there were just the right number of clouds in the sky. The flock had done their homework meticulously and concluded that they had to make their bid for freedom on a “branches” day. On those days the door, through which the humans entered the aviary, opened more often and for longer. It was exactly in one of those moments that Biscuit would lead the others in a terrifying drop from the high perch and out of the door. The humans would not see what had happened until Biscuit was already free. After the intensive weeks of studying the human’s routine it came as quite a shock when the humans put the feeding bowls in the wrong place. Biscuit and his friends could not understand why on that sunny morning the food bowls were sitting on a shelf outside the aviary. Wild parrots flew over the aviary and up and down the valley of Parrotopia and Biscuit feared they might eat his breakfast. Biscuit was concerned. They had everything planned out. They were ready to escape and the humans were screwing it up. Perry looked puzzled and he leaned over to Biscuit. Just as he was about to say something a strange little door, which Biscuit realised he had not noticed before, slowly and mysteriously opened. What a coincidence that this door would open next to the feeding bowls. After exchanging more puzzled looks Biscuit and his friend Perry flew to the branch nearest the food bowl and open door. The others were right behind them. Biscuit stepped out on to the shelf. Twiggy, who had very nearly starved to death before joining the Echo flock, flew over. She saw the food and in that moment the significance of what was happening was lost on her. As Twiggy gorged, Biscuit tried to make sense of it. He had stepped closer to the edge of the shelf and a tingle of excitement and fear raced through his body. He couldn’t make sense of it, nor could he wait any longer. So with his wings fully stretched Biscuit launched himself from the shelf and reclaimed his freedom. Hurrah for Biscuit! It was an explosion of joy. Biscuit screamed euphorically for all he was worth. The others, Perry, Twiggy, Isla and Johan, and the two juveniles instantly felt the tingle as well. Perry almost knocked Twiggy from her food bowl as he scrambled to launch himself. Biscuit was now flying around making arcing turns and moving up and down. Perry too seized his chance and dove into the endless open sky. Hurrah for Perry! Even the food could not keep Twiggy and so for the first time in her life she flew in a world without boundaries. Hurrah for Twiggy! All the while each of the parrots called out, and then called out some more. The excitement and fear in that moment was indescribable. The young parrots flew like fledglings. Their rapid and shallow wing beats and their calls brought tears to the eyes of even the most hardened Echo team member. In that instant everything had changed. Biscuit now had 30, 40 maybe 50 years of freedom ahead of him. Biscuit was just one of over 100 parrots and parakeets that the Echo team have been caring for. Dear Reader do please take a moment to consider what Biscuit’s great escape will mean for him, just as it will for each of these 100 birds. Rather than living a life in prison Biscuit will now be able to fly wherever he chooses across Bonaire. Biscuit will taste Shimaruku cherries straight off the branch. He will be free to choose his mate and one day he will get to make love in the treetops. Hurrah for Biscuit making love in the treetops! 2012-03-13T21:56:24+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/biscuits_great_escape/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/biscuits_great_escape/#When:21:02:58Z It was a perfect morning in parrot-topia. The sun was rising dependably. The songbirds welcomed the day and the delightful wild parrots chortled in the tree-tops. In another life Biscuit would have been perfecting the art of steaming milk to complete his morning cup of hand ground Kenyan coffee. Biscuit however, was well and truly in this life. Like so many other vastly intelligent captive parrots he was once again coming to terms with the imperfect nature of his current existence. Biscuit was a prisoner and quite frankly he was sick of it. Unlike many of his companions in the old aviary Biscuit had fledged from a wild nest and he had flown in the wild. The other parrots of course Dear Reader had been taken from their families, and from freedom, before they had even grown a full coat of feathers. Biscuit knew how perfect it could be to fly through a tree-lined valley and have his raucous calls echoing back at him. Without knowing how or why Biscuit found himself whistling a perfect rendition of the theme tune to a classic movie he couldn’t name. Steve McQueen had always been a motorcycling hero of Biscuit’s but to find himself whistling away to The Great Escape as he was seemed rather improbable. And so it was in this perplexing position, as the sun rose in a perfect arc, that Biscuit had a brilliant idea. Biscuit was going to escape! Without a moment pause Biscuit quickly huddled together with the other 6 parrots to share the idea. His close companion Perry almost fell of his perch at its brilliance. This first reaction from the flock was reassuring but how would the others react Biscuit wondered. Twiggy, who had once experienced starvation, wasn’t sure as she did not want to risk her food supply. As usual the 2 juveniles from the July rescue didn’t have much to say but they were not against it. Surprisingly it was Isla and Johan who threw a spanner in the works. They were more or less, in a round-a-bout way, against the idea. They had already been free, and even produced an egg during their time on the old kunuku and they felt sure their day of freedom would not be far away. (Dear Reader in cased you missed the news: Isla and Johan were re-caught so that they could join the other parrots in parrot-topia). Biscuit felt a terrible sense of disappointment. It was like going out on a Friday night for the first time in months only to have your good friend stay at home on the couch. All hope was not lost, however, it was just that Isla and Johan wanted a perfect plan. The challenge only motivated Biscuit further. From that moment on his life changed. He had a purpose, and together with Perry they would study the feeding routine and the re-branching routine. They would time door openings and see which of the dedicated Echo team was most attentive with security and which was not. They would examine every inch of the aviaries wire mesh and every screw in every frame until they had a clear plan. Feeling the musical tingle once again Biscuit happily led Perry and Twiggy in a perfect chorus “One way or another, I’m gonna find a way, I’m gonna get out, I’m gonna get out get out get out and be free, one way or another I’m gonna join the wild parrots and fly through the valleys once again” Sadly Dear Reader there’s not sufficient time to share with you the outcome of Biscuit’s Great Escape right now. Doing the caring of parrots is relentless and alas the hungry little devils beckon and so this all to brief a moment of writing must draw to a close. Anyway if we did continue at this precise moment there would be no cliff hanger to this otherwise tantalising tale. Be sure to check the parrots.org website in the near future to find out what happens! If you’d like to find out the most very latest news from the parrots and Echo team please do have a look at the Echo facebook page http://www.facebook.com/echobonaire.org 2012-02-27T21:02:58+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/biscuits_ready/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/biscuits_ready/#When:16:25:13Z Biscuit hated people and he was thoroughly sick and tired of human aversion training. He had hated people from the day a nice lady called to say she had found him as an injured parrot. He had made sure that every human he met knew he hated them. He’d even gone so far as to leave a long trail of puncture wounds and blood blisters to show his feelings. Even when the parrot team had carefully looked after him he had shown less gratitude than a disturbed scorpion. Biscuit’s broken leg, which had been splinted, was long healed and he didn’t even have a limp. Biscuit, as you will now doubt recall Dear Reader was one of the many young parrots in need of rehabilitation that Echo took on in addition to the huge rescue from July 2011, yes it was 7 months ago! Unlike the 100+ chicks in the July rescue Biscuit had fledged from a wild nest. Consequently he was quite certain of the fact he was a parrot and that he didn’t like people. He was a perfect candidate for release. Perry had also fledged in the wild shortly before being found in the mouth of a German Shepherd. He too was ready to get out of the cage and he too was sick of human aversion training. What neither Biscuit nor Perry had realised was the improvement in their fitness that had come as a result of the training. They were both stronger, leaner, and keener of eye than they had been and indeed they were ready to go. The parrot team were of course fully aware of the parrot’s readiness to be free. Indeed, after so many months of looking after so many parrots the parrot team were equally, if not more enthusiastic, for these birds to be free. Luckily for humans and parrots alike the stars aligned, the full moon shone and a fantastic location in the middle of parrot heaven was secured where the parrots could be released. Since that time incessant, furious and rampant efforts have been made by the now aching parrot team to prepare the site. This Dear Reader has been the cause of the recent scarcity of news. Despite our apparent absence tremendous progress has been made. The moons and planets aligned once more and before they knew it Biscuit, Perry and 5 other birds were plucked from their home and taken to the new location. In this new cage they saw incredible views and all around them were wild parrots. From the first day Biscuit and Perry arrived the wild parrots came to visit. They could hardly contain their excitement. In much the same way that fellow release parrot Monty had known the end of his long walk to freedom was coming they too knew that soon they would be free. We’ll be sure to tell you all about what happens in the next parrot news. If you can’t bear the excitement until then perhaps you might want to check out Echo’s facebook page for the latest news and pictures: http://www.facebook.com/echobonaire.org 2012-02-15T16:25:13+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/a_quick_catch_up/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/a_quick_catch_up/#When:10:20:46Z There's so much happening for the parrot team right now! This unfortunately has meant that I just haven't had a moment to sit still and therefore right about what we or indeed the parrots and parakeets are up to. We'll have a very quick catch up now and then hopefully soon Dear Reader another tale of parrot adventures will follow.... Both the parrots and the parakeets are now getting close to release and Echo's vet Jon wants each individual to leave his care in the very best condition. So each and every parakeet has just had a health check and a dose of anti parasite formula dabbed on each armpit. With nearly 50 parakeets still waiting for release this was quite a procedure with four people assisting Jon: one person catching the jet fighter fast parakeets in a proper parrot catching net, another did the dabbing of the dose, a third was note taking and the fourth redistributed the checked individual into a separate aviary. It almost goes without saying that all the birds were in fine fettle thanks to Jon's dedicated care and the support of the wonderful volunteers that help him out. There's little to report on the parrots as they are also all fine. Two new birds arrived on New Years Eve (which had until that moment been a day off for Jon). And yet another arrived after having been caught in Rincon. All three had been illegal pets and the first two were actually confiscated by the police. This most recent addition was an escapee but the people that caught him noticed he had a foot problem. Having dropped everything he was doing Jon inspected the bird and removed what appears to have been hair (though I still don't believe it) that was wrapped tightly around a toe. The cut into the toe was very bad and it may not recover. I've just realised we've been so busy that we haven't had chance to name these three birds. What a terrible situation this is! Anyway the poor little devil was very hungry and thirsty and after being given some fluids he gulped water and food. He's a charming young parrot and is now receiving a twice daily potion of goodness from Jon and doing very well. The reason we have been so busy and why now at 6am I am going to have to stop and get on with other jobs, is because we are moving the project and all the parrots to a dream location. In a foolish effort to save pennies for the parrots the parrot team have become carpenters and we've not only built a great big release aviary, we've made shutters, doors and even door frames for our new abode. Dianne our star volunteer from Texas who was here in the crazy first day of the rescue is back. She was lured in by the prospect of getting to see a release. Little did she know she'd have to help build the aviary and fix the house where she'll stay before even seeing a parrot. It's been an incredible few weeks and indeed the team are as good as exhausted. But very very soon there will be parrots one step closer to being free. I look forward to telling you all about it soon! 2012-02-10T10:20:46+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/even_fat_parrots_need_help/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/even_fat_parrots_need_help/#When:19:09:23Z Unlike Fat Sally, Kota had never tried to convince himself that he had big bones. He had tried to hide his growing proportions, but it was clear to him that he was getting fat. He took to sitting with his feathers fluffed up all the time. It was a bit like wearing ever-baggier T-shirts and yes it sort of worked, at first. It wasn’t long though before his growth was so considerable that bare skin emerged from between his dull feathers. The low slung under carriage that drooped between his legs grew and grew, as did “the padding” on his hips. Soon he altogether stopped looking like a parrot and started looking rather more like a giant bell. Kota was fat, it was obvious and he didn’t like it. His liver too was in terrible shape, possibly worse then an alcoholics he said. Sadly poor Kota was powerless to do anything about it. All he was fed were those delicious, oily and addictive sunflower seeds. They were like a dieters nightmare encased in a cute black and white striped suit. It goes without saying that Kota’s living conditions were so diabolical that there was never a hope of him getting exercise. It was as though Kota came from Houston. He ate too much fatty food and he never got any exercise. This situation is unfortunately normal for many people in Houston and it is normal for many parrots on Bonaire. Kota weighed about twice the weight he should have. So it was like a handsome Spanish man who might typically weigh 75 kgs (150lbs) actually weighing 150kgs or 300lbs. Kota became so fat that his bell-bottom couldn’t hold any more and so another rather more unsightly fatty lump grew on his neck. It was a grotesque double chin and Kota thought it made him look like a Turkey. For any parrot, and parrots Dear Reader as you know are second only to the great apes in terms of intelligence and rather more beautiful besides, to be treated this way was a humiliation. Sadly for Kota, he was like a turkey and at best he could only waddle along. It seemed there was no hope of him ever flying again. In a strange way Kota was glad that the lump appeared and grew on the front of his neck. He had been having trouble perching and the weight on his neck helped balance that hanging on his behind. It did however mean there was even more weight on his feet. Poor Kota had terrible feet problems. His ancestors had evolved over millions of years to perch on the branches of trees and yet here he was on a metal perch with a uniform diameter. Whenever he climbed down the rusty cage wire to the floor of his home the joints of his feet hurt as they arthritically flattened and stretched out. From the floor of his cage Kota would occasionally see wild parrots as they flew past shimmering in the sunlight. Seeing the wild parrots inspired Kota but at the same time it left him utterly depressed and dejected, as he knew there was no hope for him. A wild parrot may live for over 40 years but the chance of Kota getting past 10 were incredibly slim. Truth be known in these moments Kota actually wished he was a Turkey. Kota wished he was a turkey, especially at this time of year, because he knew then there would be a good chance that some human or other would end his misery and roast him. This poor Kota believed was the only hope of changing his miserable life. Dear Reader you will of course be aware that it doesn’t have to be this way. You may not however be aware that you can help Kota. You can change Kota’s life and many other parrots like him. With your support the Echo team will be able to provide veterinary care for these incredible individuals who have no option to choose a better life. Fatty lumps like Kota’s can be removed with a simple surgery. In addition our charming Spanish vet Jon will be able to discuss with parrot owners how they could improve the care of their pet parrots. With your support the Echo team will be able to make repeat house visits to ensure these parrots are getting the good care they deserve. Please visit http://www.razoo.com/story/Parrotcare-Bonaire and help birds like Kota by donating today. (Donations are US tax deductible). Does Kota's bum look big to you? Please donate today and help improve the care of pet birds like these and also injured wild birds 2011-12-19T19:09:23+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/life_goes_downhill_for_sid_and_marvin/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/life_goes_downhill_for_sid_and_marvin/#When:17:36:36Z Sid was the youngest and possibly the most adorable of the parrots rescued on July 1st. In the past five months he had changed from a tiny pink bundle of joy into the one of the most handsome of birds. His condition was tiptop and his glossy green feathers shimmered in the light. He was, too beautiful. Marvin had arrived starvin’ a little later in the year. The Echo team’s diligent care of the poor bird had produced a pleasantly plump parrot. Marvin too, was a most handsome and eligible young chap. In many respects Sid and Marvin lived enchanted lives. Each morning and afternoon they were served freshly chopped fruits and vegetables. As young parrots they were still being fed by hand with a delicious gloop of nutritious baby parrot food. Their home was cleaned daily and fresh branches were provided three or more times each week. They were kings. The afternoon of November 14th was typically sunny. Sid and Marvin had been growing agitated because the humans had been reducing the amount of delicious baby food forcing them face the indecency of foraging for themselves. This afternoon, they reassured each other, things would be back to normal. So it came as quite a shock when the human brought the afternoons 16 dishes to be distributed among the parrots and parakeets but then turned and left without serving the young kings their baby food. “An oversight for sure” Sid told Marvin, but he was wrong. The next afternoon the very same thing happened. This continued and it became clear to the young kings the good times were through. No sooner has this dawned on them then construction work began. Great sheets of plywood were fastened to the aviary preventing the parrots from seeing the nice humans as they arrived to serve the endless dishes of food. Dear Reader do not be concerned it not as though young Sid and Marvin are now in a box. The entire other side their large aviary is open to views of the surrounding habitat. They waited to see how the humans would deliver their food dishes now. It was funny because they knew the food wood arrive in a bowl as it always had done. Just as one supermarket is pretty similar to any other supermarket, but still when the food arrived through the new little slot for feeding dish they just had to check it out for themselves. Sid and Marvin thought it was a terrible shame that they couldn’t use their relatively large eyes to watch the human approach their palace. Dear Reader you will no doubt know that parrots, like most birds, have incredible vision. Not only can they see full colour but they can see the ultraviolet light too. The shimmering feathers of a boy parrot may look the same as those of a girl parrot to our human eyes but to them, the difference is couldn’t be clearer. Parrots like pigeons have their eyes on the sides of their head allowing them to spot predators from afar. I’m sure you’ll agree Dear Reader that while pigeons of course deserve to be eaten parrots like Sid and Marvin should remain sacred and never be preyed upon. Unlike parrots the Merlin and Peregrine falcons that find their way to Bonaire each winter without the need for a jet plane, have heads that are quite wide. This enables bifocal vision and brings great accuracy to their hunting. If in doubt about the value of bifocal vision we suggest you close one eye and try and touch a specific point some way in front of you (but obviously within reach!). Merlin’s and Peregrines are of course the birds that eat pigeons. What’s more they are now flying above and around Bonaire in great abundance and if you are on the island and you’d care to use your myopic human eyes you’ll easily be able to spot one. Dear Reader we must get back on track. The reason Sid and Marvin found themselves closed off and excluded is because they are in a cage and the Echo team would like for them, or anybody else to be free. Sid and Marvin of course were not aware of the Echo team’s intentions and so when the human entered the aviary to clean the aviary they flew down to say hello. In that same moment a tremendous noise could be heard. Sid and Marvin looked at each other in bewilderment and fear. For a passing moment Sid thought that it might just be yet another Icelandic volcano erupting, only this time on Bonaire. Similarly Marvin wondered whether the Mayan calendar, and indeed the crazy Hollywood movie they’d watched the other week were true. Was the world coming to an end? The terrible noise continued for some moments. The human continued with his cleaning task. Sid and Marvin were terribly afraid and they realised the human must not be aware the world was ending. Very quickly the human left the aviary and as the door closed the noise ended. The young kings were puzzled and they thought about the world ending long into the night. The next morning the food dishes were served as normal. The parrots ate, they played a little, they digested and all too soon it was afternoon again. Sid and Marvin were expecting the afternoon dishes to be served with the dedicated tedium the parrot team know all to well but instead a human entered the aviary and suddenly the world started to end once more. Sid and Marvin quickly decided they didn’t like humans anymore. The humans didn’t bring them their food dishes anymore they just arrived through the slots and whenever the humans were there the world nearly ended. It was as thought the humans were a bad thing. Sid and Marvin decided they would stay well away from humans from now on. Hopefully Dear Reader this will indeed be the case. Once we are absolutely adamant that Sid, Marvin and the other parrots have a healthy dislike of humans it will be possible to release them back into the wild on Bonaire. It has been a long journey to reach this point and only possible thanks to incredible donations and funding Echo has received. Huge thanks go out to our supporters. 2011-12-06T17:36:36+00:00 http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/another_broken_parrot/ http://www.parrots.org/index.php/blog_williams/comments/another_broken_parrot/#When:23:55:33Z Above the circle are two white lines running down to the left. These are either side of the bone, like railway tracks. Inside the circle it is possible to see where the bone is broken. No sooner had the last parrot news been sent to the press then it was out of date, old news and incomplete. Inconceivably yet another broken bird has joined the Echo flock. So rather than get back to news of Sid’s development or Marvin’s mischief we must share the Nigel’s tale. It was sunny early morning on the island on Bonaire. Parrots flew from one degraded area of their habitat to another. Some even ventured into urban areas to find delicious fruits to fill their bellies with. Nigel was one of these parrots and he was flying with Maggie a wonderful parrot whom he adored. Nigel was just an average parrot, a little bit grumpy at times but really just normal. There was nothing that made him stand out from other birds in the flock. By contrast Maggie was intelligent and at times rambunctious. Nigel often wished he had something special about him so he could seduce this lovely girl parrot. He wished he had Spanish flair or that he knew more about being a real man parrot so he could win her over. He was flying along thinking exactly this and then suddenly but slowly he woke up in pain, dazed and confused. His left wing hung limply and he was on the ground. He had no idea what had happened. It was very odd and he tried to make sense of it. The last thing he could remember was flying with Maggie. “Oh no, where’s Maggie” he thought. The girl he adored was nowhere. Had he flown into a telegraph wire? Had he hit the side of a house? He just didn’t know. The rest of the day passed in a blur. He was collected by one of the Echo team and taken to Parrot HQ. Nigel was a wild parrot so he didn’t exactly see it this way but he was very lucky to meet Jon the charming vet, from Spain. It was early on a Saturday morning so Jon felt great empathy for Nigel because he too was in pain, dazed and confused. Nigel’s grumpiness came out in full flair as he was being carefully checked over, and even more so after he received painkillers. Nonetheless Nigel was given first class treatment. His health was generally good but there was a risk of deterioration so his poo was collected. Later it was checked studiously under the microscope generously made available at CIEE. It was determined that Nigel had too many yeast and so that too was treated. Of course the parrot team did not know Nigel’s name was, uhm, Nigel and so as result of his cantankerous nature he was given the best of the many bad names that were suggested and called Thatcher. An X-ray was made and it was confirmed that Thatcher’s (That’s Nigel in case you are skim reading) humerous was broken. This of course is not very funny. The humerous (in the upper arm) of a human is a relatively long bone. Birds, however, fly and so their humerous has to be short and strong to handle the immense forces required to move their wings. If a man was to have the same relative amount of muscle that a bird has for flight, his pec’s (or breast muscle) would protrude a meter out in front of him. Just to be clear Dear Reader, a male human was used in the above example not because they are the only sex that can be muscley. Goodness no, we don’t see it that way but it has occasionally been brought to our attention that female humans have mammary glands which are the very essence of being a mammal and therefore not a bird and so a female human seemed a little less suitable for this example. Anyway Dear Reader let’s refocus and consider another of the other incredible adaptations birds evolved in order to fly. Possibly most obvious of these is the keel on a bird’s breastbone. This can be seen after the consumption of any (preferably free-ranging, grown on organic land, able to lead a happy life) chicken. The keel simply provides a location for the many breast muscle fibres to attach themselves. Carnivores such as lions have a similar keel, the sagittal crest, on the top of their head to attach their powerful jaw closing muscles. Days passed and Thatcher found himself immensely frustrated. He was stuck in a cage, his life and any possibly of seducing Maggie were over. Jon was equally frustrated because if there had been the right veterinary equipment on the island he could have operated on Thatcher and given him a much greater chance of being able to fly again. Jon of course had been similarly frustrated with Bruce’s situation. There undoubtedly would be other broken birds arriving and naturally there would be many other uses for the finely tuned and very accurate gas machine needed to anesthetise parrots. And so Dear Reader we will have to think of a way to make this possible for it is a shame and a frustration that the parrots of Bonaire should get anything other than the very best in terms of care and attention. Please take a look and find out more about the various wild, rescued and broken birds the Echo team are caring for on our regularly updated facebook page http://www.facebook.com/echobonaire.org 2011-11-22T23:55:33+00:00