Discussion Forums at www.parrots.org

alba tramonto per le ispezioni notturne

2009-11-07T04:56:35-07:00

Salve a tutti!
Ho Realizzato un sistema alba tramonto per le ispezioni notturne, per evitare shock e ferite agli uccelli causate dall’accensione improvvisa dea luce.
Volevo un vostro parere su un dispositivo che ho realizzato e che penso possa tornare utile a molti altri:
Il dispositivo elettronico che ho fatto genera un effetto alba e/o tramonto premendo il pulsante sul che ce sulla scatoletta.
(premo parte alba, ripremo parte tramonto)
Sono possibili effettuare delle regolazioni a partire dalla durata del alba e del tramonto,
poi si può regolare l’istante iniziale in modo che quando premo il pulsante posso far partire la luce ad esempio al 10% e farla andare fino al 100% anzichè da 0 % a 100%,(in modo da avere già una buona visibilità) oltre a questo si può regolare il limite massimo di luce che voglio dare per ogni singola ispezione, ad esempio lo faccio partire ad 15% e voglio che la mia luce massima sia uguale al 60% della potenza massima (per disturbare meno possibile) poi quando uscirò dalla stanza premo il pulsante di nuovo e la luce dal 60% mi va fino al 0%

Sapete per caso dove può essere utilizzato in altri campi?
Vi piace? accetto qualsiasi commento,
e se interessati contattatemi!
Grazie ciao

Trade in wild caught birds: positions and solutions

2009-10-22T14:53:22-07:00

I am surprised no representative from the WPT is on the program for the Conservation, Policy and Practice Convention!

{Administrator notice: This topic was split and moved from its original subject - Announcement of two international parrot conferences to be held in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain - 2010, located at: http://www.parrots.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/820/}

Announcement of two international parrot conferences to be held in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain - 2010:

2009-09-25T04:58:36-07:00

I. International Convention on the Conservation of Psittacidae: Science, Policy and Practice - 20th – 22nd September

VII. International Parrot Convention - 22nd - 25th September (more details follow)

More details at: http://www.loroparque-fundacion.org

I. International Convention on the Conservation of Psittacidae: Science, Policy and Practice

20th – 22nd September 2010
Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

The Loro Parque Fundación will host and organise this first convention dealing with scientific and management issues, with the intention to set a benchmark against which to measure future advances in the conservation of the Psittacidae. The conference will be especially appropriate for scientists and practitioners involved with field projects, and government authorities with responsibilities for, or affecting, the management and conservation of Psittacidae.

Venue
Hotel Botánico, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

Official languages
English and Spanish: The presentations will be translated simultaneously into English or Spanish respectively.

The Speakers
Dr Robin Bjork, Principal Scientist, Conservation Sciences Program, SalvaNATURA, El Salvador

Dr Donald Brightsmith, Research Assistant Professor, Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, United States

Dr Nigel Collar, Research Fellow in Conservation Biology, Birdlife International and University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Indira Dayang Lacerna-Widmann, Program Manager, Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program, Chief Operations Officer, Katala Foundation , Philippines

Dr Stuart Marsden, Reader in Conservation Ecology, Applied Ecology Group, Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Alonso Quevedo, Director General, Fundación ProAves, Colombia

Dr Katherine Renton, Senior Researcher, Chamela Biological Station, Institute of Biology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico

Dr Jörn Theuerkauf, Research Scientist, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Dr Jorgen Thomsen, Director of Conservation and Sustainable Development, The MacArthur Foundation,
USA

Dr Paul Salaman, Conservation Director, World Land Trust-US, USA

Dr David Waugh, Director, Loro Parque Foundation, Spain

Dr Thomas H. White, Jr., Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Puerto Rico

We need help with our young wild Toucan

2009-08-02T13:23:48-07:00

Good afternoon all. We are new to this group and would really appreciate any help we can get…

We recently relocated to the Republic of Panama. We are situated in the mountains about midway in the country. Some of the indigenous folks gave us a young (told to be male) toucan. We are not sure how long they had had him, but he looks very scruffy and missing feathers, as well as a 1/4 inch hole at the end of his upper beak.

We didn’t think he would be able to go back into the wild so we have done research on food etc.. which is limited it seems to birds that have been breed.

Please if anyone could give us suggestions to his care we would greatly appreciate it. BTW he is a KEEL BILLED.

Thanks, Erica

City seizes 111 birds from Aurora home

2009-11-02T14:25:00-07:00

By BRANDON JOHANSSON
The Aurora Sentinel

Published: Thursday, October 22, 2009 12:50 PM MDT

AURORA: | The city’s Animal Care Division seized 111 birds last month from an Aurora home last month, claiming that the animals were treated cruelly and forced to live in inhumane conditions.City officials say they seized the birds — a group that included parrots, macaws and conures — from Lisa McManus’ Aurora home last month, following an unannounced inspection of her home by an Aurora Animal Care Officer. According to court documents obtained by The Aurora Sentinel, the officer found dirty cages with no water, bedding soiled with feces and several dead mice in McManus’ home.Spokesmen for the city’s Animal Care Division say that McManus is facing several charges related to infractions to the city code, including cruelty to animals, the endangerment of the health and life of an animal, failure to remove feces and humane care charges related to the lack of potable water. The possible fines for the misdemeanor charges range from $15 to $1,000, plus one year in jail.!

McManus was not arrested, but was issued a summons by the city. She is due in municipal court next month, city spokesmen said.McManus, a licensed bird breeder, was unavailable for comment at press time. McManus is featured on websites for several local and international aviary societies that specialize in parrots, macaws and other exotic birds. McManus is also featured on a website offering bird sales and breeding services. The site advertises McManus’ “nursery” in Aurora, and it offers customers a wide variety of bird species. According to the site, McManus offered 15 different breeds of conures from her home in Aurora, including blue crowns, roseifrons, peach fronts, half moons, crimson bellies, nandays, mitreds, slender billed and patagonians. The website says that McManus is an aviculturist, and that “caring for birds and breeding birds h as been a growing passion for her for over a decade and every day brings new discoveries.“According to the search affidavit, the city code officer conducted an unannounced visit to McManus’ home on Sept. 18.

During the inspection, the officer found a number of filthy cages that had attracted flies, as well as dead mice. The affidavit says that the Denver Dumb Friends League had received a complaint about the conditions in McManus’ home. According to the affidavit, the inspecting officer visted a downstairs room where he “could detect the odor of feces and rotting organic matter.” He also found that all the cages in the room “were filthy and appeared not to have been cleaned in weeks.“Aurora officials say that officers also found four dogs that had not been registered with the city at McManus’ home.Officers from the city’s Animal Care Division had also conducted searches of McManus’ property earlier in the year, the affidavit states, but McManus had corrected violations re lated to mistreatment and neglect standards. Some of the birds were relocated to the city’s animal shelter, Animal Care employees said, while others were transferred to the care of a local bird rescue organization.

Source: Aurora Sentinel Article

WPT Member Chat Line

2008-01-05T22:33:25-07:00

Let me preface my comments by stating that I really do like the new WPT web site. There is a wealth of information here. However, it’s virtually impossible for someone like me with a limited amount of time to navigate all the threads. Please correct me if I’m wrong, and hopefully I’ve overlooked it, but what seems to be missing from this new structure is a simple chat line for WPT members to carry on a conversation, such as was the case with the old WPT email list. There are simply too many discussion threads that, by the look of the posting dates, turn out to be dead-ends!

What I propose is that we pick a thread—and I offer this one—where WPT members can simply chat about their doings, comings, and goings, as we did with the old WPT email list. And I’ll offer to start out. My New Year’s resolution for 2008 is to establish a parrot sanctuary in the Puget Sound region near Seattle, where I live, in Washington State. I operate a defacto parrot rescue out of my house, where 7 parrots currently reside, two of them foster parrots. Seems to me, that when people find out you have birds, they start giving you more birds. Birds even show up unannounced on your doorstep! Currently there’s a loose confederation of parrot rescues such as mine in the Seattle Area, but nothing on the scale of Mollywood, the cockatoo sanctuary, up north in Bellingham, or the Macaw Landing Foundation down south in Portland. Well, that’s my goal, anyway. I love parrots, and I want to spend my life working with parrots.

Recensione - ‘Conoscere il Comportamento dei Pappagalli’ di N. Ghibaudo

2009-10-30T06:53:01-07:00

Recensione - Conoscere il Comportamento dei Pappagalli, di Nadia Ghibaudo

Un buon libro sul comportamento dei pappagalli sarebbe molto utile, perché in Italia è un argomento ancora poco conosciuto e sul quale circolano molte informazioni errate.
Sfortunatamente, Conoscere il Comportamento dei Pappagalli, non colma questa lacuna e inoltre può indurre i lettori a compiere degli errori gravi. Il titolo è parzialmente fuorviante, in quanto non è un libro che tratta solo gli aspetti del comportamento dei pappagalli, ma fin qui, poco male.
L’impressione generale che si trae da questo libro, è un senso di confusione e di poca chiarezza, come se l’autrice fosse stata attratta da alcuni argomenti, per poi stufarsene rapidamente e passare ad altro, o al contrario, dilungandosi inspiegabilmente su altri aspetti.

Per fare solo alcuni esempi:
Nel capitolo sull’importanza dell’alimentazione, non troviamo una descrizione chiara di come dovrebbero essere alimentati i pappagalli e sui cibi che dovrebbero far parte di un’alimentazione sana. Si invita a non fornire alimenti tossici, che però non vengono mai citati, e non si trova nessun cenno sui pericoli di un’alimentazione troppo ricca di grassi, una della cause principali di mortalità nei pappagalli in cattività. Inoltre, non vengono citate le esigenze alimentari di alcune specie, come i Lori, gli Ara, e quelle che si sono evolute in zone aride, come gli Ondulati e i Calopsite.

Il capitolo sull’anatomia dei pappagalli è di scarsa utilità, in quanto non è stato fatto nessun collegamento tra la loro anatomia e i problemi di salute dei quali possono soffrire. Troviamo qualche accenno ai sintomi di malessere solo nel capitolo sul linguaggio corporeo, mentre sarebbe stato opportuno includere una descrizione esaustiva dei sintomi per mettere in grado i lettori di intervenire tempestivamente.

Oltre a quelle già citate, vi sono altre omissioni importanti.
L’autrice esorta a non tagliare le penne remiganti, per consentire ai pappagalli di volare, senza mettere minimamente in guardia sui pericoli delle fughe. L’argomento del volo non dovrebbe mai essere affrontato senza citare contemporaneamente tutte le precauzioni che occorre prendere per impedire le fughe, che sono all’ordine del giorno e che nella maggior parte dei casi provocano la morte dei pappagalli.
Nel descrivere l’allestimento della gabbia, invita nuovamente a non usare materiali tossici, che però non cita. E non mette in guardia sui pericoli dell’uso della catenella, che viene ancora usata frequentemente. Non spiega come affrontare l’aggressività che può manifestarsi frequentemente tra i pappagalli; non cita l’importanza di bagnare il loro piumaggio; non affronta le caratteristiche biologiche di alcune specie che sono molto numerose in cattività, come gli Inseparabili, i Lori, gli Ondulati, le Calopsite; non spiega quali differenze possono esserci tra le diverse specie e l’impegno che possono richiedere.

In un testo, nel quale l’etica e il rispetto vengono continuamente invocati, non ci si spiega come mai il capitolo sul periodo riproduttivo - un aspetto che notoriamente dipende da uno tra gli istinti naturali più forti di quasi tutti gli esseri viventi - non affronta anche uno dei principali interrogativi etici sul mantenimento dei pappagalli in cattività. Ossia, se i pappagalli dovrebbero sempre essere mantenuti in coppia, consentendogli di riprodursi in cattività per poter soddisfare questo istinto, anche se questo potrà risultare in un maggior numero di pappagalli che verranno mantenuti male.

Purtroppo, abbondano anche gli errori e le affermazioni senza nessun fondamento.
Alcune interpretazioni dell’autrice sul linguaggio corporeo dei pappagalli potrebbero facilmente confondere le idee ai lettori più inesperti, ostacolando la loro comprensione di quello che il pappagallo gli comunica con il proprio linguaggio corporeo.
Per esempio, la posizione definita delle “ali a cuore” non indica assolutamente solo uno stato aggressivo; la posizione della “testa in avanti” non significa solo che il pappagallo sta per spiccare il volo, ma che potrebbe anche prepararsi ad attaccare una persona od un altro pappagallo.
La “testa bassa con le penne rigonfie” è anche, e molto frequentemente, una richiesta di carezze; la “coda che si apre a ventaglio” non è solo un sintomo di aggressività, ma anche di eccitazione in generale, senza alcuna intenzione aggressiva. La “zampa che raspa” viene descritta come un comportamento tipico dei Cenerini che comunicano di voler uscire dalla gabbia. In realtà è un comportamento comune a molte specie, provocato dal loro istinto a ‘sistemare’ il nido o dalla loro caratteristica naturale di nutrirsi al suolo, e può non avere nulla a che vedere con il volere uscire dalla gabbia.

Per l’allestimento della gabbia, le cui misure minime indicate sono relativamente ridotte, l’autrice consiglia ben cinque ciotole e vari giochi, senza considerare che lo spazio a disposizione del pappagallo verrebbe talmente ridotto da impedirgli ulteriormente la possibilità di movimento.

Vi sono anche diverse affermazioni che non hanno nessun fondamento: sulla vita dei pappagalli in natura, su studi più o meno esistenti, su come veniamo percepiti dai pappagalli, e via dicendo.

E’ impossibile sintetizzare tutti gli errori contenuti nei capitoli sul comportamento e sulle tecniche di addestramento, argomenti sui quali l’autrice ha evidentemente delle idee molto confuse, fornendo indicazioni che non trovano nessuna conferma nei metodi utilizzati dai comportamentisti qualificati ed esperti.

Il linguaggio utilizzato vuole essere forbito, ma risulta inutilmente pesante, poco scorrevole, e pedante; con continue esortazioni all’etica, al liberarsi dei luoghi comuni, e a rendere elastica la mente (...” Le osservazioni che vengono riportate in questo testo hanno lo scopo di rendere elastica la vostra mente, così da proiettarvi nelle differenti specie e non condurre la gestione di un pappagallo a prescindere dalle sue caratteristiche, rigidamente serrati in regole che non daranno mai ragione alle notevoli differenze etologiche”...) che ottengono solo l’effetto di una predica irritante, impartita da chi presume che i lettori siano necessariamente privi di senso morale e soggetti a pregiudizi e chiusure mentali.

In conclusione, è un libro che - per l’evidente mancanza di esperienza dell’autrice, le indicazioni spesso discutibili o totalmente errate, e le gravi omissioni - sconsiglio di acquistare.

Kakapo

2009-10-28T11:46:31-07:00

Hi there
I worked with the kakapo for a few years. I also take photos (http://www.purefocus.co.nz)- so I took photos while at work. Unfortunately I never had an off camera flash - and these parrots are nocturnal - and I dislike full frontal flash.. Tough situation. I took a few decent ones during the day but they are nocturnal so it is a bit unnatural unless they are sleeping- or look sleepy.
I got this photo of Sinbad when he was being a bit cheeky just after sunrise. He is a hand raised chick that had respiratory issues when he was a chick - consequently he was raised for some time alone and got a little too friendly with people. All the kakapo that are raised with other kakapo chicks do not imprint on people and fulfil their kakapo lives to full potential. Sinbad is like that most of the time, but then occasionally gets friendly again. I am really happy with this shot as it has some character and he looks pretty entertaining. I have turned this photo into a card that is for sale on ETSY (purefocus.etsy.com) or contact me privately. Hope you like the photo.

Caring for Pets in Troubled Times - Reduce costs without reducing care

2009-02-24T10:27:08-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Please submit your ideas for how to care for your pet on a budget. We might feature your ideas in an upcoming issue of Flock Talk!
Looking forward to reading everyone’s great ideas. And remember, please keep your suggestions reasonable and safe for our feathered friends.

Best,
Steve

Compassionate People and their Stories about Parrots

2009-10-27T09:49:32-07:00

In our September issue of Flock Talk, we asked you for some positive and/or funny stories about parrots, and you gave us some great ones! Here, we are sharing some of their stories.

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Submitted by: Mary Kukura

I have taken in parrots that have needed a home for about 25 years now. Once here, they have had a forever home. Besides great, healthy food, a couple of years ago I transformed their room into a tropical paradise. They are my children to me, and at some point I plan to move and have an even larger space for them, so that they can spend most of their time free flighted.

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Submitted by: Suzi Phillips

Kaka are one of New Zealand’s endemic parrots - a large brown parrot with a bright maroon-red underwing patch. From autumn to spring, many Kaka leave their Hauraki Gulf (near Auckland) breeding grounds on the islands and migrate to the city region to find food. In 2007, I created the Kakawatchnz Network and started collecting sightings of Kaka in the Auckland region and later on, extended this to sightings also from the Coromandel Peninsula (south east of Auckland). More than 300 Kaka sightings were sent in from about 150 individuals each year, and we started to get a picture of where the Kaka were going, how they were moving across the city using forest remnant corridors and parks, and what they were finding to feed on in local gardens, parks and bush areas.

In 2008 we did several surveys from observers reporting sightings, and for example, on September 7th last year, we estimated there were about 100 Kaka moving through the Auckland to Coromandel regions.

We asked our observers, to whenever possible, report on what the Kaka were doing, and if they were feeding, what tree species they were feeding on. From this information, we were able to find out what the Kaka’s food sources were through the seasons, and the wide range of food sources they were exploiting in forest, parks and gardens. For example, they were most often reported feeding in our native Puriri trees, that fruit and flower all year round, but also enjoyed exotic food sources such as magnolia flowers, a wide range of citrus especially mandarins, flowering cherries, eucalyptus gum nuts and pine nuts. In winter, before the spring flowering, they were often reported stripping bark from many species of pines, eucalypts and native trees, to get at the insect larvae under the bark - a reliable source of protein when other food was scarce.

This study is ongoing, and from it we have not only raised the profile of the Kaka among the people of urban and rural Auckland, but also learned a lot about what brings these wonderful parrots to our gardens in the cooler months.

For more information, have a look at their website at http://www.kakawatchnz.org