by Pauline James
As the ARA Project in Costa Rica prepares for their second release of Buffon’s Macaws (August 2012), they unfortunately have other things on their mind too...
The second release of captive Buffon’s Macaws (Ara ambiguous) into the wild, and due to begin in a few days’ time, is a momentous occasion for the ARA Project. Over the last 20 years they have built up the largest captive flock of Buffon’s Macaws in the world, and it now represents the macaw’s last chance to be saved from extinction in Costa Rica.
The worldwide population of the Buffon’s Macaw, distributed from eastern Honduras through Central America to Ecuador and western Colombia in South America, could now be as low as 1,800, significantly down on the 2008 estimate of 2,500. In Costa Rica, it is thought only 25-35 breeding pairs from a population of 200-250 wild ‘Great Green Macaws,’ as they are known locally, remain - tucked away in isolated pockets of rainforest.
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by Michael Simmons
Michael Simmons is one of the UK’s leading bird trainers and travels the length and breadth of the country training birds in some of the UK’s largest collections. Michael and his team of trainers were a huge hit at Parrot magazine’s THINK PARROTS show at Woking in May 2012 and due to popular demand are back bigger and better for THINK PARROTS 2013 on Sunday 19 May!
Here Michael gives advice and answers all your questions on his specialist subject: Training parrots to come back to you.
A World of Wings is the name I put to my company consisting of bird trainers and a mix of different bird species from tiny parrots to huge eagles. Professionally I have been training birds of all species for more than ten years, for free flight bird displays, courses and demonstrations. Over this time, I have developed my own way of training the birds which suits me and more importantly produces very healthy and trainable birds.
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by John Courtney-Smith
John Courtney-Smith, a parrot and reptile enthusiast, has developed a great interest in specialist UV-lighting and the science behind the systems, working and advising at Arcadia, the lighting professionals. Here he offers us the benefit of his knowledge in this the first part of a three-part series.
I am a passionate bird keeper, birds fascinate and captivate me! I grew up with caged birds and they still play a very big part in my day-to-day life. I have a particular love for parrots and African finches. My first pet bird outside of the business environment was Charlie, a cock Yellow-collared macaw.
I am also a similarly passionate reptile keeper. I understand reptiles and the intricacies of how reptiles use natural sunlight in the wild. Specialist lighting for reptiles isn’t just lighting, but could be more accurately referred to as a ‘life-support system.’
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by Karen Chudley
Karen keeps a mixed collection of companion parrots and seems to have a special affinity and understanding of each and every one of them. Here she helps Orinoco, who she rescued from a pet shop, tell his story…
Hello, my name is Orinoco and I am a male Orange-winged Amazon parrot. I will be three this year and I’m still a big kid at heart. I spent the first year of my life stuck in a cage in a pet shop, with no toys and nothing but a big dish of parrot mix, stuffed with sunflower seed, to keep me occupied. Not surprisingly I put on weight and my feathers got a bit scruffy but to my credit I never plucked them out.
One day, because I had nothing to play with, I began improvising and made a toy out of one of the door catches. I managed to let myself out of my boring prison, but after that they put padlocks on all the doors and that was the end of that bit of fun. In the end I became very territorial about my cage as it was the only place I felt safe.
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by POMPOM, South Africa
POMPOM is one of the world’s few successful breeders of the Golden or Queen of Bavaria’s Conure and owns an impressive collection. Here, she gives an incredible insight into the private world of this highly intelligent and extraordinarily sensitive conure.
It’s not easy breeding Golden Conures, there is little documented on this species and we have certainly learnt as we have gone on. Golden Conures are extremely sensitive, complex birds, totally different from any other species and few breeders have been successful with them. But, as the years roll on and I observe more of the characteristics of the Golden Conure, I can see how vital their social system is and how it works, and it is extremely complicated!
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