4 Bird Scene - February and March 2012

ISSUE FOUR / FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012

BIRDSCENE

THE KNOWLEDGE CENTRE FOR ALL PET BIRDS

BREEDING RED

AND YELLOW

BARBETS

by Colin Scott

PHASE II:

An interesting

article by

Kevin Pickup

on building

aviaries for his

collection.

CONSERVATION

NATIONAL

EXHIBITION:

An article by

Les Rance on

the 2011 event.

SCARLET MACAWS

IN COSTA RICA

BY TONY PITTMAN

FREE

ISSUE 4 OUT

13TH APRIL

2012

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4 BIRD SCENE

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ISSUE FOUR / FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012

THE KNOWLEDGE CENTRE FOR ALL PET BIRDS

CONTENTS

BIRD SCENE FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012

CONTENTS

06

12

40

06

12

28

BREEDING RED AND

YELLOW BARBETS

Colin Scott gives us his

experiences of breeding

these rarely seen softbillsan

excellent article.

PHASE II

Kevin Pickup describes

the building of his new

aviary complex with

good quality images.

CONSERVATION OF

THE SCARLET

MACAW

An interesting update of

Parrot Society

involvement in Costa

Rica by Tony Pittman.

36 NATIONAL

EXHIBITION

Les Rance gives more

details of the 2011

event.

40

INTEREST GROUPS

Jerry Fisher extols the

benefits of Interest

Groups to help find and

obtain the harder to

obtain species.

DONATE TO OUR

CONSERVATION

FUND…

CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

06

36

ON THE COVER

BIRDSCENE

BREEDING RED

AND YELLOW

BARBETS

by Colin Scott

CONSERVATION

SCARLET MACAWS

IN COSTA RICA

BY TONY PITTMAN

PHASE II:

An interesting

article by

Kevin Pickup

on building

aviaries for his

collection.

NATIONAL

EXHIBITION:

An article by

Les Rance on

the 2012 event.

FREE

ISSUE 4 OUT

19TH APRIL

2012

40

28

BIRD SCENE: Issue Four, February / March 2012

BIRD SCENE is run by The Parrot Society UK, 92A High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2BL,

England. FOR SALES AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRES Telephone or Fax: 01442 872245

Website: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org E-Mail: les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org

BIRD SCENE 3

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INTRODUCT

This is now the fourth edition

of Bird Scene and I am really

pleased with the progress that has

been made with this new e-magazine.

For ten years I have edited the Parrot

Society magazine which has been very

interesting but from its very nature

is limited to parrot species excluding

the Budgerigar. Bird Scene allows

me to study and enjoy all the other

species of birds that are kept within

UK aviculture many of which are

exhibited at The National Exhibition

which will again be held at Stafford

on Sunday 14th October 2012. In

fact one of the major objectives of

Bird Scene is to publicise The

National Exhibition and the

bird clubs who have

joined with The

Parrot Society

to allow

their members to exhibit birds in a

large exhibition. I keep Cape Doves,

Java Sparrows and Gouldian finches

all of which have their own individual

needs and challenges and give me

great pleasure to maintain, not to

show standard but good aviary birds.

There is no doubt that to breed a nest

of healthy youngsters of any of these

three species gives great satisfaction

and all the time I am increasing my

knowledge of my charges.

In this edition is an article on the

conservation of the Scarlet Macaw

(Ara macao) in

Costa Rica. These

birds are

Bronze-winged Pionus

4 BIRD SCENE

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ION

BY THE

EDITOR

LES RANCE

such beautiful parrots but need our

support as many of them are caught

for pets which obviously depletes the

wild stock, equally as damaging is

the felling of trees with nest cavities

to capture the babies which means

that there are fewer trees with the

requisite nesting holes. Just simple

deforestation to increase farmland or

provide space for cattle ranching has

had a substantial impact on the areas

where these birds live. Support for

conservation by organisations such

as The Parrot Society also includes

the education of the local populations

so that they are aware that Scarlet

Macaws are a valuable natural resource

that is well worth protecting for the

long term both for the beneficial work

the Macaws do in their native habitat

and the tourists they attract to the

country, even visitors that are not that

interested in birds greatly appreciate

the sight of large brightly coloured

Macaws flying and gathering at the

clay licks.

I am particularly delighted

to have an article from a

friend of mine Colin Scott

who has been working very hard

with his Red and Yellow Barbets

which are rarely bred and he should

be congratulated of his excellent

breeding results with this difficult

species. It is one thing breeding these

birds but it also requires the skill and

knowledge to write up the results

into an interesting and informative

article which is supported with some

good images. There are a lot of skills

being displayed in this article and I

am sure that everyone who reads this

item will be full of praise for Colin’s

dedication with all these areas that

have culminated in this article.

The words on the progress that is

being made on the 2012 National

Exhibition are down to me so really

at this point there is very little that is

worth adding, just enjoy this update

and rest assured that the 2012 event

will be the best ever.

Les Rance, Editor, The Parrot Society UK

www.theparrotsocietyuk.org | les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org

BIRD SCENE 5

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ARTICLE BY: COLIN SCOTT

BREEDING THE

RED AND YELLOW BARBET

TRACHYPHONUS E. ERYTHROCEPHALUS

My original pair of Red and Yellow

Barbets arrived from North

Cornwall Aviaries in early March

2003. They were in good condition

and after a couple of week’s isolation

in an unheated spare room they were

transferred to my bird room. Here

they remained until early summer

when they were moved into an outdoor

flight about 2 meters cubed. That

year they showed no sign of breeding,

although they were compatible and

would often display by duetting. After

spending the winter back in the bird

room they were moved to a new block

of aviaries, each being 12 feet long x 4

feet wide x 6 feet 6 inches high (3.6m

x 1.2m x 2m) with an access to indoor

area 4 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet (1.2m

x 0.9m x 0.9m). A small parakeet

nest box and feeding facilities were

provided in the shelter.

6 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

Food provided consisted of the

following;

Fed daily. Fed frequently.

Live food Kiwi fruit

Apple

Peaches

(tinned and fresh)

Pear

Mango

Tomato Fig

Soaked sultanas Apricot

Thawed peas Cooked or

tinned carrot

Sweet corn

Grapes

Live food consisted of mealworms,

crickets (brown, black and banded) and

wax worms. Spiders were also given

and were hunted with relish.

Also given daily were soaked Witte

Molen low iron Mynah pellets and

Beaphar Universal food. All the fruit

given is finely chopped.

I am really surprised how little these

birds eat, although a variety of food is

always available.

I feel that Red and Yellow Barbets are

generally an insectivorous species that

will take a variety of other food items,

whereas that other African barbet, the

Bearded, is mainly frugivorous but will

take a few insects.

The nest box provided measures

internally 6 inches square by 10 inches

high (150mm x 150mm x 250mm) and

is situated inside the shelter, access to

the nest is via a door in the back of the

box so that inspections can be carried

out without entering the aviary. I have

noticed that the box quickly attains a

very strong musty smell almost as

soon as the eggs were laid, I have

never noticed this smell on the birds

themselves. On the 1st June 2004, 2

eggs were discovered, no attempt at

nest building had been made, just a

scrape in the shaving which had been

provided. Both eggs were thrown out

on the 5th June. On the 12th June,

just 7 days later, inspection revealed 4

eggs, these felt cool to the touch. Two

days later and incubation appeared not

to be taking place as the eggs always

felt cool, so two eggs were removed to

an incubator and two left with the parents.

The next day 15th June, I removed the

two other eggs. Three of the eggs were

fertile and one of the second two

pipped on the morning of the 25th,

and hatched later that evening after

just 10 days! I gave him his first feed

at 5.00am the next morning and then

every hour and a half. Food consisted

of the insides of a wax worm. All went

well until 3.00pm the next day when

the chick died after knocking the scab

of it’s naval and bleeding badly.

Meanwhile the parents were still busy

and on the 24th June they laid the first

of four eggs. The eggs are laid daily

and incubation starts from the first

egg, so the chicks hatch daily. The first

chick hatched on the 8th July, with all

BIRD SCENE 7

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For the first

ten days the

parents were

almost totally

insectivorous,

and although

the softbill food

and fruit was still

provided fresh

once a day, the

pair was fed up to

eight times a day

with live food.

four eggs hatching over the following

days, thus giving an incubation time of

12 days. Subsequent nests have also

given a 12 day incubation.

For the first ten days the parents

were almost totally insectivorous, and

although the softbill food and fruit was

still provided fresh once a day, the pair

was fed up to eight times a day with

live food. Each feed consisted of 10-15

wax worms, 30-35 small crickets and

a few soft white mealworms. After

a few days my mealworms started

to pupate and so a lot of soft pupae

were fed, these have the added bonus

of not escaping from the flight. The

live food was first cooled in the fridge

or deep freeze before being thrown

into the outdoor flight area where

the parents would quickly hunt them

down. After about ten days the parents

started feeding soft food to the chicks.

At twelve days old the chicks were

covered in pin feathers and could

be sexed. The first chick fledged on

the 3rd August, with the other three

following the next day. The chicks

were duller editions of the parents

except for a black throat patch in both

sexes. The young and parents would

return to the nest each evening to

roost. Red and Yellows are usually the

first birds to roost each evening in my

collection, but they are also the first up

in the morning, and they can be quite

loud when both birds and young join in

the chorus, whistling, “red and yellow,

red and yellow, red and yellow”.

On the 7th August three days after

fledging, the chicks were seen to join

8 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

in with the adult’s duet. Interestingly

the parents had gone very quiet for

a few weeks before they laid, leading

me to believe that they had gone out

of breeding condition. This behaviour

was also noted by Mr D. England,

(Avicultural Society Magazine Vol. 79,

page 194), who first bred them in 1973.

On the 9th August the parents were

seen mating, and on the 11th they had

one egg. Again four eggs were laid but

one was removed at 11 days as it was

clear and had a crack in it, another egg

disappeared. On the morning of 26th

August it was noted that the cock was

showing a little aggression towards

the young hens and he was reluctant

to allow the chicks into the shelter. As

the weather forecast was bad for that

night the decision was taken to remove

the chicks. It was noted at this time

that the black throat patch was already

beginning to moult through red and

had completely gone in another week.

On the 28th August the remaining two

eggs were thrown out of the box, but

had one egg by the 2nd September.

Three more made the clutch up to the

usual four, three of which hatched

and were reared, two cocks and a hen.

Theses fledged on the 14th, 15th and

16th September and just five days later

the hen started another clutch of four.

These proved infertile however, the

hen showing no more signs of breeding

for that year.

Brief Diary

• 2 eggs

• eggs thrown out

• 4eggs

• all eggs removed to incubator

• 1 egg (three more over the next

three days)

• first chick hatched (three more •

over the next three days)

• first chick fledged at 26 days old

• remaining chicks fledge

• 1 egg (three more over the next

three days)

• last two eggs thrown out

• 1 egg (three more over next three

days)

• 2 chicks hatched third chick hatched

• first chick fledged (remaining two

over next two days)

• first of four eggs, all infertile

The final result for the year was 22

eggs laid, 7 hatched and reared by

parents,1 hatched in incubator but did

not survive.

I still have Red and Yellow barbets,

and currently own three pairs

including a cock from the above

breeding. He has produced second

generation chicks in 2010 and I aim to

breed third generation this year with

luck.

BIRD SCENE 9

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PARROT SOCIE

REHOMING SC

The Parrot Society rehoming

scheme has been successfully

running for eight years now.

The purpose of the scheme is to offer

non members a facility to advertise

parrots for sale in a ‘market place’ that

is genuinely interested in parrots and

parrot welfare, i.e. our Parrot Society

members.

For a fee of £10 non members can

place an advertisement in which

they can describe in detail the

bird for sale and the sort of

home they are looking for.

The reasons for rehoming

are many, often a change

of circumstances for

example due to ill health,

job loss, relationship

breakdown or having to

change accommodation

to somewhere that

does not allow

pets, an increasing

problem for elderly

bird keepers.

Sometimes people

will have inherited a bird from an

older relative and not have the time,

facilities or desire to take on this

responsibility.

Sadly this means that many birds

are potentially

10 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

TY

HEME

homeless through no fault of their

own.

As the Society is unable to

recommend any particular rescue

sanctuary as we could not possibly

vet them all for suitability our own

Rehoming Scheme has proved to be a

very reliable answer to the problem of

rehoming parrots. It also means that

the pet transfers seamlessly from its

existing home to its new residence.

How The Scheme Works:

• Members of the public

wishing to rehome a parrot

contact the parrot society usually

having obtained our number

from the RSPCA, their vet, a

friend or from finding out about

us via the internet.

• We send them a copy of the

Rehoming Brochure which explains

how the system works.

• If required we are able to offer

assistance with composing the

advertisement and recommending a

suitable price for their parrot.

• On completion of the form within the

brochure the advertisement is sent

back to the Parrot Society and placed

in the next available magazine, a

copy of which will be sent to the

advertiser for their records.

• The advertiser is then able to assess

the responses in order find the most

suitable new home for their parrot.

• This system allows the old owner

to keep in contact with their much

loved pet if they so desire.

BIRD SCENE 11

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’m Pregnant!” announced Karen,

“I my wife. Well, after trying for

several months this was fantastic

news. But that meant the house

we then lived in was no longer big

enough. We would have to move. A

daunting process at the best of times

without the added complexity of

expecting a baby. As the mind began

to tick a little faster a bigger house

would mean a bigger garden, a bigger

garden meant bigger and more aviaries

– not so bad after all then. That was

how phase II of my bird keeping life began.

The aviary I then had (and still today)

was a smallish (8 x 4 x 7ft) single

flight walk in aviary with an airlock

style double door arrangement, fully

covered roof and part solid part mesh

walls. This meant the number, specie

and size of birds that I could keep was

extremely limited. My aviary flock

consisted of 4 love birds, 8 cockatiels,

a GM Rosella and an Indian Ring Neck.

In addition we had 2 cockatiels and

an IRN as pets – this IRN was bought

as a companion for our other IRN but

she turned out to be more human than

bird, so had to come live with us in

the house. With the variety of specie I

kept in the aviary together, I found life

to be quite harmonious, with only the

occasional squabble, more often than

not involving one of the love birds –

small they may be, but big in character

they are.

ARTICLE BY: KEVIN PICKUP

I was taken by the whole

package of these parrots, a quiet,

inquisitive parrot with eight

(sometimes debated) specie in the

genus. Their moderate size, 10

to 12 inch, meant that I wasn’t

going to need large aviaries,

although I would give them all I

could, and they didn’t appear to

be too many of them about.

PHA

12 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

SE II

BIRD SCENE 13

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My Original Aviary

So along with the requirement of

having 3 bedrooms and generally more

room, having more space for aviaries

was added to the critical list for the

new house. I found myself in a much

better situation than I had done when

I designed the first aviary described

above, as that had to be designed

with the space I had available, which

invariably isn’t that much when all

you have is a back yard of a good old

fashioned 2 up 2 down terraced house.

So to the drawing board I went before

we even started looking at any houses.

Having sat down with sketch pad,

I found I was asking myself rather

a lot of questions. Just how big did

I want this new aviary to be? How

many Flights did I want? But more

importantly, what did I want to keep

in these new flights? So that is where

I had to begin. Possibly the hardest

question of all to answer and one

we must all ask of ourselves at some

point. Having successfully kept and

bred the birds in my current flock, I

was keen to look to a new specie of

Parrot, something that fitted the image

of a parrot rather than an overgrown

budgie (crude I know, but that’s how

it was), size was going to be an issue,

as was cost, as the adventure of

having a new baby and moving house

certainly wasn’t going to be cheap.

The books came out and I reread

lots of articles from the magazine

trying to get an idea of what actually

interested me and met the rough

criteria. I had been implicitly told by

a good friend who kept cockatoos that

under no circumstances should I get

into Cockatoos and when I mentioned

Conures, was told in general, they

would be far too noisy if I was to

have neighbours fairly close, Macaws

too big, Greys I have always liked,

but reasoned that there were plenty

being bred already, Amazons, we

were starting to get close. One of the

articles I came across in the magazine

was about Blue Headed Pionus, now

these caught my attention. “A stocky

medium sized Neotropical Parrot”

[Stoodley]. I had to find out more.

I was taken by the whole package

of these parrots, a quiet, inquisitive

parrot with eight (sometimes debated)

specie in the genus. Their moderate

size, 10 to 12 inch, meant that I wasn’t

going to need large aviaries, although

I would give them all I could, and they

didn’t appear to be too many of them

about. This would be good in terms

of being able to sell the young (I may

have overlooked the point that it also

14 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

Just how big did I want this new

aviary to be? How many Flights

did I want? But more importantly,

what did I want to keep in these

new flights?

makes them a lot harder to get hold

of!), and also from a conservation point

of view, helping to maintain the Genus

within British Aviculture – something

we are all going to have to give more

attention to. So to the drawing board

once more, but this time knowing what

I was intent on keeping in my new

aviary.

By now we had looked at a few

houses and one was fairly well it,

meeting all the criteria we had set, and

as a bonus, had an available council

allotment to rent right behind the

back garden fence, we had always

thought about growing our own veg

and having a few chickens, so now

we could, and I was sure the parrots

would benefit from home grown food

too. The back garden was roughly 25

ft square, and reasonably flat. This

space had to accommodate some

BIRD SCENE 15

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16

Parrot Society DEC2011.indd 1 14/12/2011 14:42

BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

decking, enough space for us to still

have a garden, remembering we would

have 2 small children by the end of

the summer and the new aviary. After

some heated debates with the wife

and the use of the phrase, “You care

more about those birds than …” well,

you can work the rest out, we had a

rough plan of where things would go.

I had been granted the bottom right

hand quarter of the garden. Now what

was I aloud by law to do with this

plot? I was fortunate to have a contact

within the planning department at the

local council office who sent me the

necessary leaflets explaining all about

planning applications for extensions

and what could be built without the

need for officially applying for planning

permission.

Having read through the planning

guide, it was decided that if possible,

I would design a suitable aviary

without the need to go through the

official process, which costs rather a

lot of money and probably time. The

major factors were that no part of the

new construction should be nearer

Having read through the planning

guide, it was decided that if

possible, I would design a suitable

aviary without the need to go

through the official process…

The height of the new construction

must be below 3 m for flat roofs

and 5 m for angled roofs – well I

wasn’t planning to keep giraffes

so no problem there…

a public highway than your existing

buildings – no problem, as the new

house didn’t have public access to

the rear, something which I was

happy about from a security point.

The height of the new construction

must be below 3 m for flat roofs and

5 m for angled roofs – well I wasn’t

planning to keep giraffes so no

problem there, and finally the new

construction must not be more than

5 metres from any existing buildings.

This was going to be the one which

might cause problems, as the house

we had selected had a conservatory

extending to the rear of the property

leaving approx 10 metres to the rear

boundary. So even before the sale had

commenced, my daughter and I went

to visit the new house one evening

with surveyors tape and pad to

produce accurate scale drawings of the

house, conservatory and garden.

The result was that I had a patch 4

m square, give or take a little. I had

reckoned on having a common service

area to the rear and would like 4

flights at the front, which were to face

BIRD SCENE 17

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FEATURE

the house to make best use of

the rising sun. We were keen to

have the aviary as a garden feature as

well as a home for the birds. Being a

practical man, the length of flight was

largely going to be decided by how it

was to be constructed. I therefore had

to come up with a design theory based

on construction media and available

materials – can you tell yet that I’m

an Engineer? I was also keen to have

flexibility in flight configuration and

also provision for easy maintenance

and possible extension. I came to the

conclusion that a skeleton framework

of 50 x 50 x 3 mm square box section,

into which would fit identical panels

constructed from 25 mm angle was

a good all rounder, this also meant

that the entire flight side of the aviary

could be unbolted and moved to a new

location should we ever move house

again. But what width and length

would these panels be? So now I had

to look at what mesh was available in

18 mm (3/4 inch) sq spacing. Rolls

of mesh, 16 swg mainly came in 1 m

widths, so that was that, the panels

would be 1 m wide, with the mesh

fixed to the internal side of the angle.

The flight length must therefore be

either 2 or 3 panels long as to maintain

the best view of the birds and a few

minor construction issues, the panels

would be fitted vertically. Two panels

worked out at just over 2 m, and

3 panels just over 3, which not only

took more of the garden than I had

originally planned (which the wife

forbade), but more importantly, whilst

working on a mere 5 ft wide service

corridor, would bring the front edge of

the aviary too close to the allowable

limit of the 5 m restriction.

The decision was made. They had to

be 2 panels long. Now for the height!

I had reckoned on building the base

of the aviary out of a solid concrete

slab and working upwards from there

with concrete blocks, the metal work

was to sit on 2 coarses of blocks, this

was a multipurpose decision in helping

prevent rodent problems and also

meant we could have raised flower

beds planted all around the flights,

enhancing the environment for the

parrots and adding to the garden

feature aspect. Flying or climbing up

and down, is good exercise for the

birds, so a 6ft panel on top of the 2

coarses would give just over 7ft, a

fair height which would also give me

plenty of head room when cleaning the

flights.

The service corridor would be 5ft,

which would give me plenty of room to

move about and house the inside cages

which would be 18 inch deep by 1 m

square (I apologise for mixing units,

I’m of the generation where we were

18 BIRD SCENE

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SALE DAYS

ALL SHOWS FOR 2012 WILL BE HELD AT STAFFORD COUNTY SHOWGROUND ST18 0BD

SUMMER SHOW: SUNDAY 8TH JULY 2012

NATIONAL EXHIBITION: SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2012

‘HELP BIRD KEEPERS SHOW’: SUNDAY 2ND DECEMBER 2012

Trade Non Members Members Advanced Ticket on

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July 8th £25.00 £12.00 £8.00 £5.00 £6.00

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BIRD SCENE 19

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taught metric at school and Imperial at

home, consequently, I tend to work to

what ever is nearest on the rule!). So

there it is, I have my outline design for

the aviary, all that was left to do was

build it – good job I had my paternity

leave coming up.

By the time we had moved house

and sorted the daughters bedroom,

decorated the new nursery and all

the other things that come with

moving house, the wife was getting

rather, well near to producing, and

as look would have it, summer was

approaching. So the spade came out

and to the garden I went. Believe me,

digging a hole nearly 5 m sq and about

1ft deep by hand made me ache in

places I didn’t even know I had. I had

also had delivered 3 tonne of ballast,

2 palettes of concrete blocks and far

too many bags of cement. The hole

was half filled with broken up rubble,

most of which was found simply lying

around in my new allotment, shutter

boarding was erected and with the

help of my brother and a cement

mixer, on what turned out to be the

hottest day ever, we begun to lay

the concrete slab. We did this in 3

sections, the outer 2 first, and middle

last, this made levelling it far easier,

though I had built a 2 inch run down

to one corner to aid water run.

Construction begins, the first concrete is laid

20 BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

The walls begin to take shape

I can’t quite remember when the

baby arrived with respect to how

far on with construction I had got,

obviously my mind was rather buzzing

with many things but I do remember

spending a lot of time during my 2

weeks paternity leave in the garden

doing things related to the aviary,

whilst baby Rohan watched from his

pram. Luckily we were blessed with

very good weather, so not only did I

get a lot of work done, I also enhanced

my sun tan. The blocks started to go

down and things started to take shape

as well as giving a fair indication of

how big things were going to be, which

although I had told the wife exactly

how it was going to be and showed her

scale drawings, she still said it was too

big and complained half her garden

was gone (it might be her garden, but

in 4 yrs she still hasn’t mowed the

lawn!).

As can be seen in the picture, the

service corridor is taking shape nicely

and the holes which will form the

entrances to each flight and the pop

holes can be seen in the front wall.

The perimeter wall is also clearly

visible which will eventually have all

the steel frame work on. The bocks

were getting quite heavy by this stage

and temporary scaffolding, by way

of a fence panel on top of blocks had

to be made to aid laying of the upper

coarses. Amid learning how lay blocks

and build walls, I had also been busy

on the drawing board working out how

much steel to order – a lot of you may

think why don’t I just buy the panels

already built, well, to me apart from

never paying anyone for something I

can do myself, if learning a new skill

is part of the experience of keeping

parrots, then all the better and I simply

love building stuff, starting with

nothing and ending up with exactly

what you hoped, well sometimes.

Luckily my Father works in a small

engineering factory through which

I was able to order as much steel as

I needed. In addition I was able to

borrow a stick welder to fabricate all

the necessary joints. A mitre saw

As can be seen in the picture, the

service corridor is taking shape

nicely and the holes which will

form the entrances to each flight

and the pop holes can be seen in

the front wall.

BIRD SCENE 21

---

The steel frame work goes up

was purchased to aid the cutting of

all the steel, particularly the mitre

joints. Several saw blades later I had a

rather large pile of steel which needed

welding together in various ways to

fabricate the frame work and panels.

Something which I could not, as yet

do. After blowing several fuses and

turning many welding rods into cork

screws, I begun to get the hang of it,

practising on the many off cuts I had

lying around. Once welded, they all

had to be marked out and drilled, pop

marked for identification, holes tapped

out where necessary and painted. It

sounds so simple when put like that.

After the walls were finished, the

outsides were rendered and a roof

fitted. The inside could now be fitted

out with the internal flight doors and

the inside cages made and mounted.

The steel work had to be erected,

so once again, around came my

brother, and up went the majority of

the framework. Once the mesh was

fitted to the panels they could also be

mounted, and eventually, the building

site started to look like an aviary.

It took best part of 2 years to build

the major aspects and ready it for

occupants – actually this happened

flight by flight. Only last year having

completed it enough to have all 4

flights occupied – Rohan will be 4 this

summer. I have spent many hours

in the making of what my wife calls

Azkaban, but all the more satisfying

for me when I look out the window

22 BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

All Finished

and see my birds enjoying their home,

knowing that I designed and built it

from scratch. Bird keeping isn’t always

about what size of nest box to use or

what we should feed them. Looking

back, there are a few design changes

I would make if building again, one

of the major ones would have been to

build out from the front wall by one

concrete block where the flights are

divided, this would have had a double

effect of sheltering the pop holes and

nest boxes and also extending the

flight by another 14 inch. But on the

whole, I and hopefully my birds – 1

pr Maximillian; 1 pr Bronze Wings;

1,0 Bronze Wing; 0,1 IRN - are well

satisfied with their home. All that

remains to do now, is to plant the

raised beds and add a few climbing

plants and hopefully breed a few

Pionus.

DONATE TO OUR

CONSERVATION

FUND…

CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

BIRD SCENE 23

---

ARTICLE BY: JANE MINERS

MONTY THE

ENERGETIC

SENEGAL

24 BIRD SCENE

---

couple of years ago we joined

A the National Trust with the idea

of getting out and about and seeing

places we had never got around to

visiting. Well we enjoyed the few

visits we did make but Monty got

immense pleasure from our Trust

membership!

As part of our new members pack

they sent us a cool bag. It was a very

nice bag but realistically we were not

going to use it whereas Monty just

loves things like that. So the bag

was hung up in our living room and

Monty commenced a programme of

conversion work on it.

The work progressed nicely along the

following lines:

1 Remove Trust emblems from the

zip toggles

2 Remove sliders from zips and

generally mess up the zip teeth

3 Carry out preliminary investigation

of interior of bag

4 Chew lining into suitable size pieces

and toss most of them out of the bag

5 Chew insulation layer into small

pieces, remove some and leave rest

as layer in bottom of bag

6 Create second access by chewing an

ever enlarging hole in the bottom of

the bag.

In between all this hard work the

handle on the top of the bag provided a

convenient perch on which to rest and

plan the next stage of work.

FEATURE

By the end of our first year as

National Trust members the bag was

in a pretty sorry state but it had given

Monty hours and hours of pleasure.

When we renewed our membership

I wrote to the Trust and said that

whilst we had enjoyed our first year

our parrot had had even more pleasure

from our membership. In the hope

that perhaps another bag might be

forthcoming I even sent along a

photograph of the remodelled bag.

I don’t think they were impressed.

The next thing that happened was

the return of our subscription with a

letter saying they were sorry we had

cancelled our membership. It took

quite a while to explain that I had not

actually cancelled our membership. I

can only think we had been drummed

out of the Trust for allowing our parrot

to vandalise their bag!

DONATE TO OUR

CONSERVATION

FUND…

CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

BIRD SCENE 25

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PARROT SOCIETY MAGAZINE: 33

---

THE SCARLET

MACAW PROJ

COSTA RICA

ARTICLE BY: TONY PITTMAN

28 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

ECT

The Parrot Society UK has been

supporting the Scarlet Macaw

project conducted by Christopher

Vaughan and his team in Costa

Rica since 2004 and has provided

nearly £ 20,000 in funding over this

period. This funding has been put

to good use on protecting macaws

against poaching, monitoring the

wild population, nest-box provision

and maintenance, educating the local

population to gain their support and

carrying out important scientific

research to support conservation

measures.

Costa Rica is a Spanish-speaking

country located in Central America,

bordered by Nicaragua to the north,

Panama to the southeast, the Pacific

Ocean to the west and the Caribbean

Sea to the east. It is just over 51,000

sq. km (19,600 sq. miles) in size with

a population of 4.3 million, mainly

of European origin. The original

indigenous population has always

been very small. Interestingly it

constitutionally abolished its army

permanently in 1949 and is the only

Latin American country included

in the list of the world’s 22 older

democracies.

Chris Vaughan published a report last

year on the history of deforestation

in Costa Rica. Before the Spanish

Conquest in the early 16th Century

dense forest covered an estimated

BIRD SCENE 29

---

49,000 sq. kilometres (18,000 sq.

miles) (96%) of Costa Rica. Of this

about 2,000 sq. km (770 sq. miles)

(4%) was mangroves, swamp forest

and subalpine grass/shrubland known

as páramo. The extent of clearing by

indigenous tribes, which as said above

were not significant in number, is

unknown. Up to 1940 about 15,000

sq. km (some 5,800 sq. miles) (31%)

had been altered, largely in northwest

and central Costa Rica. Nearly 40 years

later 18,000 sq. km (6,900 sq. miles)

(31%), mainly in the Atlantic and south

Pacific region, has been deforested.

Despite this Costa Rica was

highlighted by the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP)

in 2011 as a good performer on

environmental sustainability. It

was the only country to meet all

five criteria established to measure

environmental sustainability. The

country is ranked fifth in the world,

and first among the Americas, in

terms of the 2012 Environmental

Performance Index. In 2007, the Costa

Rican government announced plans for

Costa Rica to become the first carbonneutral

country by 2021 and according

to the New Economics Foundation,

Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy

Planet Index and is the “greenest”

country in the world.

Team members visit the

schools regularly to explain the

importance of vigilance to the

children, which they pass on to

the adults in their families.

30 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

Monitoring the

ACOPAC population

has been possible

because it follows

a daily migration,

roosting in

Guacalillo Mangrove

Reserve and flying

in early morning

along four flyroutes

to Carara

National Park and

surrounding areas.

Returning to the project work the

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is the

most widely distributed (Mexico

to Brazil) of the 17 extant macaw

species. Throughout its entire

range, it is endangered by habitat

destruction and modification as well

as poaching for the pet trade. In Costa

Rica there are two “viable” Scarlet

Macaw populations: approximately

700 to 1,000 individuals in the Osa

Conservation Area (ACOSA) on the

southern Pacific coast and some 450

individuals in the Central Pacific

Conservation Area (ACOPAC).

The Central Pacific (ACOPAC) scarlet

macaw population has been studied

and monitored since 1990, making it

one of the world’s two most studied

and monitored. Monitoring the

ACOPAC population has been possible

because it follows a daily migration,

roosting in Guacalillo Mangrove

Reserve and flying in early morning

along four fly-routes to Carara National

Park and surrounding areas. Therefore

most ACOPAC scarlet macaws can

be counted during July and August

when most scarlet macaws follow this

migration (Vaughan et al. 2005a).

Between1990-95, count data

revealed the population was declining;

the suspected reason was poaching

chicks for the pet trade (Vaughan et al.

2005a). The team then began intensive

conservation efforts (nest protection,

BIRD SCENE 31

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32 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

In 2007, with 2-3 months of

volunteer work in the summer,

it was established that scarlet

macaws in ACOSA feed heavily

on beach almond (Terminalia

catappa).

artificial nest box installation,

environmental education in local

communities and the formation of a

local scarlet macaw conservation NGO.

These intensive conservation efforts

resulted in population increases and

the population has remained stable

since then (Vaughan et al. 2005a). In

2009, research and monitoring focused

only on August population monitoring

for the 19th consecutive year. Data

analysis indicate that the population

remains stable and locals in the

Central Pacific area feel the population

is increasing and migrating to new

sites.

Although the Osa Peninsula (ACOSA)

scarlet macaw population is the largest

in Costa Rica, it has not been so well

studied. Past research included studies

of abundance and group size in the

north-eastern part of the Osa Peninsula

and a report on current status and

conservation of the ACOSA population

based on interviews.

This is a much more difficult

population to study, without full-time

employees with a sturdy vehicle to

travel throughout much of the Osa

BIRD SCENE 33

---

There is still much work to be

done there in conserving the two

populations of Scarlet Macaw in

Costa Rica and the Parrot Society

UK will continue to support it

wherever possible.

34

BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

Peninsula. In 2007, with 2-3 months

of volunteer work in the summer, it

was established that scarlet macaws in

ACOSA feed heavily on beach almond

(Terminalia catappa).

Beach almond is native to southeast

Asia but has been naturalised in almost

all tropical areas by ocean currents

and humans. Tolerance of stress by

wind and salt makes beach almond

ideal for beach habitats. On beaches,

T. catappa stabilizes sand dunes with

its extensive roots, provides food

and shade for humans and animals

and apparently has potential for

commercial cultivation. A key aspect

of beach almonds is the bearing of fruit

during the dry season. According to a

review of tree phenology in the Indian

dry tropics only approximately 12%

of tree species that exist in dry forest

areas flower during the dry season.

This makes the beach almond a very

important food source during a time of

limited fruit and seed production.

Research has shown that several

seed predators in Costa Rica feed on

beach almond seeds, but the main

two predators are scarlet macaws,

and variegated squirrels (Sciurus

variegatoides).

Apart from the important research

work funded by the Parrot Society

UK, a major success story, has been

the production of a colouring book for

elementary school children, which

has been used in many schools in

the region. Team members visit

the schools regularly to explain the

importance of vigilance to the children,

which they pass on to the adults in

their families.

Chris Vaughan sends regular reports

to the Parrot Society UK on progress

and developments with the project.

At the one-day seminar in 2010 at

Twycross Zoo Fiona Dear, who has

worked for extensive periods in Costa

Rica with the project, came to make

a presentation on its work. There is

still much work to be done there in

conserving the two populations of

Scarlet Macaw in Costa Rica and the

Parrot Society UK will continue to

support it wherever possible.

DONATE TO OUR

CONSERVATION

FUND…

CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

BIRD SCENE 35

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Five years ago The Parrot Society

started out on a venture of

hopefully rebuilding “The National

Exhibition”. The defining factor

was whether it was possible for all

branches of our hobby to jointly pull

together and ‘make it work’ after

recording such a success in the first

year the question was then whether

the enthusiasm would be sustained.

It has indeed worked each year since

the first Show in 2007 the numbers

of exhibits have increased. We can

only thank the bird club officials that

have all worked so hard to increase

the number of exhibits year on year

and made this exhibition the success

it has become. By combining this

exhibition with the already highly

successful Parrot Society October

Sale Day at the superbly equipped

Staffordshire County Showground a

large proportion of the exhibitors were

familiar with both the location and the

available facilities. UK bird exhibitors

now view this event as the premier

‘all variety show’ on the UK calendar.

We are delighted that the exhibition

is obtaining increasing support from

both continental judges and breeders

who travel long distances to attend

this event it is exciting to think that in

a very short time this exhibition has

been able to attract these dedicated

fanciers from all over Europe. The

continental influence is not only

limited to the fanciers, there is an

ARTICLE BY: KEVIN PICKUP

THE

NATIO

EXHIB

14TH OCTOB

36 BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

NAL

ITION

ER 2012

BIRD SCENE 37

---

increasing demand from continental

traders to attend this event, further

increasing the range of products

available to all our enthusiastic

visitors. As it is located only a few

miles to the east of junction 14 of the

M6 vehicles can quickly arrive at the

Showground.

Arrangements are well in hand for

the next Show on Sunday 14th October

2012 a meeting with representatives

of all the supporting clubs is being

held at The Quality Hotel Coventry

on Sunday 11th March. Each time we

organise this Show we aim to improve

both the exhibitor experience and

that of the viewing public and the

points discussed at this meeting prove

invaluable in ensuring improvements

continue to achieve these goals.

“The National Exhibition” has been

kindly sponsored once again by

Richard Johnston of Johnston and Jeff

and Malcolm Green of The Birdcare

Company, who have both jointly

supported us from the start. This

year their generous sponsorship has

also financed additional new staging

as exhibits are set to increase and

the added attraction of supplements

and bird seed as prizes can only help

increase the numbers benched.

We are indebted to the management

and editorial staff of Cage & Aviary

Birds magazine for the production of

a very well designed insert, with our

38 BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

contribution being the collation of the

information from all the exhibiting

clubs. The supplement will appear in

their 8th September 2012 edition and

will as previously carry advertisements

for all the exhibiting clubs and how

to obtain the Show Schedule for your

chosen species. This supplement has

now become a feature of “The National

Exhibition”. Since the show took on

the name “The National Exhibition” in

2010 the demand for trade space has

significantly increased, with some new

traders making their first appearance

this year. So whatever your bird

keeping requirements they will be on

offer at Stafford on 14th October.

The Sandylands Hall and half of

the Argyle Hall will again be used to

accommodate the exhibits with the

‘booking in’ and club stands filling the

remainder of the Argyle Hall. This

facilitates the management of the

exhibition during the judging of the

birds and allows both exhibitors and

general visitor access to the exhibition

at the earliest possible time on the day.

The Parrot Society Council members

hope that all the exhibitors and the

officials of the specialist exhibiting

clubs have a very enjoyable day. The

Parrot Society would like to thank the

clubs for all the kind words and support

that you have given us. It will make

the organisation of this year’s “National

Exhibition” a pleasure to organise.

BIRD SCENE 39

---

ARTICLE BY: JERRY FISHER

“INTEREST GRO

– A WAY FORWARD IN AMATEUR CONS

40 BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

UPS”

ERVATION?

am a foreign bird keeper. That

I means that my interest is in

overcoming the challenges involved

in establishing and maintaining in

captivity as many species as possible.

There are two issues regarding this

that I will bore anyone with at the

slightest opportunity!

The first issue is that of establishing

species in captivity. Since the 2006

restrictions on importation many of

the commoner – let alone the rare

– species have disappeared from

our aviaries. In some cases it was

inevitable - parasiting by Whydahs,

for example meant that they would

never be established. In many others

it could have been avoided. Not

enough effort was made in times of

plenty, either because the birds were

always available from dealers or simply

because “there was not enough money

in it”.

The second issue is a consequence

of success with the first. Having

established a species successfully

the next step is almost inevitably

domestication. The consequence is

that, as mutations are developed,

it eventually becomes virtually

impossible to acquire a wild type bird

that will breed true. In extreme cases

a single species society is formed and

a show standard based on the “Ideal

Bird” is developed so that the size

BIRD SCENE 41

---

and shape of the original bird is lost.

For the first scenario think any one

of numerous species ranging from

Splendid Parakeets to Gouldian Finches

via Chinese Painted Quail. For the

second think Budgerigar and Zebra

Finch.

Breeding and showing domesticated

birds is a perfectly valid branch of the

hobby – it is just not relevant to the

foreign bird keeper. The maintenance

of a strong group of ring-fenced normal

birds is, however, also an important

asset for the mutation breeder – the

infusion of normal blood to a stud

of mutations will increase the birds’

vitality.

For some time I have been trying

to develop “Interest Groups” for a

number of species. My aim in this is to

42 BIRD SCENE

---

FEATURE

establish the simplest of “conservation

projects” – no formal arrangements,

just a group of people holding the

same species who agree to liaise with

each other or through a coordinator to

ensure that the “group” is informed of

surplus and wanted birds with the aim

of maximizing genetic diversity. In

this way even someone with a single

pair can avoid inbreeding.

In practical terms this simply means

calling up other bird keepers a couple

of times a year for a chat – something

most of us do anyway! It is easy to

transfer birds on a countrywide basis

via the Stafford sale days.

I view the optimum (small enough

group of humans and large enough

group of birds) as roughly 6 – 10

breeders holding 12 – 20 pairs of birds

from as genetically wide a base as

possible. With Parrotlets, however,

considerably more are involved since

most keepers have more than one

species. Most of the contacts I have

talk freely with each others and also

have “satellite” groups – people

to whom they have sold birds and

stayed in touch. It is a very loose

arrangement but it works!

The species with which I have been

trying to establish Interest Groups

are listed briefly below. I have

also personally been working with

Madagascar Lovebirds and Mountain

Parakeets.

At threat from domestication/

mutation

Bourke’s Parakeets

Early stages – we need more people

to commit to developing a strain of

pure normals. I am keen to hear from

anyone breeding normals for three

generations or more.

Diamond Doves

I have birds that are very close to pure

normals (2 silvers in last 50 + young).

Ideally, we need another strain to

dilute inbreeding. Also private keepers

committed to the birds. One public

collection is building a colony.

Timor Zebra Finches

The Timor subspecies is not to be

confused with the familiar Australian

(now domesticated) one – for a start

it is half the size. Limited numbers of

pure birds are available but it is only a

matter of time before they are spoiled

by accidental or deliberate hybridising

with the Australian Zebra.

Fortunately, as well as some

committed private hobbyists, a number

of public collections are building ringfenced

groups of normal birds while

they are still available.

Most of the contacts I have talk

freely with each other and also

have “satellite” groups – people

to whom they have sold birds and

stayed in touch.

---

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Page 12

44 BIRD SCENE

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FEATURE

At threat of disappearing

in captivity in the UK

Parrotlet Species

This includes all species other than

Celestials – which are now effectively

domesticated. Three species –

Spectacled, Green-rumped (+ 1

subspecies) and Yellow-faced – are

available in the UK, plus another

couple of species in Europe.

The position looks cautiously

optimistic for all three, but only

one – the Spectacled – is at present

moving towards regular but not free

availability. A year ago the position

was much worse but publicity through

the Parrot Society UK and birds from

Europe being available has brought

forward some committed keepers.

I am hopeful that two other species

– the Mexican and the Blue-winged –

will eventually be established, but both

species are at present only sporadically

available in Europe.

Cape (Namaqua) Doves

A species that should have been

established years ago. Until 2006 they

were imported in numbers every year.

No serious work was done with them

because a) the imports were cheap

to buy and b) people assumed that

they required much the same care as

Diamond Doves. They do not – and

present much more of a challenge just

to keep alive, let alone breed.

Les Rance has put much effort into

this species – as documented in his

excellent article in the first issue of

Bird Scene. Regrettably, the rest of the

private sector Interest Group fell away

one by one as they failed to breed and

lost their adults.

BIRD SCENE 45

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FEATURE

There are two areas of hope. The

first is that two public collections are

working with Capes and both bred

birds in 2011. The second is that they

seem to be more successful – and fairly

regularly available – in Europe. If you

hold Cape Doves we would very much

like to hear from you. If you are one of

those who travel regularly to Europe

please consider doing some research

on their husbandry methods and

subsequently acquiring some birds.

always ready to discuss the basis

of an “Interest Group” with anyone

considering trying to set one up.

I can be contacted on 01803 528561.

DONATE TO OUR

CONSERVATION

FUND…

CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

If you have a species that is “at risk”

and you are prepared to give it a

small amount of time and effort,

consider speaking to the Editor of

Bird Scene on 01442 872245 about

how you might contribute. I am

46 BIRD SCENE

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C&A classified 01-11:C&A classified 03-03 12/1/11 15:24 Page 1

BRITISH

MEALWORMS

DIRECT FROM THE

BREEDER

FREE E-MAGAZINE

Bird Scene is a new

e-magazine from The Parrot

Society UK to promote the

National Exhibition and

conservation.

Go to

www.theparrotsocietyuk.org

and select Click Here (above

the cover image) and receive

your free copy.

• Mealworms

• Black Crickets

• Locusts

• Waxworms

• Brown Crickets

• Fruit Flies

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250g/9oz £7.40 £9.60

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Guaranteed live arrival

Call: 01909 518888

Houghton Road, North Anston Trading Estate,

Sheffield, S25 4JJ, UK

www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk

PARROTS REQUIRED

Founder member of the Parrot Society for 35+ years requires

the following parrots. Handreared babies, parent reared

babies, adult parrots singles & pairs, Cockatoo's and cockatiels.

Macaws, African Greys, Eclectus, Caiques, Amazons, Senegals, pionus,

conures, quakers, parakeets, lovebirds etc. etc. Best prices paid in cash.

Collection if required or you deliver to me.

Contact John on parrotjohn@talktalk.net or 01670822789 or 07949447282.

BIRD SCENE 47

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