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Northwest Bird Club Newsletter
JUNE 2020
PURPOSE
To join together people who have a common interest in keeping
and breeding exotic birds in captivity. To educate our members and
the general public about the best care, keeping,
maintenance, and breeding of their birds. To support bird
conservation. Together we can make can difference.
President’s Message
Dear Members-
We are back. The board voted to have our meeting on June 7th. Of
course anyone who is not ready
to come out yet should stay home.
Mary Anne buckles is coming from crescent city to do a
presentation on canaries. We will not be
having food at this meeting.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone that can make it. It is
nice to be able to see each other
again. We will do some planning for our picnic and for our next
meetings.
My birds are loving this weather especially the rain that we
need so much.
Spread the word that we are having our meeting. There will
probably still be some restrictions but we
will address them and follow them at the meeting. Hope to see
you all there.
Take care of yourselves and your birdies.
Your Prez.
President:
Sharon Holscher
[email protected]
Vice President:
Nancy Ingram:
[email protected]
Treasurer:
Ann Valencia
[email protected]
Secretary:
Vicki Jones:
[email protected]
Librarian:
Nancy Ingram
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Sabra Scotton
[email protected]
Sharon Holscher
mailto:[email protected]
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NWBC Monthly Meeting Bulletin
The Club meets on the first Sunday of every month at:
Rogue Valley Meadows
2385 Table Rock Rd. Medford, OR
at 1:00 p.m.
Speaker for June Meeting
Mary Ann Buckles
Her program will be on canaries
Refreshments Canceled for June Meeting
Roland and Vicki Jones
and anyone else that would like to bring goodies!
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Grey Breasted Parakeets Winning Fight for Survival By Matt Rowe
(May 19, 2020)
Talk about a comeback! A decade ago, the spunky, colorful
grey-breasted parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus) was found to have
diminished to the point that only a small population existed in a
sliver of an area in northeastern Brazil. An ambitious conservation
project saw its first success with the hatching of three nestlings
in 2010, which has now led to 130 hatchings per year! See what the
secret to their success has been and where this colorful parakeet
might be headed in terms of its population status in the wild.
We live in a world that rapidly evolves in every direction
imaginable. As humans grow in population, the need for various and
accessible goods increase. Often, that translates into disruptions
within our sphere of natural resources.
When needs require incredible amounts of lumber and land, it’s
the animals who live within those dependable habitats found in the
vast network of forestry that suffer. Hundreds of years of
adaptation created animal and avian dependency. Just a few years of
depletion disrupts all of that. Add to that the element of human
greed in illegal trade, and the threat of extinction increases even
further… and faster. For the avian population that means danger.
Such immediate danger requires human intervention if survival is to
be circumvented.
Large Flocks Diminished to Small Populations
Consider the Grey-breasted parakeet. This beautiful bird once
flew the airs of Brazil in large
https://lafeber.acemlnb.com/lt.php?s=117ab39c8a765e89c9add4ebde5265bb&i=1497A2058A1A44546https://lafeber.acemlnb.com/lt.php?s=117ab39c8a765e89c9add4ebde5265bb&i=1497A2058A1A44546
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numbers. But as the familiar story goes, poaching and land
deforestation whittled their numbers down over the years. By 2010,
the determined population was so low that the species were listed
as critically endangered. This concern was held close to the heart
of a small group of conservation-minded individuals led by Fábio
Nunes. The established teams went to work to accurately determine
the approximate number of these birds left in the wild. Their
findings were sobering. It was quickly realized that there were so
few actual birds left. To not jump in right away would be
devastating to the species and to the world.
Grey-breasted parakeets were victim primarily of too little
useable habitat locations and nesting opportunities. A government
effort to help re-establish a protected space was necessary to
jump-start the newly formed project in 2012. In short order, a
series of partners were secured to help fund the project to bring
back the near extinct bird.
A Simple Yet Effective Fix
The first reaction was to create necessary nest boxes that the
birds would use. The boxes were adopted by the parakeets and they
began to use them to great and increasing success. With this in
motion, the team enlisted the help of the native insiders by asking
them to help protect the birds and their newly hatched chicks from
the hands of poachers. With these efforts in place, the hope was
that the birds could be able to naturally increase their numbers in
the wild.
The efforts led to an amazing resurgence of this species of
parakeet in the wild. Over the years since the beginning of the
project, approximately 130 fledgling birds were added per year. The
most recent count of the Grey-breasted Parakeet has the current
total at a whopping 1, 165 fledglings. More exciting was the
upgrade of the Conservation List for the bird from critically
endangered to endangered. For many of us, this positive increase
means that the bird once thought to become extinct will now fight
to become a normal population once again.
None of this kind of conservation begins without devoted
conservationists willing to upend their own lives in favor of
bringing back a species that are almost gone. It takes love,
dedication, and a combined effort by interested government to
create a fertile plan for birds (and other animals, plants, and
insects) to adapt and to proliferate fast enough. Ingenuity and
technology work hand in hand to develop ways for endangered species
to beat the odds. Our hearts are always happy for those who work
hard to stabilize a disappearing life force.
Quote for the month…
Don’t drink and drive….your parrot won’t understand why you
don’t come home.
(from Pinterest)
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Your Parrot May Out Live You – What’s Your Plan? Written by
Mitch Rezman of Windy City Parrot
We get lots of phone calls at Windy City Parrot covering many
bird care topics. A recurring subject that arises is an “inherited”
bird. Most recently a gentleman called to inquire about bird
carriers.
We always ask 2 questions in response to inquiries such as
these. 1) What kind of bird? 2) How will the bird carrier be used?
We always want to make sure we’re providing the appropriate
equipment.
In this case, he needed to get his African Grey to the vet and
then home, which begged the question, where was the bird now?
The answer was one we hear much too often. The Grey was at his
mother’s for 30 years. His mother had passed recently. He was now
the caretaker of a 30-year-old African Grey Parrot.
During the course of the conversation I learned, mom had gotten
the bird wild-caught and treated it as a second child. She was a
stay-at-home-mom so the bird got all her attention, for the past 30
years. The birdcage was enormous and had one toy hanging from the
top, a solitary brass bell.
To complicate matters, (we’ll call him) John lived by himself.
The Grey was living at mom’s home. The birdcage never got covered.
No TV or radio was left on and although as much as he tried, he
couldn’t get there every day to “check” on the bird.
So it was no surprise to learn John had a hard time removing the
bird from the cage the first time he needed to clean the cage. He
used heavy work gloves which worked (for him) to remove the bird
and then put the bird in the bathroom while he did his cage
cleaning.
Grabbing my head to keep my about-to-explode brain from
showering the walls with grey matter, I took a deep breath and
calmly began to cover the many challenges John need to
overcome.
We came up with a plan. He agreed that he would visit the bird
daily until the carrier arrived. He would leave on the TV and
partially close the drapes. This was a bit of a compromise because
the bird would freak out if he tried to cover the cage.
He would stop at a local pet shop and pick up at least a few
toys to hang in the cage. When the new bird carrier arrived, he’d
transfer the bird, the best he could, and bring the bird to the vet
for a well bird check-up.
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While at the vet, John agreed it would be a good time to move
the cage to his home. Although he worked full time and lived alone,
we both agreed the Grey would be better off with regular human
contact.
We talked about proper nutrition, the need for toys, and mental
stimulation. John had no idea that Greys like many parrots,
function at the level of a 2 or 3-year-old child.
“His” bird was clearly angry and sad that mom was gone. These
issues needed to be addressed. Because he thought he would enjoy
the companionship at home he felt confident he could take over
responsibility.
What this all demonstrated was the lack of preparedness John,
mom (and the bird) had when it came to mom’s passing. We encourage
you to have a plan, don’t you owe it to your bird?
BIRD CLUB CLASSIFIED ADS Classified Ad Pricing
(Your Ad will be in the monthly newsletter and on our club
website)
( Line Ads are free for members )
Line Ads for non-members: $5.00 per month ~ $27.00 for 6 months
~ $55.00 for 1 yr
BOX AD - Includes a box outline to make your ad stand out from
the rest – $7.00 per month
DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ADS for newsletter: 16th of each
month.
________________________________________________________________________________
**TO PLACE AN AD E-MAIL: SABRA: [email protected]
(In subject line put ―NWBC‖) or call (541)941-7844
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DISCLAIMER:
The Northwest Bird Club makes no warrantee as to the health,
condition, or availability of any
birds advertised in this newsletter or on our website.
________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR SALE: Strawberry Finches for Sale: domestically bred.
Contact Nancy Ingram @ (541)535-1416 or [email protected]
Medford, Oregon *
mailto:[email protected]
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FREE: I would like to donate this cage to someone who can use
it.
We are sanitizing and painting it with lead free non toxic
paint
so it will look nicer than the current photo. It's about 2 foot
wide
by 3 foot tall, on wheels and stands about 5 feet high.
Contact: Mindy @ (754)610-8389 (Located in Medford area)**
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FOR SALE: Normal Zebra finches: Six babies just a week out of
the nest (so a month old and still
being fed). One 1.5 yr old banded mom and a 10 week old female
and male. No cage available.
Price $10 each or $5.00 each if you take all of them. If you
take them all, you can have the brand
new cage (used for 3 weeks for the 10 wk old female) Dimensions
of cage: 30”x18”x18”. I paid $79
for the cage. You can have it for $50.00 If interested, contact
Leigh at (541)821-3486 ** PLEASE
LEAVE MESSAGE.
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FOR SALE: Electrolux HEPA Vacuum Cleaner – Quietest on the
market, has HEPA filter. Powerhead
just replaced and is not under warranty. $150.00 Contact Bill
Wenzel at (541)727-7602 Someone will
answer phone for me ***
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FOR SALE: Large cage. I lost my Red Lored Amazon of 31 years and
have no use for it. $150.00
OBO. Contact Bill Wenzel at (541)727-7602. Someone will answer
phone for me ***
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FOR SALE: Battery operated power scooter. Missing key and
battered after years of use. Incredible
range on battery charge. $150.00 OBO. Contact Bill at
(541)727-7602. Someone will answer phone
for me ***
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SLEEK AND SASSY Sleek and Sassy is a fairly local Oregon company
who sells seeds and toys.
One of the perks of your NWBC membership is getting their
products at
WHOLESALE with NO HANDLING FEE.
Contact Elanah @ (541)535-4700.
Five Fun Ways to Pamper Your Bird from
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/five-fun-ways-to-pamper-your-pet-parrot/
1. Offer Your Bird A ―Spa Day‖: Bathing is an important part of
maintaining healthy feathers, and most parrots enjoy bathing in one
form or another. Since summer is now upon us, and with it warmer
weather, set aside some time on a sunny day to treat your bird to
an outdoor spray bath. Roll your bird’s cage outside, place your
bird in a travel cage or, if it’s trained to wear a harness, place
it on a T-stand and give it a gentle, yet thorough drenching via a
spray bottle bath. Aim just above your bird’s head so the water
falls like a mist down on it, as
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/five-fun-ways-to-pamper-your-pet-parrot/
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opposed to a direct body hit with a stream of water. (A word of
caution: Don’t let your bird’s wing feather trim give you a false
sense of security. Some birds, especially cockatiels, can gain lift
off and fly away even if its feathers were recently clipped.)
After its outdoor bath, give your bird some time to preen under
the natural sunlight, which is also good for feather health; just
be sure to stay with your bird while it is outdoors … you don’t
want its spa day ruined by being dive-bombed by a bird of prey or
pawed at by a neighborhood cat!
2. Hang Time On You: If your bird enjoys hanging out on you,
offer yourself up as an edible tree. I’m not talking about enticing
your bird to bite you; I’m suggesting sprinkling some spray millet
seeds on your arm, shoulder or lap and letting your bird ―vacuum‖
them up as it climbs or cuddles with you. You can also crumble up a
Nutri-Berrie and spread it around you. This pampered parrot
activity is more ideal for small birds (with small beaks!), such as
cockatiels, budgies and small conures. Strips of cardboard,
shredded paper or balsa wood pieces for your bird to find and chew
up are fun to throw into the mix as well. Of course, there is
likely to be a mess afterward; however, since this is your bird’s
―pampered parrot‖ day, you can put up with a little laundering and
sweeping up, right?
3. Schedule Some Silly Talk: If you haven’t had a silly
conversation with your parrot lately, set aside some time for this
fun yet simple activity. This is especially great for parrots that
tend to be hands off — your bird might not want you to pick it up
or pet it, but it will still love you taking the time to give it
100% of your attention devoted to saying how handsome/pretty it is,
how much you love him/her and how smart he/she is. Talk to your
parrot in a silly, enthusiastic voice — even the most seemingly
standoffish parrot will start to relax and revel in the fun talk.
Ideally, this setup should be free of visual and sound
distractions, so you have your bird’s full attention and so you
don’t have to compete with other visual and audible stimuli. Invite
your bird to participate in the conversation by whistling or
singing to it, too!
4. Make It Movie Night: What bird wouldn’t love to spend
full-length movie time with their favorite person? There are some
fabulous bird-themed movies that both you and your bird can enjoy
together. For animated flicks, check out ―Rio,‖ ―Three Caballeros,‖
there’s also Disney’s live action ―Paulie,‖ starring a blue-crowned
conure. Two excellent bird-focused documentaries are ―The Parrots
of Telegraph Hill, and ―Winged Migration.‖ Many birds also enjoy
cartoons, so flip the channel to Cartoon Network, Disney Channel or
Nickelodeon, or peruse the many animated selections on Netflix’s
family category. Open a bag of Popcorn Nutri-Berrie Treats to give
your bird a true cinematic experience.
5. Food & Games: No pampered parrot day would be complete
without catering to its taste buds. Use your imagination to create
a fun-to-eat treat. Imagine you and your bird having a picnic or
tea together. For medium to large parrots, cut the core out of a
mini apple and wedge a couple of almonds or mini carrot in it, or
pull a handful of cilantro through the center.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/cockatiel/https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-food/classic-nutri-berries/https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/budgie-parakeet/https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/conure/https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/birdfood/gourmet-nutri-berries/parrot-popcorn-nutri-berrie/https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/birdfood/gourmet-nutri-berries/parrot-popcorn-nutri-berrie/https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/birdfood/gourmet-nutri-berries/parrot-popcorn-nutri-berrie/
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Innovative birds are less vulnerable to extinction
Ability to adopt new feeding techniques and food sources linked
to reduced risk of extinction
Source: McGill University
Summary: Bird species that have the capacity to express novel
foraging behaviors are
less vulnerable to extinction than species that do not,
according to a collaborative
study.
Bird species that have the capacity to express novel foraging
behaviours are less vulnerable to extinction than species that do
not, according to a collaborative study involving McGill
University and CREAF Barcelona and published today in Nature
Ecology & Evolution.
The researchers found that birds that were able to incorporate
new foods into their diet or develop new techniques to obtain food
were better able to withstand the environmental changes affecting
their habitat, which represent their main threat of extinction.
Throughout the years, scientists have noticed numerous examples
of these behaviours. Green herons have been repeatedly observed
using bread or insects as bait to catch fish. Opportunistic carrion
crows have been seen using cars as nut- or seashell-crackers. Great
cormorants in New Zealand have been observed coordinating their
fishing periods with the movements of commercial ferries in order
to take advantage of the strong currents generated by the
propellers to catch confused fish.
Proving a long-held theory about species vulnerability
The ability to innovate, a measure of 'behavioural plasticity',
has long been thought to render species less vulnerable to the risk
of extinction, but it has been difficult to test this thoroughly on
a global level.
Louis Lefebvre, the senior author of the new study, who teaches
in McGill's Biology Department, he has spent the last 20 years
combing through the literature, searching for evidence of foraging
innovations in the wild. Thanks to the tireless dedication of bird
watchers from around the world who have reported these novel
behaviours, he has been able to compile a database of over 3,800
bird foraging innovations.
"The large database we now have has allowed us to test, on
almost all bird species of the world, the idea that the more you
can change your feeding behaviour, the better you might be able to
cope with destruction of your normal habitat," said Lefebvre. "We
feel our results are solid, as we have taken into account as many
co-variables and possible biases that we could think of."
More innovations mean a greater probability of population
stability or increase
The researchers gathered information about the feeding
innovations described in articles published in 204 ornithological
journals between 1960 and 2018.They then compared the number of
observed innovations of each species with the level of their risk
of extinction according to the Red List of the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their modelling showed that
extinction risk was reduced in species that displayed innovative
behaviours, and as the number of these behaviours increased,
extinction risk was reduced further.
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"We long suspected that this relationship between innovation and
survival must exist, but now we have been able to verify it
quantitatively," says the study's first author, Simon Ducatez, a
post-doctoral researcher at McGill University and at CREAF in
Barcelona. "We have also been able to verify that the greater the
number of innovations described for a species, the greater the
probability that its populations are stable or increasing. The
result is clear: the greater the innovative capacity, the lower the
risk of extinction of the species."
Ability to find new food sources no guarantee of survival
The authors caution that behavioural plasticity only reduces
birds' risk of extinction from habitat alteration, and that it does
not affect sensitivity to invasive species or overexploitation. The
study reveals that the ability to invent new behaviours represents
a clear evolutionary advantage for birds coping with the
destruction of their habitats, although it is not always a
guarantee of survival.
Indeed, the type of problem-solving skills that allow birds to
face drastic changes in habitat does not seem to work against other
types of threats such as over hunting. "It must be taken into
account that the species with the greatest capacity for innovation
have longer generation times, which makes them more vulnerable to
hunting," explains Daniel Sol, researcher at CREAF and the CSIC in
Barcelona. "This implies that, unlike what is usually assumed, the
ability to innovate protects animals from some but not all of the
rapid changes in the environment."
This research was supported by funds from the Spanish government
and by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC).
Fun Bird Stories
https://www.birdhotline.com/stories.htm
My Little Green Rascal is a Snitch!
The other day I came home from work and my son told me he had
bid successfully on e-bay for something. He said he had gone ahead
and logged onto Paypal and made payment. I asked how he had gained
access to the pass word protected area and he replied "Oh, Tweets
told me."
He said he had been trying to get onto the site and using all
the phrases he thought I would use. No luck. Then the bird climbed
up on his shoulder and started chattering a phrase. Realizing what
the bird was saying, he entered that phrase and bingo, he was
in.
I realized that the bird is usually on my shoulder when I'm on
the computer and that I must say the phrase when logging onto
Paypal. He made the connection between the screen image and what I
say and then ratted on me. Little stinker.
I've changed the password and will be more careful in future not
to use it around The Green Mouth that Tells.
https://www.birdhotline.com/stories.htm
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Say What?
As my husband was making coffee in the kitchen one morning,
Congo our 7 year old golden capped conure, decided he wanted to
take his bath in the kitchen sink. After he takes his bath, he
likes everyone to say "pretty boy" and then he will repeat it. He
will fluff his feathers and carry on as I tell him how beautiful he
is. Well, my husband is always teasing our baby and trying to teach
him to say new words, which up until this point has never
worked.
Congo never has repeated anything my husband has said. As Congo
finished with his bath I said "pretty boy" and he repeated it and
then looked over at my husband for his compliment. My husband
responded by saying "ugly bird". Congo kept saying "pretty boy" as
my husband said "ugly bird".
My husband walked into the living room and I told Congo that
Daddy was a bad boy. Congo and I went into the living room and sat
on the couch by my husband. Congo backed his bottom up to my
husband and did his business on my husband's arm! As Congo walked
back to me he said plain as day, "Daddy is a bad boy and an ugly
bird." Now whenever he takes a bath he says "pretty boy" and then
looks at my husband and says either "bad boy" or "ugly bird"!
WEBSITE: northwestbirdclub.org
