59 Bird Scene - Summer 2023

AS THINGS ARE KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH OTHER BIRD KEEPERS, SEEING OTHERS’ BREEDING RESULTS AND GENERALLY HAVING A CATCH-UP IS JUST ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE. WHY NOT TRY THE PSUK

FACEBOOK PAGE’S ‘COMMUNITY’ AREA?

POST SOME PICTURES, ASK FOR ADVICE, SHOW OFF YOUR SUCCESSES (AND FAILURES), LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE KEEPING AND HOW THEY ARE GETTING ON. GIVE IT A TRY!’

INTRODUCTION

In the introduction to the summer 2022 edition of Bird Scene I wrote ‘As we are now very much in the late spring and early summer period, we are now experiencing some quite pleasant weather, which will help with the breeding results in the 2022 season. At least we did not have morning frosts every day in April, as we experienced in 2021 but it was frequently only three or four degrees C each morning in southern England and it was a very dry April. Early breeding results were without doubt impacted by these weather conditions leading

BY THE EDITOR

LES RANCE

WWW.THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG LES.RANCE@THEPARROTSOCIETYUK.ORG

to many infertile eggs, even from genuine breeding pairs. I guess it was a combination of the rather cool mornings and the dry conditions. There is no doubt that my Australian parakeets are much happier when there is frequent rain, as in their native Australia it is rain, after a prolonged dry period that spurs them into breeding condition. Fortunately, May has become warmer and wetter and this has definitely improved fertility. Pairs that had clear eggs in April have had a second round and the results are much better. I had a pair of Bourke’s parakeets that only had two fertile eggs out of a clutch of five in early April, however, in the second round in May, they laid five eggs again and this time they were all fertile. If this wet period continues deep into the summer there is every possibility that we will enjoy a good breeding season. We certainly need it, as birds are in short supply, certainly the larger Australian parakeets.’

It is interesting to compare the weather we have had this year with last. If the length of my grass is anything to go by,

we have certainly had a wetter April and May (up to 18th May when this was written) than at this time in 2022 and it has on average been about 2C warmer in the mornings at around 6C. This is not much warmer but everything helps. My birds, certainly my mutation Ring-necks and Port Lincolns that tend to breed early have done very well, in addition, I have two broods of five baby Cockatiels in boxes that are doing well as is a nice brood of six young Turquoisine grass parakeets. Obviously the larger broods help keep every baby much warmer and that allows them to grow quicker. Usually when young Australian parakeets leave the nest box they do not go back in on the first night, however, when my first Port Lincoln came out I could not see it in the flight in the evening, it had simply returned to the box for the warmth present there. Another item of note was that when the first baby Blue Ring-neck left the box it collided with the wire at the end of the flight, concussed itself, and was rolling around on the sand floor of the aviary, until it was stuck when it rolled onto its back and could not right itself. I watched it for five minutes and decided that it would stand a better chance of survival if I placed it back in the nest box with its two siblings. The following morning it was alive and looking well, you would never have known that 12 hours earlier

it had been suffering with concussion. Returning it to the box was obviously the correct action.

In this edition of Bird Scene we have an excellent article from Don Burke in Australia ‘Welfare Issues Facing Modern Exhibition Budgerigars’. Also an article by Lizard Canary Judge David Allen ‘My Life with Birds’ and finally an item describing the dangers of Non-Stick cooking implements by Alan K Jones.

This is now the fifty-ninth edition of Bird Scene, how quickly over eleven years can pass when you are working on a project – the first FREE on-line bird magazine produced in the UK. At 48 pages, this is quite a big read! Every time we post the Parrot Society monthly magazine, I cringe at the cost. Postal costs appear to have increased far faster than inflation and if The Royal Mail are not careful they will find that their income

Port Lincoln

INTRODUCTION

will reduce even further as people and businesses send less and less by conventional means. A price increase to £1.10p for a First Class letter became effective in April 2023, an increase of 15p on the 95p previously charged, my maths are not very good but I think that is a 14.25% increase! With CPI, inflation now running around 10.1%, costs continue to rise. These costs obviously affect bird clubs when the show schedules have to be posted to potential exhibitors and equally it affects the exhibitors when they return their entries. In addition, how much longer will bird clubs be able to afford to post magazines to their members? This must be a great worry to many club officials. Fortunately, with an e-magazine we do not have this problem, or for that matter the cost of colour printing. Because of increases to the costs of both postage and printing, I am pleased that we decided to produce Bird Scene as a FREE e-magazine. We have learnt a great deal over the past eleven years about this way of communicating with bird enthusiasts and I am sure that this knowledge will become more and more valuable as we see further increases

in costs to paper magazines. We are always happy to receive articles about the species that are being exhibited at The National and are very pleased to give publicity to the club supplying the information. Regular readers will know that Bird Scene has been produced to publicise The National Exhibition held each year (Covid-19 restrictions excepted) at our October Sale Day/ Show at Stafford County Showground. This publication is also used to promote our Conservation efforts for threatened parrots in the wild. An archive of earlier editions of Bird Scene can be found on the Home Page of our website www. theparrotsocietyuk.org so if you would like to see earlier versions please do look at the Bird Scene archive.

In this edition of Bird Scene we have an excellent article describing the dangers of Non-Stick cooking implements by Alan K Jones.

PARROT SOCIETY SUMMER SHOW

• Sunday 9th July at Stafford County Showground ST18 0BD, all members booking tables will be allowed entry into the halls at 7.00am. Members who have not booked tables will enter at 7.30am.

There is a limit of two early entry wristbands per membership they are £8.00 each. Tables are £14.00 each and there is a limit of two per membership. Both entry wristbands and tables are available from our website. When entering the site ensure you agree to our Cookie policy. In the ‘About Us’ box click on ‘Shop’ from there click on ‘The Summer Show (July)’.

Please read all the information published in the April magazine on pages 28 to 33

ADVANCED ENTRY

TICKETS FOR P.S. MEMBERS

SEE PAGE 36 APRIL MAGAZINE FOR MORE DETAILS

SPONSOREDBY :

Members Non Members

9THSTAFFORDJULY SHOWGROUNDCOUNTY

SUMMER SHOW

MY LIFE WITH BIRDS

DAVID ALLEN

Lizard panel judge and Blue Lizard Canary Club Secretary.

I had a pigeon which I said was mine and I named him “Tommy Trouble” why I can’t remember but he was a Red Grizzle cock.

My life with birds started when I was very young around 5 or 6 years old when my mum found me playing in my uncle’s pigeon loft. My uncle lived next door to my parents with my grandmother.

As I grew older I spent more and more time with my uncle with his racing pigeons, sitting with him on a Saturday waiting for them to come home on race days. I had a pigeon which I said was mine and I named him “Tommy Trouble” why I can’t remember but he was a Red Grizzle cock.

My dad brought me some canaries and built an indoor flight in the old

with the money I got from my paper round. Local fanciers would take my

help him clean out his pigeons. I became known as his “loft manager” a role I held for nearly 30 years until he died in 2013.

I never won a pigeon race but I had some great fun waiting and hoping they would come home. I can remember my first ever pigeon race I entered was from Salisbury it was a young bird race and I sent the two birds that were gifts, a Blue Bar and a Blue Bar Pied.

I sat for what seemed hours waiting for them but I can still remember the joy I had when I saw one of them drop from the sky, it was the Blue Pied I got her in and timed her in. I rushed up to the house to tell my mum and dad.

You would have thought I had won the National!! The other bird came home a while later and I timed that in as well. I got to the club and I was a long way behind the winning bird but I was over the moon to have got them both home and timed them in.

My first pigeon loft was a converted asbestos garage [yes we had never heard of the problem of asbestos in those days.]

This didn’t last too long and my dad built me a wooden loft from fencing panels with a plastic roof and wooden floor that was raised off the ground. The nest boxes were made of old doors and I brought wooden nest box fronts for them. The loft was of an L

shape, which was divided into three sections, the corner section was a stock loft for my stock birds, the other two, one for my racing birds with nest boxes and the final section for my young birds.

The two sections for young birds and old birds had doors to let the birds out and get into the loft, it also had traps next to the door for the pigeons to get in. These were Bob wire traps that were made out of old wire coat hangers. These were bent into a U shape and stapled to wood and allowed the bird to get into the loft but not get out. These were covered by a board when not required, this board was hinged and dropped down to act as a landing board when the birds were out and allowed them to get back in to the loft.

I raced pigeons up until I got married and moved away from home to live in Brackley where I had a break from keeping birds for about 2 years.

When we brought a house and moved to Oxford I began to feel I wanted a hobby to take my mind off work, and to relax when I came home. Pigeons were not really an option as they would take up too much time and my wife Tracy wasn’t keen on them anyway.

My start back with canaries. So I saw an advert in a local paper for some canaries and breeding cages. I rung up and brought them, they were Border canaries and were housed in my small tool shed.

Within a very short time I made plans to buy a new shed for a bird room. This was 2 8’x6’ sheds that were put together to make a 16 foot long bird room, more cages were brought and I also brought some Fife canaries which I liked more than the Borders I had originally brought.

I started show my Fifes at local clubs and started to revisit the National Exhibition which by now was being held at the NEC in Birmingham. I entered a few Fifes as well and this is where I saw my first Lizard canaries. On my return home I asked if anyone locally had any and by chance a man was moving away to live near the coast and

Within a very short time I made plans to buy a new shed for a bird room. This was 2 8’x6’ sheds that were put together to make a 16 foot long bird room…

had some which I bought all he had, as well as some show cages. This was the start of my love of the Lizard.

Other birds I kept. I also kept some Cockatiel’s in two flights in my garden, at the time a new colour mutation had just been created the White-faced. I purchased a pair of them exchanging some of my Fifes for the pair. I bred a few young from this pair but eventually they all went.

My meeting with a real Lizard canary man. After a year with the Lizards I saw that Mr Stan Insall was giving a talk at a local bird club not that far from my home so I went along to hear his talk and very good it was too. After the talk I introduced myself and within 2 weeks I was in his bird room looking at his Lizards. That same year I brought two pairs from Stan and my Fifes all but disappeared from my bird room apart from a few Whites and Blues. Little did I know at the time how useful these were to be!

I started showing my Lizards at the National and joined the Lizard Canary Association and went to my first LCA AGM in 1990 which was always held on the Sunday at the National.

My first Blue Lizard. In 1992 at the National in the AOV class [Any Other Variety canary] there were two exhibits that I was told were Blue Lizards, I had never seen anything like them before. I thought they were beautiful and really appealed to me. [I had a soft spot for white in any variety] But how do you get them?

Lizard Canary

I asked around and made the decision to put a White Fife with one of my Silver Lizard cocks. Which is what I did and within two years I had produced a Blue Lizard, which went on to win the best AOV canary at the National and this was repeated the following year. In that fist year it caused a lot of up roar and Roy Stringer wrote an article on it named “Blue Lizards not Everyone’s Cup of Tea” which generated a great deal of interest both in the UK and in Europe. At this point I could have never imagined what would become of the Blue Lizard.

In 2011 the Blue Lizard Canary club was formed and that year it had its own classes at the Parrot Society show at Stafford which is now called the “National” and in 2014 20 years after I won Best AOV at the National with a Blue Lizard I won best Blue Lizard at the National.

A feat that I thought would never be possible, a dream came true. But there were many other people who made this become a dream one person more than most is the BLCC club’s president Kevin Skinner.

The Lizard Canary Book. In 2003 I achieved my greatest achievement in the hobby when I compiled and wrote a book on Lizard canaries. This was done with the help of other Lizard breeders and exhibitors. All profits from the sale of this book were and still are donated to the LCA [Lizard Canary Association] this book was revised in 2013 and was printed buy a local printer, as pervious copies had been printed singularly from my computer, so this was a vast improvement in both quality and availability.

Blue Lizzard

Winning times.

In 2008 I had a double good year, it was the year I won the Lizard premier show the LCA classic and also became a LCA panel judge. I was also runner-up to the great Stan Bolton at East Anglian LCA and 3rd best as well with the bird that later went on to win the classic. This has been my most successful year showing Lizards.

In 2010 I was also selected to judge the LCA classic in Nottingham with the Chairman John Martin a great honour. And a joy to judge the cream of the UK Lizards.

Around the World with birds.

In 2008 I was encouraged to show my Lizards at the World Show by my good friend Brian Hogg. The show in 2008 was in Hassellt in Belgium, I entered a few birds, four I think and went to the show with Brian and a few other bird friends. I was amazed at the amount of birds and the people I met who bred Lizards form other countries. But the best bit by far for me was the presentation evening or the Gala dinner. Each country goes up and they play the National anthem, I was overwhelmed I felt like Martin Johnson!!

Within a very short time I made plans to buy a new shed for a bird room. This was 2 8’x6’ sheds that were put together to make a 16 foot long bird room…

Lizard Canary

I have shown at every World show since and have visited many different countries and met so many friendly people who have the same love as me of the Lizards from other parts of the world.

I have also shown at other shows such as the Golden Ring and the Festival of Colours bird shows which was where I won my first award in Europe with a Blue and a Gold Lizard. I was the first UK exhibitor to have won an award with a Blue Lizard.

I have visited France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland and Belgium and have enjoyed everyone. I have not had any successes yet but it is not all about winning it is about being part of the world wide hobby.

Other breeds.

In recent years I have experimented with other breeds as well as my beloved Lizard. I had Lancashire’s for a few years but I found they need more room than I could or had to give them. So more recently I have taken up the Fiorino Frill, which I become to love. It has an appeal to me and I have done fairly well on the show bench. In 2013 I was at the World show in Italy and spent a great deal of time studying them. As this was the country of their creation and I knew the quality would be good.

Roles with clubs. I have also held many different roles and duties in clubs, I was Chairman of my Local cage bird club for a number of years. I held the role of patronage secretary for the LCA for a number of years and was the publicity officer as well a role which I really enjoyed. Talks and promoting the Lizard canary was always enjoyable, talking about the birds I love. I produced display boards and leaflets for people to take away. My best memories are of Stafford Spring show where I would have a club stand for the LCA and talking and meeting Lizard breeders from all around the UK. The club stand was also a great place for members to take a break or leave the goodies while they continued to look around.

I have considered leaving the hobby in recent years for a number of reasons but I don’t think I will ever not have Lizards. Anyway Tracy say’s I am miserable enough now without not having birds I would be twice as miserable. Maybe I will just keep them for myself to enjoy?

Well this is my story of my life with birds.

E NFIELD BIRD CENTR E

YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL BIRDS AND ACCESSORIES

CAGES BOOKS

AVIARIES

PARAKEETS PARROTSLOVEBIRDS

Carbon

monoxide poisoning is common cause of death in birds.

I have on many occasions through my veterinary career received a panic telephone call from bird owners describing the sudden collapse, gasping breathing, and death of much-loved pets.

before that time, it was well recognised that birds were ultrasensitive to the presence of noxious gases in the atmosphere. This fact was utilised in the employment of canaries down coal-mines, as sentinels to detect methane and carbon monoxide. These gases are potentially poisonous to humans, but long before they built up in concentrations sufficient to damage miners, the canaries would breathe in small amounts and rapidly die. Thus the mine-workers would hopefully have sufficient time to get out before they too succumbed.

Each breath of inhaled air is passed twice through the lungs, and the gaseous exchange mechanism in the blood vessels is ultra-effective, thus they are able to draw more oxygen out of the air (essential for their high metabolic rate) than can mammals. However, this efficiency is not confined to oxygen – any other material in the inspired air is equally effectively absorbed. Thus diverse materials such as scented candles or airfresheners, paint fumes, decorating dust, feather dust, strong perfumes, and of course overheated Teflon fumes, will all adversely affect birds. The latter particularly will kill birds within minutes.

I have on many occasions through my veterinary career received a panic telephone call from bird owners describing the sudden collapse, gasping breathing, and death of much-loved pets. The major culprit in such cases is non-stick cookware. New grill pans, used for the first time; self-cleaning ovens that burn off grease by reaching a high temperature; or Teflon®-coated pans that boil dry, will all give off gases that will make us cough and splutter, and our eyes run. However, these toxic fumes will kill a bird in minutes! Post-

This susceptibility to inhaled toxins is a consequence of the unique and efficient respiratory system of birds.

This susceptibility to inhaled toxins is a consequence of the unique and efficient respiratory system of birds,

mortem examination of affected birds shows a distinctive bright cherry-red colour of the lungs. Histological examination of this tissue will show rupture of lung parenchyma, and infiltration with red blood cells and tissue fluid.

Birds exposed to small amounts of such gases, or at a distance from the source, may survive with prompt action. Opening windows and doors to improve ventilation is paramount, and veterinary attention with oxygen therapy and steroids or antiinflammatory drugs is essential. However, most affected birds will be dead before such assistance can be obtained.

This problem is no better illustrated than by a case I dealt with some years ago involving a collection of house pet birds. The open-plan kitchen/ living area housed an African Grey and a Senegal, when a neglected non-stick-coated saucepan boiled dry on the hob and filled the area with acrid, smoky fumes. The owners smelled the smoke, and rushed into the room to find their beloved birds gasping and dying before their eyes. An adjacent room contained an indoor aviary with a number of cockatiels. The owners opened all doors and windows to clear the air, but within a few more minutes, these birds all started to gasp and cough, and all had died within the ensuing 24 hours. Upstairs, one of the family’s children had three budgerigars, and although the noxious smell was far less noticeable on this floor, these birds too developed difficulty in breathing and a dry cough. Fortunately, with good ventilation and anti-inflammatory treatment, these birds did recover, as their exposure to the toxin was less than the downstairs birds.

Less severe effects may be found with the smoke from over-heated cooking oil. Outdoor hazards such as bonfire or barbecue smoke –

Opening windows and doors to improve ventilation is paramount, and veterinary attention with oxygen therapy and steroids or antiinflammatory drugs is essential.

paint fumes.

In summary, birds have ultra-efficient respiratory systems, and are therefore extremely susceptible to damage from noxious contents in the air that they breathe. At the risk of

repetitive information and recycling already-published articles, everything possible should be done to publicise the dangers of all these fumes to our companion birds.

PET PARROT GATHERING:

8TH JULY

SUMMER SHOW: 9TH JULY

NATIONAL EXHIBITION: 1ST OCTOBER

‘HELP BIRD KEEPERS SHOW’: 3RD DECEMBER

SHOW DATES AT STAFFORD IN 2023

PARROT

THIS IS JUST A NOTIFICATION OF DATES PLEASE DO NOT BOOK UNTIL YOU SEE FULL DETAILS IN THE MAGAZINE

All our shows are held at Staffordshire County

ALL MEMBERSHIPS CAN BUY TWO EARLY ENTRY WRIST BANDS FOR OUR SHOWS Only available in advance

THE WELFARE ISSUES FACING MODERN EXHIBITION BUDGERIGARS

Over the last 77 years, since our first standard of perfection in 1935, budgie breeders have developed an ever-changing series of standards of perfection. These have been seen as constant improvements in the look of the bird. Almost all breeders learn the modern “look” and see it as an improvement over past “looks”. Since about 1960 when the first (illegal) English imports arrived, we have all bred more and more birds that follow

DON BURKE

the European look. From 2003 our Australian standards of perfection started to mimic the European ones too. These days, we pretty much follow the European trends relating to all aspects of perfection in the look of the budgerigar.

So perhaps it is time to examine what we are doing, particularly in relation to the effects on the welfare of our birds. It is perhaps a significant criticism of our predecessors that they seem never to have considered welfare of the birds when they were designing new standards of perfection. I can find no records of welfare investigations in the past. Whenever you deviate significantly from the original size and shape of a wild animal, constant monitoring of the effects of these

changes needs to be carried out. This is clearly required by the various constitutions of budgerigar clubs in Australia. Without a shadow of a doubt, our constitutions and basic ethics require an immediate investigation and discussion of the various welfare issues involved.

Modern show budgies are about 50% longer than wild budgies, twice as wide and more than twice as heavy. The beak is still about the same size as it is in wild budgies, which makes it proportionally about half the size (relative to body mass). Feather bulk, measured as average increase in the area of feathers, has increased by a factor of about three times.

Some of the major problems encountered with modern exhibition budgerigars are:

1. Common infected eyes caused by the irritation of feathers growing into the eyes. *#

2. Common feather viruses caused

by extreme feather bulk. *

3. Common wing feather cysts caused by feather bulk which exacerbates feather viruses. *+

4. Short life spans. *

5. Reluctance or inability to fly due to Directional Feathers obscuring forward vision. *

6. Reluctance or inability to fly due to poor wing feathering. *

7. Poor fertility due to general poor health of the birds. *

8. Constant disease issues due to lack of vigour.

* Apart from veterinary support for these points, it must be pointed out that these issues almost never occur with my mini budgies bred in the same birdroom, fed the same food and caged in the same aviaries at the same time. This clearly points to the abovementioned problems being strongly linked to the features of the modern show bird.

# When birds constantly scratch their irritated eyes with their poo-contaminated toenails, infection is eventually likely to follow. Despite claims that eye infections are very contagious, birds with no feathers poking into their eyes don’t catch these infections in the same aviaries or same breeding cages as the overly-coarse feathered birds who do catch the infections.

+ This problem has previously occurred with canaries. I refer interested people to the 1961 book “Budgerigars, Canaries & Foreign Finches” by R.B. Bennett. In the book he tells the story of Norwich canaries becoming ragged and double buff due to selection for these factors. This, in turn led to “feather-lumps’ (cysts) associated with “overfeathered” birds: exactly what we are seeing with over-feathered budgies. Eventually, after heated arguments, the breeders returned to breeding the less heavily-feathered birds and the cysts largely disappeared. We are currently repeating the mistakes of canary breeders 51 years ago!!!

New Research

New research indicates that birds’ feet (and other exposed skin areas such as around the beak & eyes) are a major source of Vitamin D3. Birds’ feet contain 30 times more Vitamin D3 precursor chemical than feathered skin on the same bird. The densely-feathered area around the feet on modern show birds plus their slouching posture shades the feet and therefore severely reduce vitamin D3 production, damaging the birds’ immune systems and calcium absorption.

Modern show budgies are about 50% longer than wild budgies, twice as wide and more than twice as heavy.

Research has shown that the beak is a primary cooling structure in birds. Like an elephant’s ears, the beak has lots of blood vessels (which facilitate cooling while panting during hot weather). In toucans 60% of cooling takes place through the beak.

Significantly, the beak does not lose water as it cools the bird down. This would be very important for a desertdwelling bird like the budgie. With the proportionately much smaller beak in the show budgie (compared to the wild budgie), which is also tucked into the huge insulating mask feathers, cooling on a hot day would be very difficult indeed. This adds to the enormous load that the modern show bird has to carry. Without any budgie breeder or judge intending to do so, our show standards have done enormous damage to our beautiful little birds.

standards is definitely not the way to go. The decent, ethical budgie breeders of Australia, the vast majority, need to stand up and say “enough is enough!” Clearly, the time has come to finesse the modern show budgerigar; to keep the style and the beauty of the bird, but at the same time to pull back from extremes which make the lives of our birds miserable. Just like the Norwich Canary Breeders did 51 YEARS AGO! Perhaps it is time to return to breeding budgies to our own Australian Standards. To resurrect the fabulous Australian colour of yesteryear and to create a truly balanced bird.

By now any caring, reasonable person must have realised that our poor exhibition budgie is in deep trouble. Blindly following the European

VENUE: THE PRESTWOOD CENTRE, STAFFORD COUNTY

PET PARROT

Sponsored by:

A GREAT DAY OUT FOR SATURDAY 8TH JULY 2023

Pet Toys and Cages –Show Offers*

Nail clipping + Microchipping by Alan Jones*

Pet Parrot competitions with prizes*

This is our second Pet Parrot Gathering following our highly successful event in July 2022. Please bring your parrot along to meet like-minded pet parrot owners who wish to do the very best for their pets. We wish to build on our first event so that people and parrots can meet in a realistic setting. Where listening and learning are valuable aides to reinforce the relationship you have with your parrots. We hope that this event will grow over the years, just as our efforts to rebuild The National Exhibition have developed since 2007. This event is subject to Avian Influenza rules, and all birds brought to the day must be registered to abide with Defra/APHA regulations. Registration forms are available from our office, please email les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org

Entry wristbands £8 each in advance or £10 on the door and can be purchased from our office by post, cheques payable to ‘The Parrot Society’ from The Parrot Society, Audley House, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted, HP4 1EH and are available from our SHOP on our website www. theparrotsocietyuk.org Bookings will close on Friday 30th June. Entry wristbands will also be available from 9.00 am on the door.

SHOWGROUND, WESTON ROAD, STAFFORD ST18 0BD

GATHERING!

YOU AND YOUR PARROT FROM 10.00AM. - 3.00 PM. Entry wristbands £8 each in advance or £10 on the door

Professional demonstrations*flying

Pet ParrotsonDisplay*

DAVID WAUGH

CORRESPONDENT, LORO PARQUE FUNDACIÓN

FIRST CAPTIVE BREEDING OF THE IN PALAWAN

PHILIPPINE COCKATOO

For the first time ever on the Philippine island of Palawan, the stronghold of the ‘Critically Endangered’ Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia), successful captive breeding has taken place in 2022. The resulting chick has been called ‘Hope’ by the Katala Foundation Inc (KFI), the Philippine NGO which runs the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Programme (PCCP), now in its 25th year of operation. The name Katala is derived from the local name of the Philippine Cockatoo, a species endemic to the Philippines.

Hope, the fledgling handreared Philippine Cockatoo.

The work was started because lowland forest and mangrove destruction, combined with trapping and poaching of nestlings for illegal trade.

The KFI has developed the PCCP over the years to encompass research, conservation management, advocacy and development in order to protect and conserve the Philippine Cockatoo and its habitat, as well as all related biodiversity, by encouraging active community involvement. This work was started because lowland forest and mangrove destruction, combined with trapping and poaching of nestlings for illegal trade, seriously

threatened the Philippine Cockatoo with extinction. Even now, after two and a half decades of conservation action and a virtual doubling of the entire population, there is probably a maximum of 1,280 cockatoos, about three-quarters of which are on Palawan.

1. Aerial view of the Katala Institute for Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation.

2. Construction of cockatoo aviaries in KIEBC.

The PCCP has been supported from the beginning by the Loro Parque Fundación, as well as the other important external donors, Beauval Nature, Chester Zoo, Zoo Landau in der Pfalz and its partners, Mandai Nature and Heidelberg Zoo. The support has principally been for the conservation of wild cockatoos in their habitat, shared across four crucial sites in Palawan. In addition, since 2006 the KFI has developed the Katala Institute for Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation (KIEBC), located in the Municipality of Narra on the low-lying south-east plain of Palawan.

The KIEBC contributes to conserving Palawan’s biodiversity as an education, conservation and research institution. Part of its function is to develop protocols for wildlife rescue, captive breeding, habitat restoration, and eventually reintroduction of selected highly threatened wild species, of which the Philippine Cockatoo is one. Over the years, cockatoos have arrived as confiscations from people holding them illegally, as injured or imprinted individuals, and as chicks rescued from some nests in extreme drought years, or in cases of unsustainable nest-mite loads. In their aviaries

3. Rescued Philippine Cockatoos intalled in their aviary.

4. Cockatoo chicks, often at this stage, arrive at KIEBC.

surrounded by trees on the property, all cockatoos kept at KIEBC are under the umbrella of the government Department of Environmental and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Programme. The main purpose is to rehabilitate the cockatoos for later release, and this has been successfully taking place in recent years on the island of Dumaran, even of naïve individuals.

However, it is not possible to rehabilitate some individual cockatoos to the level where they will be able to survive unaided in the wild. Therefore, they become permanent residents in the KIEBC, and may be kept in pairs with the opportunity to breed. Nevertheless, Philippine Cockatoos are notoriously difficulty to breed in captivity, and therefore only a few institutions, mostly European

5. Hand-feeding a Philippine Cockatoo chick at KIEBC.

6. Adult Philippine Cockatoo feeding on a seed-pod of the horseradish tree.

7. On Dumaran Island, the moment of release of recuperated Philippine Cockatoos.

zoos, are involved in the breeding of this species. Thus, it was great news to learn that the KIEBC had met the challenge and in 2022 captive bred Philippine Cockatoos for the first time. At the start, the parents were taking care of two chicks, but after the older one died in the nest-box it was considered prudent to hand-raise the remaining chick.

Under the direction of Indira LacernaWidmann, KFI Chief Operations Officer, the cockatoo chick was hand-raised by Angel Satioquia, headkeeper of KIEBC, and was given the name of Hope. Angel remarked that Hope gives the KFI team the

inspiration and gratification to believe and work on. As is the case with most hand-rearing, careful attention to the full and balanced supply of nutrients was necessary, with long hours of feeding and monitoring of its health, growth and development.

The KFI hopes that more chicks will hatch at KIEBC in the future, because regular captive breeding will provide another tool in its efforts to restore the Philippine Cockatoo to its historical range within the Philippines. However, the direct conservation of the Philippine Cockatoo in the wild remains the absolute priority.

THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION

The Parrot Society has decided that the annual meeting that is held in Coventry with the 18 supporting clubs to make arrangements for The National Exhibition is now not as important as it was when the new format was launched in 2007.The procedures are wellknown and the formula works well. Therefore, it will not be held.

Long-term bird enthusiasts will remember The National Exhibitions held at The Birmingham NEC and run by Cage & Aviary Birds prior to 2003, yes twenty years ago! The Parrot Society decided in 2007 that we would try to rebuild the event at Stafford where we hold our successful hobbyist breeder Bird Sale event in October. It was an

LES RANCE

The date of the next National Exhibition is on Sunday 1st October 2023.

excellent decision and the event has gone from strength to strength despite Covid-19, which had a large impact on many events and general living and caused the cancellation of the 2020 exhibition.

In 2022 The UK Gouldian Finch club and the English Cinnamon Canary club joined us and I understand that they both experienced a good day. As the 2020 National Exhibition had to be cancelled due to Coronavirus, I was pleased that we managed to run a full sized National Exhibition in October 2022. Now that we can start holding shows again at Stafford, please remember that The National Exhibition for the Exhibition of Show birds is held in the Sandylands Centre and the Argyle Centre. We use these same Centres for our Help Bird Keepers Shows. The date of the next National Exhibition is on Sunday 1st October 2023.

A large number of hobbyist-bred stock always finds new homes from the buyers who come in large numbers to our events. The National Exhibition is the leading and most popular bird show held in this country for hobbyist bird breeders, not just because of the sales tables but also the Exhibition that is held in the Argyle and Sandylands

This year the exhibition in the Argyle and Sandylands Centres will again be organised with the assistance of the 18 clubs that support this event and it continues to receive plenty of entries, may this be the case for many years to come.

Centres. There is something for everyone available from the 60+ traders who so generously support this event, especially from our sponsor Johnston & Jeff Ltd the leading UK seed supplier.

This year the exhibition in the Argyle and Sandylands Centres will again be organised with the assistance of the 18 clubs that support this event and it continues to receive plenty of entries, may this be the case for many years to come. These enthusiasts work so hard to construct the staging from mid-day on the Saturday and take in many entries in the late afternoon and Saturday evening. This judged event will be as popular as ever in the future, with many high-class birds on view. At this year’s event a crystal glass, rose bowl has been donated by Johnston & Jeff for best bird in Show and by The Parrot Society for the best junior exhibit, their generous donations for these valuable awards is always very much appreciated. Cage and Aviary Birds give the Exhibition a special supplement in their publication so that all their readers are aware of which clubs to contact to enter their exhibition stock into the Show.

Again, Neil Randle our magazine designer will attend and take over a 1,000 images on the day so that we have plenty of images for the next twelve months. Please do enjoy the pictures. This year the Show will be held on Sunday 1st October and will

follow similar lines to the 2022 event but more use will be made of the Prestwood Centre to house the stands of such supporters as The Australian Finch Society, The Bengalese Fanciers Association, and The Waxbill Finch Society. Within the two exhibition

halls, there is always a great buzz of chatter and excitement, it is always a pleasure just to stand there and

SO MUCH MORE THAN A STANDARD MIX

As with everything we make, our No. 1 Parrot Food is purposefully designed to be nutritionally correct as well as having a wide variety of ingredients for behavioural enrichment. Just because it is our “standard” mix, that does not mean it is spared the Johnston & Je treatment! This traditional base food contains 16 ingredients, comprising a wide variety of shapes, colours, textures and tastes for your feathered friend to forage through. Feed with fresh fruit and vegetables or our Fruit, Nut & Veg Mix, to serve up a diet that’s so much more than standard.

Benefits

Various Ingredients for Behavioural Enrichment

Nutritionally Balanced Cleaned to 99.9% Purity

Composition: Medium Striped Sunflower Seed, Whole Maize, Sa ower Seed, Natural Groats, Red Dari, White Sunflower Seed, Buckwheat, Monkey Nuts, Pu ed Wheat, Flaked Peas, Peanuts, Chillies, Pu ed Maize, Flaked Maize, Pine Nuts and Vegetable Oil.

Suitable for: African Greys, Amazons, Caiques, Cockatoos, Large Conures, Macaws, Meyers, Senegals and Quakers.

Please note, Johnston & Je ’s foods are only available through retailers or online. Please contact us to find your nearest stockists or for more information.