That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

Several conservation organizations have hit upon simple ways to turn the observations of casual birders into valuable conservation data.  If you enjoy birding, why not also ensure that your hobby helps to preserve your favorite creatures….it really is very simple to become involved.  As one who has been involved in this and related programs for years, I can assure you that it is quite gratifying to know that your efforts will be put to practical use in helping to conserve local birds.  Enjoy!

The Christmas Bird Count

At 109 years old, the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count is the nation’s longest-running wildlife census.  Each year tens of thousands of “citizen scientists” count birds in their neighborhoods and submit their observations to the Audubon Society for use in assessing avian health and population trends.  This information has also helped to support the passage of protective legislation for the black duck and several other species, and has been used to document the spread of West Nile Virus and other health hazards.

Bird count data has also been incorporated into two government reports, both of which have direct bearing on future conservation initiatives.  Common Birds in Decline has established that populations of many formerly abundant birds have plunged by 65-80% over the past 40 years, while Watchlist 2007 documents 178 mainland and 39 Hawaiian bird species in need of immediate protection.

You can learn how to become involved at:

http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/getinvolved.HTML

To help make sure that there are plenty of birds around to count, please check out our wild bird foods, feeders and other supplies.

Florida’s only native parrot, the Carolina parakeet, is unfortunately no longer with us, having been hunted out of existence in the early 1900’s.  But at least 40 other parrot species have taken up residence in the Sunshine State (74 species have been sighted there since the 1960’s), and a recent survey reveals that most have established breeding populations.

Included among these in residence are Goffin’s cockatoos, chestnut-fronted macaws, African gray parrots, black-headed and red-throated parakeets, nearly every commonly-kept Amazon and mitred and sun conures.  Both green-winged and blue and gold macaws are regularly sighted, but breeding success has not been documented.

One of the most surprising discoveries has been a robust population of red-crowned Amazon parrots, a species considered quite threatened in its native northeastern Mexico.  Roosting aggregations of 100-200+ birds have been observed, and breeding pairs were been documented in Fort Lauderdale as far back as the early 1970’s.  A reintroduction program, using individuals trapped in Florida, is under consideration.

As a naturalist with wide interests, I’m awed by Florida’s introduced wildlife, despite the environmental havoc that has resulted.  In addition to some of the birds mentioned above, I have also observed dozens of species of introduced fishes, reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders.  Exotic mammals have been the biggest surprise – African pouched rats, capybara, agoutis and a number of other surprising finds await those who wander afield in this most unusual state.

An in depth Florida Field Naturalist article on introduced parrots is posted at http://www.fosbirds.org/FFN/Articles/FFNv30n4p111-131Pranty.pdf

Image referenced from Wikipedia and originally posted by Roger Moore Glandauer.

While in Tokyo recently, I remarked to a biologist friend that I was surprised to see that crows were so much at home in the heart of this giant, busy city.  The local species is closely related to the American and fish crow, neither of which usually frequents urban areas.

As we talked on, I learned that carrion crows utilize cars to break nuts.  This in itself is not so unusual, as crows and their relatives are well-known for their tool-using skills, and many birds drop clams, bones and other such items on hard surfaces to crack them (please see my article on crows and ravens ).

But carrion crows in Tokyo, Osaka and elsewhere have refined the art immensely.  Dodging cars to retrieve cracked seeds was apparently not to their liking, as many now leave nuts to be cracked within the pedestrian crosswalk.  They wait patiently until the light is in their favor, and then walk out, along with the “regular pedestrians”, to claim their now-edible nuts!

Having grown up in NYC, I was shocked upon visiting Tokyo to see that no one, young or old, crossed against red lights…even when there is not a car in sight.  It just doesn’t happen!  My friend assured me that the crows are not always so well-behaved as the people, and sometimes ran out for their rewards during lulls in traffic, against the light!

Unfortunately, I heard the story shortly before departing for Kyoto, where it seems the crows are not quite as sharp (or fearful?) as their big-city cousins, but I did get to see numerous car-cracked nut shells in one neighborhood.  Carrion crows are quite regular in their habits…in some countryside areas, their calls as they fly to roost were (and I hope still are!) a signal for children to return home for dinner.

Yes, you can see it on Youtube! A segment from a BBC show is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

Image referenced from Wikipedia and originally posted by BS Thurner Hof

We cannot hope to understand and appropriately moderate our pet birds’ behaviors if we have not studied their natural histories.  All captive behavior stems from a species’ natural behavior…viewing the topic in that light is the only sensible way to go about achieving harmony with our pets.

Natural Behaviors

Even after decades of working with parrots, I’m still sometimes surprised at the racket they make in their natural habitats.  Free-living parrots are always vocalizing…on the wing, while feeding and in their roosting sites.  Doves begin calling before first light, male canaries sing incessantly in the breeding season,  male peafowl scream… and so on.  To expect otherwise of them in captivity is unreasonable.

Why Punishment is Ineffective

That being said, there are a number of captive behaviors that can and should be addressed.  But birds do not recognize punishment…it’s simply not within their abilities, and never will be.  Many mammals restrain and punish their young…dogs, for example, will respond to punishment, although it is certainly not the best way to train them.  Birds, however, respond to punishment as a threat, or an attack, and will react accordingly.

Yelling at a screaming parrot will usually ensure a vocal free-for-all, with the bird trying its level best to top you!  Squirting water, sometimes recommended in books, is useless…at most it will temporarily frighten a bird, and in the long run will do more harm than good.  Hopefully it goes without saying that one should never strike a bird (well, I pushed a male ostrich once, but he was about to do much worse to me!).

Parrots can often be distracted or their behavior re-directed, but again such are only temporary solutions.  It is important to get to the root of the problem…in many cases, knowing the bird’s history is vital in understanding its reactions and behaviors.

For information on specific behavioral problems, please see my articles Parrot Bonding as a Behavioral Problem  and Help! My Parrot Won’t Stop Screaming. 

Today I’ll depart for a moment from pet birds to highlight a surprising conservation concern that recently came to my attention.

It’s easy to become complacent about California condor conservation – after all, the story of its near-extinction (only 22 survived by 1982, all in captivity) and subsequent recovery stands as one of the best-known conservation success stories.  Today, approximately 150 condors are established in the wild, and I had assumed their survival to be, if not guaranteed, at least secure.  Surprisingly, however, there are still gaps in the protection granted the condor under the Endangered Species Act.

It seems that cattle have unrestricted grazing rights in California’s Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, an area that figures prominently in condor re-introduction efforts.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed limitations upon grazing, in order to improve the habitat for condors and San Joaquin kit foxes, leopard lizards and other resident endangered species.  This move is strongly contested by ranchers and many local officials, and the proposal has yet to be implemented.

I’ve worked with Andean and California condors in captivity, and have a soft spot for them.  Please check the following site to learn more about specific action needed to support the preservation of their habitat: (http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/).

Image referenced from Wikipedia and originally posted by Chuck Szmurlo