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Found this cool website of an organization thaT is doing some neat
things for Parrots. They started as just hobbyist....Hopefully we will be
able to do some of the same typ of things in just a few years.......
PARROT PORTFOLIO II
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The Conservation and Welfare of the World's Most Charismatic Birds
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ECHO PARAKEET Psittacula echo
MAURITIUS
When the World Parrot Trust began to suppor this species in 1990 it was
the least numerous parrot in the world, with only about 15 individuals
left in the wild and none in captivity. We began by supplying a 4 WB
vehicle (with help from the UK Parrot Society), and have provided
research funds every year, to reach a current total of 50000. For the
past three years we have sent our trustee and veterinary consultant
Andrew Greenwood to advise the team headed by Carol Jones of the Jersey
Wildlife Preservation Trust. Working together with the Mauritian Wildlife
Fund, they hae raised the total number of Echo Parakeets to around 50. Of
these, 17 are in the new aviary facility, and plans are in hand to begin
releasing some back into the wild in 1996. This is probably the world's
most successful parrot conservation programme.
LEAR'S MACAW Anodorhynchus leari
BRAZIL
Since 1992 the World Parrot Trust has been supporting the work of Dr.
Charles A. Munn III, the world's leading expert on macaws. At one time,
Lear's Macaw was though to be reduced to only 50 or 60 specimens, living
in a dry and desolate area of NE Brazil. These birds are threatened by a
shortage of the palm trees on which they rely for food and this lead to
our funding a longterm scheme to grow and transplant thousands of these
trees. The other main threat is the trapping of these birds for sale to
unscrupulous collectors. Dr. Munn, with his Brazilian colleagues in the
area, has made substantial progress in converting trappers to macaw
protectors. His team has also discovered the nesting cliffs of an
entirely new population of Lear's Macaw, a very welcome development (see
our PsittaScene newsletter for November 1995).
RED TAILED BLACK COCKATOO Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne
AUSTRALIA
This project was proposed to us in 1991 by Joseph M. Forshaw, renowned
author of "Parrots of the World." It concerns an endangered sub-species
of the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo which occurs in a limited area in the
Sough of Australia. This population is reduced to between 500 and 1000
birds and it is threatened by trapping for the bird trade and by a
shortage of suitable nest trees. Its food trees are also in short supply.
Our funding of USA $5000 each year for five years has resulted in
additional finance coming forward from State sources; these have been
used to employ a local farmer to record, study and protect the nest sites
and encourage local residents to value and help preserve these
magnificent birds.
PARROT ACTION PLAN 1997-2002
A previous draft Parrot Action Plan had been discontinued due to
differences of opinion between leading scientific experts. The World
Parrot Trust took the initiative in making a new attempt at this task, so
vital to the converstaion of endangered parrot species. With the
invaluable help of British Airways Assisting Conservation, who provided
flights worth 20000, a meeting of international parrot specialists was
arranged in London in June 1995. This resulted in agreement to proceed
with a new Action Plan, backed by IUCN, the World Conservation Union,
Birdlife International, the Association for Parrot Conservation and the
World Parrot Trust. We have been given the job of coordinating and
progressing the Action Plan, which is to be completed by the end of 1996.
We need $30,000 for this, but so far we have only $5,000 provided by
ourselves, and $4,000 from the Institut fur Papageienforschung. We would
welcome futher donations or pledges to complete the necessary funding.
ST VINCENT PARROT Amazona guildingii
ST. VINCENT, W.I.
Our involvement with this most beautiful of parrots goes back many years.
In 1974 Paradise Park, home of the World Parrot Trust, was sent a pair of
these parrots by the St Vincent Government. The Park has succeeded in
breeding them and is sending offspring to members of the official St.
Vincent Parrot Consortium.
In 1994 we were able to send one of our four Parrot Buses (created in
partnership with Paul Butler of RARE Centre) to St Vincent, where it is
used to educate the island's children about the importance of preserving
the remaining rainforest, not just for the parrots, but to ensure the
island's water supply. We have also sent Dr. Andrew Greenwood to advise
on the government's breeding programme for the St. Vincent Parrot and we
are in the process of building a new display aviary in the famous
Botanical Gardens in Kingstown.
RED-VENTED COCKATOO Cacatua haematuropygia
PHILIPPINES
This cockatoo is now listed as "Critical" in BirdLife International's
"Birds to Watch 2." The total population may lie between 1000 and 4000,
scattered among many islands. The destruction of its lowland forest
habitat is a major concern, but trapping is probably the greater threat.
Indeed, "Birds to Watch 2" reports "the young of every know accessible
nest are taken for the pet trade."
Urgent action is needed and Marc Boussekey of Espace Zoologique, France,
has been successful in setting up a conservation programme on Palawan, a
remaining stronghold of the species. His partners there have established
the Sagip Katala (Save the Cockatoo) Movement, and their members are
protecting nest sites by providing incentives for expoachers and
educating the local population through radio broadcasts. We have provided
$2000 towards a total budget of $20000, so much more help is needed.
Remember, this species is "Critical", so please consider helping this
project.
HYACINTH MACAW Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
BRAZIL
When we first started working with Dr. Munn in 1991, we part-funded some
research into the breeding biology of the Hyacinth Macaw in the Pantanal
of Brazil. We also funded a successful experiment in the provision of
artificial nestboxes for these birds. A wild population of at least 50000
thirty years ago has been reduced to an estimated 3000 today, almost
entirely due to the insatiable demand for this beautiful birds as pets in
developed countries. Many thousands have died in the process of capture
and transportation and it is certain that there are now more in captivity
than in the wild. With this history, aviculture has a duty to "put
something back" to help the birds in the wild. We are currently working
with Charlie Munn to develop a programme to help protect an improtant
population of Hyacinth Macaws in Eastern Brazil. This is a most urgent
and underfunded project - please help.
PARROT HABITAT FUND
One of our original stated "Aims" was "to protect and preserve the
natural habitats of parrots." We now feel ready to start a special fund
for this purpose. The PARROTHABITAT FUND uses a beautiful rainforest
painting generously donated to the Trust by Cyd Riley of Firefly
T-shirts. It carries the message "Save it for the parrots, save it for us
all!"
We have established contact with a number of excellent habitat
preservation projects involving parrots, and details of these will be
provided in our newsletter PsittaScene. Our hope is that this campaign
and the T-shirts and other merchandise associated with it, will appeal to
a wide general audience in addition to the "parrot world."
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OTHER DONATIONS BY THE TRUST
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MACAW CONFERENCE HONDURAS 1990
Organized by the Centre for the Study of Tropical Birds, who requested
financial support to assist Latin American scientists with their travel
costs. We made a donation which helped two scientists to attend.
AFA HURRICANE RELIEF FUND
When the hurricane struck southern Florida in 1992, we contributed to
this fund to provide some help for aviculturists in the area.
GUADALAJARA PARROT SYMPOSIUM June 1994
The recently formed Association for Parrot Conservation arranged this
conference, and we wished to indicate our support for their efforts. We
therefore provided funds to be used to fly Latin American delegates to
Guadalajara.
International Aviculturists Society - Proventricular Dilatation Disease
Fund
Tropical Rainforest Coilation January 1997
Michael Reynolds
Founder and Hon. Director
World Parrot Trust
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