Cannot believe that it has been over a year since my last entry. So what's new?
Well since I last wrote three of our keepers have thrown themselves out of an aircraft to raise funds for a new penguin exhibit (I think their total raised so far exceeds £18,000!), two of our show team have been paired up for breeding (that's birds not presenters!!), and we have our very first parent rearing of a Blue throated Macaw chick going on as I write.
Becky, Adam and Perry did tandem parachute jumps to boost the funds raised at the penguin feeding events and to raise publicity for our new penguin enclosure appeal - corporate sponsors of exhibits always welcome by the way. They had a great time and all three landed safe and sound.
Perry, Becky and Adam together with their instructors after the parachute jump.
Cedric the female Citron crested Cockatoo that was bred at Paradise Park in 1993, and has had a starring role in our Free Flying Bird Show over the years now has a mate. Her new partner is Barley, a lovely male that was donated to the park by a private keeper. Both birds are getting along well and although they continue to spend long hours in their nestbox, or rather what's left of it, so far there has been no sign of eggs.
Cedric with a workshop participant dispaying her star quality.
Another show bird Toby, a Blue cheeked Amazon is also paired up to a female that arrived recently from Exmoor Zoo. Both birds are originally customs confiscations and they too are getting along really well.
Monitor image of the Blue throated Macaw female with chick.
Although we have bred Blue Throated Macaws at the park our breeding pair have been unable to hatch their own eggs resulting in us having to remove clutches for hand rearing. This was obviously not ideal so we have made a determined effort to turn things around. A new nestbox location was established, nest camera installed and increased humidity at the time of hatch was created. The result is our very first Blue throated Macaw that is being reared by its parents. The birds laid two eggs and hatched both, but the youngest chick failed three days after hatching. The nest camera has given us the confidence to leave the birds well alone, which is particularly important with this pair as they become so aggressive when the nest is approached that we fear for the safety of any eggs or chicks within. To date, all is going well. Both parent birds were hand raised in the US in 1991 at ABRC, Florida.
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