There has been an immense interruption in the stream of news from Parrot HQ and we wish to immediately apologise and now address that matter. So long has this interruption been that we fear rumours may have begun to spread!
Do not worry Dear Reader if you had heard concerns that the parrot rescue had become altogether too much for the team. You would be pardoned if you thought the endless and tiring tedium of providing outstanding care was too much. But goodness no dishing up twice daily servings of fresh fruit, seed and water; a daily serving of baby food by hand for the youngsters; daily sweepings of the aviary; fresh branches entertain and educate; opportunistic aviary extensions and more is a pleasure for us. In truth those who continue to care for the loras and prikichis actually have no concept of fatigue. So relentless are the efforts of Jon, Tineke, Marian, Andrea, Catherine and Jenny in preparing the parrots for release it has been considered inhumane, but only for they themselves.
Alternatively you may have feared we had ditched the parrots and eloped to a warm tropical island to live out our dreams with the funding we worked so hard to secure for these birds. This too is a thought that must be banished. The team don't have to elope because we're here on Bonaire and doing the conserving of parrots that is our dream!
And so with tales of desertion dispelled we can rapidly recover from this relapse with an update on all those concerned. If you get confused with the many names you may wish to look back at earlier updates for background on who's who and who's not.
Release birds Isla and Johan continue to visit the release site from time to time, as do a few truly wild parrots. They are clearly flourishing now they are no longer in tiny cages and they are a testament to the success of the earlier releases. The absence of Monty we take to be an even greater indication of success, as we believe he has integrated into the wild population. Only time will tell and we hope that one day we'll spot him while out doing our monitoring work.
Al and Sue continue to visit the nest box home from which they fledged four deliciously plump babies. All four chicks are doing well and much like a distressed dieter they can be heard issuing demands for food on a regular basis. The 2011 breeding season for Bonaire's endangered parrot was so good, thanks to the preceding and persistent rains that this wonderful "ger ger ger" noise can be heard all over the island.
Of the rescue parrots the oldest, Bo Peep, was plucked from the aviary when she started to bully the younger parrots. This upset released parrot Harry who'd been hanging around outside the aviary passing amorous glances in her general direction. Harry's disappointment was so great when Bo Peep was temporarily moved to the Echo team's veranda that he flew over and climbed straight into the cage the moment the door was opened. They will soon be re-homed in their own aviary while out of shape Bo Peep is readied for release. There is much work to do with the parrot aviaries and the wait for theirs has been at least as long a wait as when one goes to pay at the supermarket here on Bonaire but not quite as long as when paying your water bill.
All but the youngest rescued parrot chicks have been enjoying life in the parrot aviary. The team have been out foraging on behalf of these birds, bringing them branches of wild plants bearing fruit. Many including Twiggy are now weaned but some, Ruby in particular, continue to request as much hand feeding mixture as they can get.
Sid, Marvin and the insatiable Miss Piggy are the youngest three parrots and until recently they were in a separate aviary, "The East Wing", getting two feeds a day. Such privileges have now ceased and worse still they've now been forcibly moved from the luxurious East Wing to the main parrot aviary.
The three Amigos who arrived in bits and pieces following the July 1st rescue have had mixed fortunes. Biscuit's broken leg has healed well and he will walk with only a slight limp. It turned out that the German shepherd that cuddled Perry (with his toothy mouth) had done no damage and he too, Biscuit that is, is in good shape. Both these birds arrived as mature but un-weaned wild chicks. Feeding them was a real test of nerves, as they clearly dislike humans. Now they are weaned we cannot wait to get them back into the wild.
Mick arrived in a terrible state having been stoned out of a fruit tree. His head injury and shattered wing were sadly too much for him to recover from. Dark coloured droppings revealed that he probably had internal bleeding. He has been the only Lora that has died in our care and we were deeply saddened to lose him.
As if to be given a second chance another parrot was found with a broken wing. Luckily the Echo team now includes Jon, a vet whose dedication is so exceptional he may never be allowed to leave. Prior to coming to Bonaire Jon was working with the critically endangered (and also flightless) Kakapo, an anomaly among parrots from New Zealand. Others on the team find it consequently confusing that he should give this broken parrot a classic Australian name, Bruce. This is of course, no matter for us because Jon cares for Bruce better than he cares for himself.
Arriving with a savagely clipped wing was another, temporarily, flightless young bird. Having only "half a" set of flight feathers he became known as "Arthur". This has taken some explaining because those not blessed with a Yorkshire accent seem to miss the similarity between the two. He was initially housed in grand The East Wing, which combined with his bold features and gold ring lead us to see his stature and rename this young fellow King Arthur. His flight feathers will be replaced in time and like all the other parrots confiscated or rescued parrots he too will be wild once again.
Dear Reader we must not forget the prikichis many of which already have a new suit of feathers and look stunning. Chi Chi the most adorable has given up her desperate attempts to solicit food and is now unrecognisable from the 50 or so other birds in their large aviary. The eviction of Sid, Marvin and Miss Piggy resulted in the East Wing being opened up to the adjacent prikichi aviary. This has not only increased the space available but also added a second corner for them to navigate in flight. The little devils remain a little too comfortable around people but we are working on that and will tell you all about it in the next update.
Who would have thought there was so much news to tell? It's non-stop in the land of parrots but thankfully you are now up-to-date, phew! If you'd like to get the very latest news please take a look at Echo's facebook page: www.facebook.com/echobonaire.org
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