45 Bird Scene - Winter 2019 : 2020

ISSUE FORTY FIVE: WINTER 2020
BIRDSCENE
THE MAGAZINE FOR
HOBBYIST BREEDERS
AND CONSERVATIONISTS
BREED AND
RELEASE
SLOWLY BUT SURELY,
THE PHILIPPINE
COCKATOO GAINS
GROUND
GOULDIAN
FINCH
REPORT:
THE NATIONAL
EXHIBITION
2019
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2ND MARCH
2020

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ISSUE FORTY FIVE: WINTER 2020
THE MAGAZINE FOR
HOBBYIST BREEDERS
AND CONSERVATIONISTS
SLOWLY BUT SURELY,
THE PHILIPPINE
COCKATOO GAINS
GROUND
REPORT:
THE NATIONAL
EXHIBITION
2019
CONTENTS
BIRD SCENE: WINTER 2020
CONTENTS
6
40
DONATE TO OUR
CONSERVATION
FUND…
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16
26
6
16
SLOWLY BUT SURELY,
THE PHILIPPINE
COCKATOO GAINS
GROUND
Dr. David Waugh
50TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE PARROT
SOCIETY UK - PART 2
By Alan Jones
26
BREED AND
RELEASE
Gouldian Finch
ON THE COVER
32
32
40
REPORT: THE
NATIONAL
EXHIBITION 2019
Les Rance
MICE, ROOFS AND
BIRD ROOM
CONSTRUCTION
Rosemary Low
06
BIRDSCENE
BREED AND
RELEASE
GOULDIAN
FINCH
FREE
SPRING EDITION OUT
2ND MARCH
2020
16
30
BIRD SCENE: Issue Forty Five: Winter 2020
BIRD SCENE is run by The Parrot Society UK, Audley House, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted HP4 1EH, England.
FOR SALES AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRES Telephone or Fax: 01442 872245
Website: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org / E-Mail: les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org
The views expressed by contributors to this magazine are not those of The Parrot Society UK unless otherwise
explicitly stated
BIRD SCENE 3

Les Rance, Editor, The Parrot Society UK | www.theparrotsocietyuk.org | les.rance@
INTRODUCT
With our national news
focused very firmly on the
imminent General Election
and the vast range of promises from
the political parties I do hope that you
enjoy reading this winter edition of
Bird Scene and that it brings you a
different subject to absorb. We all
know that bird keeping is a relaxing
past-time, however, for hobbyist
breeders that keep their birds in
unheated aviaries through the poor
weather experienced during the winter
months it can also be a rather worrying
time, however, with careful
preparation and planning we can
mitigate the worst of the weather. If
aviaries are exposed to the wind then
the provision of clear plastic sheeting
wrapped around three sides of the
aviary improves the conditions inside
remarkably and at a very low cost.
During the winter moths it is always
important to feed your birds each day,
not only to ensure they have plenty of
food but also to study your birds and
make sure they are not distressed by
the weather conditions. Those who
keep their stock in breeding rooms
where they can easily turn up the
heating however, are in a far more
satisfactory position. In this edition of
Bird Scene we are very pleased to have
an excellent article from Dr David
Waugh on the efforts to protect the
Philippine Red-vented Cockatoo, a bird
that is admired by many bird
enthusiasts. It was very much a firm
favourite of our former Chairman Cliff
Wright and the Society gave a sizable
donation to the Zoological Society of
London in the days of John Hayward to
assist their work on this cockatoo. Also
in this issue we have a report on the
National Exhibition that was held at
Stafford County Showground on
Sunday 6th October. The quality of the
images taken by our Designer Neil
Randle are excellent and allow readers
of this publication, who may not have
been able to attend this event, a real
insight into the day. There is also an
article relating to Gouldian Finches,
those beautiful finches from Australia,
let us hope that they have not been
troubled by the very severe fires
raging in some parts of the country.
Also we continue the reports from our
seminar held at Chester Zoo which
focused on conservation issues. So
really quite a lot for you to read and
hopefully pick up some pointers that
may well assist you with whatever
species of birds you currently maintain.
This is now the forty-fifth edition of
Bird Scene, how quickly eight years
04 BIRD SCENE

theparrotsocietyuk.org
ION
BY THE
EDITOR
LES RANCE
can pass when you are working on
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
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 will reduce even further
as people and businesses send less and
less by conventional means. With CPI
inflation now running well in excess of
2.0% 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.
As a result of
increases to the costs of both postage
and printing I am really pleased that
we decided to produce Bird Scene as
a FREE e-magazine. We have learnt a
great deal over the past seven 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 at our October Sale Day/Show at
Stafford County Showground which
was held on Sunday 6th October and
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.
BIRD SCENE 05

Adult Philippine
Cockatoo feeding
on flowers.
This long-lived cockatoo is endemic to the
Philippines, and in 1950 it was common
throughout the archipelago but then
suffered a massive and rapid decline,
most likely in the mid-1980s, which left a
population of as few as 650 individuals…
06 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
BY DR. DAVID WAUGH
- CORRESPONDENT, LORO PARQUE FUNDACIÓN
SLOWLY BUT SURELY,
THE PHILIPPINE
COCKATOO GAINS
GROUND
The well-known fable of the hare and the tortoise, which pits one
against the other in a race, concludes with the tortoise as the
winner, the lesson of the story being that success can be
achieved slowly and steadily. In real life, the character of the tortoise
could easily be assumed by the Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua
haematuropygia) - not the bird, but the wild population of the
species. Slowly but surely this wild population is increasing in
response to the comprehensive conservation efforts being undertaken
to prevent its extinction, and to bring about the recovery of the
species and its lowland forest habitat. Since 1999 these efforts,
BIRD SCENE 07

Graph of the wild population increase of the Philippine Cockatoo. Blue line – upper estimates: red line
– lower estimates.
encompassed in the Philippine Cockatoo
Conservation Programme (PCCP) led by
Peter Widmann and Indira Lacerna-
Widmann of the Katala Foundation Inc.,
have been supported by the Loro Parque
Fundación, with US$1,816,201 and
absolute trust that the strategy and the
actions will pay off.
This long-lived cockatoo is endemic to
the Philippines, and in 1950 it was
common throughout the archipelago but
then suffered a massive and rapid decline,
most likely in the mid-1980s, which left a
population of as few as 650 individuals,
perhaps 89% of these being found on
Palawan and its satellite islands. The
main causes of its decline have been the
destruction of lowland forest and
mangroves, and trapping and poaching of
nestlings, and the dire situation of the
Philippine Cockatoo resulted in its listing
in the IUCN Red List as ‘Critically
Endangered’. In response, the PCCP set as
its overall goal the stepwise down-listing
of the species in the Red List, as
indicated by an increasing self-sustained
population within the natural range of
the species.
To achieve this, the PCCP has enacted a
broad array of conservation interventions,
including nest protection and monitoring,
applied research and population
monitoring, protected area establishment
and management, habitat restoration,
rescue and captive management,
translocation, capacity building,
conservation education and advocacy. A
key approach is the inclusion of former
poachers as wildlife wardens for nest
protection and monitoring, which not
08 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
only immediately removes poaching as a
major threat factor, but at the same time
provides a wealth of traditional knowledge
for the protection of the species.
Constantly being refined as necessary,
the methods applied over the past twenty
years have resulted in the recovery of the
local populations of the Philippine
Cockatoo in four project sites within
Palawan, being the islands of Rasa,
Dumaran and Pandanan/Bugsuk, and the
Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm mainland
site, which in 2019 collectively had
between 60 to 86% of the total
population. Therefore these form an
important part of the overall positive
population trend which, more than merely
remaining stable, is gradually increasing.
The tortoise is winning! All objective
estimations of wild populations
incorporate an upper limit and a lower
limit, which are shown in Figure 1 for the
four most recent years (2016-2019). Thus,
the most optimistic latest population
estimate is of 1,278 individuals, and a
four year increase between 14.5 and
23.2%.
If current levels of protection in the
project sites can be maintained and the
positive cockatoo population trend
continues, down-listing could be achieved
by 2024 following the IUCN criteria for
population recovery of three generations,
which is 39 years for this species, and
assuming that the major population crash
occurred in the mid-1980s.
Palawan is currently undergoing rapid
development, some of which affects
directly the breeding and foraging
habitats of cockatoos. To help avoid the
more damaging effects of such
development, the PCCP is involved in
policy dialogue with local and national
decision makers and government agencies
regarding these emerging issues. Slowly,
but surely is the way forward.
The intrepid Philippine Cockatoo wardens of Dumaran Island.

BY
ALAN JONES
Eric Peake
50TH
PART
TWO
ANNIVERSARY OF THE
PARROT SOCIETY UK
06 10 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
As reported in the 44th edition of
Bird Scene Ray Ackroyd’s film
about the protective collaring of
trees in Australia set the scene for the
day, and showed the audience just what
could be done out in the field, with a
simple idea, limited manpower, and some
basic equipment. Eric Peake then took to
the stage to introduce a prestigious
international selection of speakers for
the rest of the day. First up were two
keepers from our hosts, Chester Zoo,
presenting some of the conservation
projects with which the Zoo has been
involved. Anne Morris, lead keeper on the
parrot section, started with a talk about
some of their earliest fieldwork in the
late 1980s and into the 1990s to hand
rear and release Echo Parakeets
(Psittacula eques).
Anne described how habitat destruction
had brought this species to the brink of
extinction, with a mere 20 or so
individuals left in the wild in the 1980s.
These parakeets were initially provided
with nest boxes in the remaining forest,
and later individuals were brought into
purpose-built aviaries to aid breeding.
Eggs were taken for incubating, or young
chicks were taken for hand rearing, into a
purpose-built unit, with strict hygiene
control. All chicks were weighed regularly,
and fed by tube and syringe. All were
checked for external parasites – a
common cause of chick morbidity in wild
parakeets – and initially fed individually.
As they grew and fledged, they were
grouped together in crèche fashion to
avoid imprinting on humans, before
ultimately moving to an outside flight
where they could see others of their own
kind. Here they were still monitored by
attaching small bowls of feed to weighing
scales. The birds would land on the cups
to feed, simultaneously registering their
weight as they did so. The final stage was
a soft-release aviary with feeding stations
to which the chicks could return while
they gradually explored the big wide
world. Native plants were grown in the
aviaries, or the birds’ natural food berries
and fruits were ‘spiked’ in their flights, so
that they would learn about ideal food
sources.
Anne Morris
BIRD SCENE 11

A small bell was attached to the middle
tail feather to monitor their movements
initially. Some birds quickly removed this
interference, but all were eventually lost
at the bird’s first major moult, by which
time all would be independent. Hopperstyle
feeders (to which the birds had
become accustomed while in their flights)
were mounted on posts around the site to
ensure that all individuals would continue
to receive adequate nutrition. Anne then
went on to show the natural rain-forest
habitat of these birds, with photographs
of released individuals. She described how
these methods had increased the
population of free-living Echo Parakeets
to 120+ breeding pairs at the last count.
Anne’s colleague Gareth Evans then took
the stage to describe a recent survey on
the Ecuador Amazon Parrot (Amazona
autumnalis lilacina). This study followed
DNA research carried out by Chester Zoo’s
Director General Dr Mark Pilgrim, who was
interested in the relationships between
the various species and possible subspecies
of this group of Amazon parrots.
After 10 years of dedicated study, Dr
Pilgrim was able to confirm that this
parrot should be listed as a distinct
species, and it was immediately classified
as endangered by IUCN. The Ecuador
Amazon is found just in a small area of
dry forest habitat in southwest Ecuador,
known as Cerra Blanco. The parrots roost
in nearby mangrove trees, so the survey
team staked out these roost sites in the
early mornings and late afternoons, to
observe and count the birds flying to and
from their roost sites. Birds counted ranged
from 40 to 140, mostly in pairs or threes.
Allowing for the fact that some may have
been nesting, a maximum number for the
area surveyed was estimated at less that
200, so a truly endangered population.
Trees were surveyed for possible nest
holes in the area, and a follow-up survey
is planned for early 2017.
Gareth went on to describe Chester Zoo’s
attempts at breeding Amazona lilacina
since the arrival of the first individuals in
1983. None were bred until 1996,
following a change in nest box design. In
the following year Mark Pilgrim set up a
studbook for the species, and the Zoo
acquired several individuals from various
sources and gathered them together in a
communal aviary. The parrots then
selected their chosen partners, and these
bonded pairs were set up in breeding
situations at the Zoo or with other
agencies. This technique led to a rapid
increase in breeding success. Gareth
continued by describing the current
breeding aviary for these parrots at the
Zoo, and we were able to see these for
ourselves on the following morning’s
guided tour. They are not highly
destructive parrot species, so flights can
be planted out to mimic their natural
habitat more closely than is possible with
many other psittacine birds in captivity.
The breeding cycle and feeding regime
12 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
Gareth Evans
Birds counted ranged from 40
to 140, mostly in pairs or threes.
Allowing for the fact that some may
have been nesting, a maximum
number for the area surveyed was
estimated at less that 200, so a
truly endangered population.
of these birds at the Zoo was described.
Nutribird pellets, with pulses and fresh
fruits and vegetables are given, presented
in dishes mounted off the floor to prevent
contamination by mice. Some chicks are
taken for hand rearing, but most remain
with their parents. A selection of fresh,
bird-safe branches and foliage is provided
for nutritional and psychological
enrichment.
Following a few questions from
delegates, this session was followed by a
welcome coffee break, prior to the next
presentation by Dr Mark Stafford, which
will be reported in the next issue!
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BIRD SCENE 13

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14 BIRD SCENE

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BIRD SCENE 15

any well meaning aviculturists would like
M to believe that bird keepers could make a
positive contribution to conservation by acting
as a gene bank which could be tapped into for
breed and release programmes. This gene bank
would also be an insurance policy which could
be used should a species become extinct in the
wild. This is highly desirable, but in the cold
hard light of dawn how realistic is this belief?
Breed and Release programmes were
popularised and well publicised during the
nineties by Gerald Durrell of Jersey Zoo and Sir
Peter Scott with the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust
and continues to be promoted by many zoos as
it fits their corporate profile of education and
conservation. Despite its high profile with the
public, generally speaking scientists these days
are somewhat cautious as it is difficult to
implement, is very expensive and has a
chequered history of success. A total of 19,561
vertebrates, invertebrates and plants are on the
worlds Red List. Furthermore, the rate of
extinction is accelerating with the global
phenomenon being labelled by scientists as the
world’s sixth mass extinction; one of the
previous ones being the extinction of the
dinosaurs.
Worldwide there are 1253 species of birds
considered to be threatened plus another 843
near threatened. This makes a total of 2096
species of bird in need of urgent conservation.
The situation of birds in Australia? To quote
Birdlife Australia. “27 species or sub-species are
now listed as Extinct, 20 as Critically
Endangered, 60 as Endangered, 68 as
Vulnerable and 63 as Near Threatened” ie a
total of 211 in need of help. Of course it would
be impossible for aviculture to play a role in
keeping and breeding all of the 2096 different
species and improbable even here in Australia if
BREED
RELEA
GOULDIAN FINCH
…This makes a total of 2096 specie
need of urgent conservation. The s
birds in Australia? To quote Birdlif
“27 species or sub-species are now
Extinct, 20 as Critically Endangered
Endangered, 68 as Vulnerable and
Threatened” ie a total of 211 in nee
06 16 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
AND
SE
s of bird in
ituation of
e Australia.
listed as
, 60 as
63 as Near
d of help.
BIRD SCENE 17

we concentrated on our own 211. Furthermore,
saving all these species is going to be
impossible with the scarce finance and
resources currently being made available.
Sadly, it is probably going to be a question of
trying to focus effort on those areas and species
which are most likely to end in a positive result
and on programmes that benefit the largest
number of species within a single exercise. In
that context, the Gouldian Finch is considered
an indicator species for the general health of
Australia’s northern savannahs. In other words,
conservation activities which save the Gouldian
Finch are highly likely to save a number of other
species living in the same or similar habitat.
Our scientists decided the first phase of any
meaningful conservation programme is the
scientific research.
The experience of others had shown that if
you do not first have a thorough understanding
of why a species has declined you cannot
possible save it. Logical when you think about
it! As an example, the highest profile USA
conservation programme is the California
Condor Recovery Program which started in
1987 when all the surviving Condors left in the
wild were captured and put into a captive
breeding programme.
The first birds bred in captivity were released
in 1992, but two years later were recaptured
and brought back into captivity again because it
Sadly, it is probably going to be a
question of trying to focus effort
on those areas and species which
are most likely to end in a positive
result and on programmes that
benefit the largest number of
species within a single exercise.
was realised that not enough research had been
done to gain the knowledge of how to sustain
them in the wild. Two years later the breed and
release programme was continued and a hugely
intensive management programme of the wild
population implemented, so that by 2007, at a
cost in excess of USA $35,000,000 the wild
population had been increased to 210, some of
which had actually been bred in the wild and
the rest of the population being created by
progressively releasing captive bred birds.
Despite some apparent success, depressingly,
scientists have now concluded that should the
ongoing intensive conservation management
stop, the current wild Condor population would
relatively quickly become extinct again and
paradoxically the more birds that survive in the
wild the cost of conserving them will increase
pro rata to well over the $2,000,000 or the
$10,000 per bird per annum it has been costing.
So now of course the programme faces the
difficulties of gaining increased ongoing funding
or letting the wild population die out. It is
possible, that if the authorities concerned had
appreciated the difficulties they were going to
face and how much it was going to cost, the
programme would never have started.
We could quote numerous examples of limited
or zero success in implementing breed and
release programmes. The high profile and
highly expensive attempts to reintroduce tigers,
chimpanzee and elephants for example have
failed completely. Closer to home the
Rothschild’s (Bali) Mynah is another example of
high endeavour and high cost with questionable
results.
In 1990 there were only 15 Mynahs left in the
wild. A breed and release programme was
implemented which at its height managed to
get the wild population up to a maximum of 50
birds. By 2011 this mainland population was
back down to six.
18 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
…conservation activities
which save the Gouldian
Finch are highly likely to
save a number of other
species living in the
same or similar habitat.
BIRD SCENE 19

The point we are making is that there is no
point in breeding and releasing birds back into a
habitat or environment which will not sustain
them. It is an expensive waste of time and
effort as well as being potentially cruel.
Significantly, most programmes were
implemented around the same period before the
world had learnt that breed and release was no
panacea. To be fair, when you were surrounded
by feral birds which got established either by
deliberate or accidental release, it all looked
simple, so was an easy trap to fall into. In fact I
was a whisker from being caught up in a
programme myself.
My long time friend Professor Stewart Evans
had done a census of the Royal Parrot Finch in
Vanuatu and discovered that it now only existed
on 4 of the total 84 islands that make up the
archipelago. This was down from its previous
distribution of 14 islands. We went a long way
toward getting permission to trap some of the
precious wild stock for a breed and release
programme and only dropped the idea when it
all got embroiled in politics. We were totally
naive; despite a number of attempts over the
years, no one had even managed to establish a
captive bred stock of Royals, never mind trying
to reintroduce them back into the wild and we
had no idea why they were declining!!
It may help the reader towards a better
understanding of Breed and Release if we
provide a synopsis of our work, together with
some of our logic and conclusions and the
background against which we are working.
With all this background knowledge gained from
the heart breaking work of others, we decided
to first put in the hard yards and implement a
thorough research programme to properly
understand why the Gouldian Finch was
declining before wasting scarce money trying to
20 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
…we decided to first put
in the hard yards and
implement a thorough
research programme to
properly understand why
the Gouldian Finch was
declining before wasting
scarce money trying to
implement any remedial
conservation work.
BIRD SCENE 21

implement any remedial conservation work.
Unlike some of the programmes quoted, the
Save The Gouldian Fund does not have access
to tax payer’s money and our private donors
would likely abandon us if they thought we
were not putting their money to good use. A
synopsis of some of the papers resulting from
this research can be viewed at www.save
thegouldian.org/
The first part of the research concentrated on
the basic ecology, the basic life cycle of the
Gouldian Finch.
Studying wild birds is hard; they keep flying
away; and making it even harder is the
remoteness and ruggedness of the Gouldian’s
home terrain. Outside of the breeding season
the Gouldian also prove to be highly nomadic
and as the nature of the terrain meant they
could only be followed around on foot, this was
arduous to the point of being impossible.
Studying the whole life cycle of the Gouldian
Finch meant that our scientists were out in the
field for long periods at a time in all weathers
and despite their dedication, living in tents
became increasingly difficult. Getting back to a
boiling hot tent after a day’s working in
temperatures up to 40ºC is not fun. We
therefore decided to commit some of our scarce
financial resource to creating a permanent Field
Research Centre by converting a building the
Wyndham Shire Council had kindly leased to us
on a peppercorn 21 year lease. At the same
time, it was decided to create a Captive Bird
Research Centre to house some 2,500
Gouldians. This now meant we could keep
scientists out in the field for longer spells and in
all weathers and the Captive Research Centre
meant they could prove, in a proper scientific
manner, whether what they had observed in the
wild was significant or not. It also meant the
scientists were able to conduct experiments that
would have been impossible to achieve in the wild.
One of the first conclusions drawn from this
original research was that a Breed and Release
programme was highly unlikely to help in the
recovery of the Gouldian for the following key
reasons:
1. Domestic Gouldians would not recognise
and be able to evade the myriad of
predators which include 6 species of snake,
at least 4 species of lizard, 8 bird species (as
well as a few more opportunistic species like
kites who would enjoy an easy target
morsel) and at least 4 mammals.
2. Water is seasonal and ephemeral. We do
not understand yet how on earth the wild
birds are able to find it, but they do and we
would be surprised if domesticated
Gouldians have the skill.
3. Seed is the same also, particularly at the
start of the wet when all the seed which
had fallen on the ground gets covered in
water and mud and quickly sprouts into
inedible plants. The start of the wet is
patchy with localised showers occurring
over a wide geographic area. This means
that the first shower produces seed which is
available as another area becomes
inundated. The wild Gouldians are able to
source this disparate food source. Although
this is not proven yet, the hypothesis is that
near ripe and ripe seed have a high ultra
violet emission value which roving
Gouldians can identify from the air.
4. And last but not least, if the wild population
was dying out, one had to assume that
there was something or some things that
were causing that. Until whatever it was
was corrected, how cruel would it be to
release some domestic Gouldians into a
lingering death? The long term
commitment to the programme, the Captive
Bird Research facility and the quality of our
22 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
By providing scientists
with captive bird
research facilities,
hand in hand with the
avicultural knowledge, a
number of other species
may be saved from
extinction.
scientists has produced ground breaking
results with over 30 published papers which
have been recognised with a number of
scientific awards.
However, without the avicultural know how of
how to keep and breed Gouldians, this
programme could not have been successful –
and this is how I believe aviculture can best
contribute to conservation.
By providing scientists with captive bird
research facilities, hand in hand with the
avicultural knowledge, a number of other
species may be saved from extinction.
It would be very satisfying if aviculture was
viewed as a net contributor to conservation.
Perhaps this could be achieved if every
avicultural society in the world approached their
local university with a view to assisting and
providing facilities for research programmes.
Your approach might be met with a degree of
scepticism initially, and in that context you are
welcome to use the STGF as a reference point if
you wish. We are happy to provide any practical
support we can. I have got to warn you though
that an endangered species is probably going to
be hard to breed in captivity. Almost for sure it
is endangered because it has speciality
requirements and cannot or will not adapt to
changed circumstances in its natural habitat.
So I would recommend you do your homework
first!
This breeding facility would in effect be the
same the zoos provide, but there are not
BIRD SCENE 23

The research on the
Gouldian Finch’s basic
lifestyle is ongoing.
We particularly need
to know why so many
juveniles are lost during
the wet season and what
the dynamics of the dry
season nomadic phase
are.
enough zoos with enough space to
accommodate all the species requiring help.
Furthermore, the zoos are better equipped and
more likely to concentrate on the larger species
which also provide a better public display,
whereas private aviculturists largely tend to
specialise in the smaller bird species.
The research on the Gouldian Finch’s basic
lifestyle is ongoing. We particularly need to
know why so many juveniles are lost during the
wet season and what the dynamics of the dry
season nomadic phase are. By reading Dr Sarah
Pryke’s papers, you will realise that the
Gouldian has problems at each stage of its life
cycle, all of which no doubt have compounded
to exert downward pressure on numbers.
However, the most significant problem has been
man’s interference with habitat. Gouldian Finch
habitat is under threat from significant change
created by cattle and land clearance for
agriculture and mining, however the biggest
threat of all are the annual wild fires which
sweep through the landscape year after year.
This is a relatively new phenomenon which has
only occurred since European settlement and is
dramatically changing the vegetative structure
of the landscape.
In any change of habitat there are winners
and losers. The vegetation which benefits from
annual hot wild fires is proliferating whilst the
plants which cannot stand this regime are
declining. This in turn has an effect of the
insects and animals which rely on the plants for
sustenance and of course therefore the knock on
effect right up the food chain. In the case of the
Gouldian this change to the habitat, together
24 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
with the effects of preferential grazing by the
cattle, is possibly creating a shortage of the
grasses which seed during the wet and perhaps
therefore is the factor having a downside effect
on juvenile survival rates. However, the biggest
known impact the fires are having is to
dramatically reduce the number of natural
hollows available for nesting. The scientists
have discovered that it takes up to nine years
for new saplings to become immune to the hot
fires and, at the other end of the scale, the older
trees which have suitable nesting hollows
become more vulnerable to fire. So the old
hollow trees are being burnt out whilst no new
saplings are surviving to replace them. This
shortage of suitable nesting hollows is having a
serious effect on Gouldian population numbers
due to the compounding effects of potential
increased nest predation and increased nest
parasitism together with competition for nesting
sites from the Long-tailed Finch and feral bees.
The big problem here is that even if one was
able to control the widespread arson, it takes
between 70 to 100 years for a tree to create
suitable nesting hollows, which means that
unless alternative nesting sites can be made
available the decline of the Gouldian Finch
would continue for decades to come. A small
scale experiment was conducted to see if
Gouldians would accept an artificial nest box.
After a number of prototypes and a lot of trial
and error, we devised a nest box which, to our
delight, the Gouldians accepted. It is even fair
to say they are preferred to the natural
alternative! Furthermore, breeding results from
our artificial nesting boxes are better than in
the natural sites as we position them to
minimise predation and there is no build up of
nest parasites. By sealing and painting them
with a reflective paint, together with judicious
placing, we have also ensured they are long life
and to our delight, are also fire resistant.
Famously one nest box survived it’s host tree
being burnt to the ground and was sat there
virtually unscathed in a mound of ash! Over
3000 nest boxes have now been installed in a
number of adjacent suitable experimental sites.
This has virtually eliminated competition from
BIRD SCENE 25

We have known pockets
of Gouldians spread
across the northern
savannahs, so if we can
extend these isolated
populations out toward
each other, eventually
we could potentially join
them up.
the Long-tailed Finch and has led to around
400% increase in the local study population.
These experiments mean that we now have one
of the legs for staging a recovery programme.
As an ecological rule of thumb, where 90% of
habitat is cleared, 50% of its species will
become extinct. This means that as the pace of
land clearance for agriculture, mines, housing
etc increases we are losing more and more
Gouldian habitat. Trying to stand in the way of
economic progress is like trying to push water
uphill, but why can’t we have economic
development working in harmony with nature
instead of against it? To this effect our
scientists are working on projects with a
number of mines and a major new irrigation
development on the Ord River. First of all they
are ecologically mapping the sites before
development takes place and then advising on
how best to develop the land whilst
accommodating the displaced wildlife. So the
concept is, where a waterhole is removed, then
a replacement waterhole is created off site.
Where nesting holes are destroyed then replace
them with artificial ones in a local suitable site.
Where land is cleared for agriculture, ensure a
wide margin of untouched habitat is left around
the new paddocks and ensure there is a wide
corridor left for movement between the cleared
sites and pristine untouched land etc, etc.
We have only been doing this for 2 years and
have now employed an extra scientist to control
and implement this facet of our work. The
results of these experiments will be monitored
and the process refined on an on-going basis.
Over a period of time we will know exactly what
effect habitat change has on the Gouldian Finch
and to what extent the current remedial
26 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
activities work. So what else for the future?
I hope we have sufficiently demonstrated that
breeding and releasing Gouldian Finches into a
habitat which will not support them will not
work. And that is without considering the
problems associated with trying to teach them
how to find water in the dry season or recognize
predators etc, etc.
The conservation programmes that have
worked well are where wild caught species are
trans located into a suitable habitat. These are
often islands or fenced off pieces of land where
feral predators are removed and the habitat
allowed to recover. So for example the
Rothschild’s Mynah programme failed to work
on mainland Bali, however a small number were
trans located to a suitable, predator free
offshore island where the population has now
increased to 130 birds.
The STGF does not have anywhere near
enough funds to attempt anything like this,
however, it would seem that possibly the
biggest thing holding back the recovery of the
Gouldian Finch is the lack of nesting sites.
Certainly we have demonstrated that where
artificial nest sites are introduced we create a
local population explosion. So for the time
being the first leg of our recovery programme
will be extending the range of our current
known populations by installing nest boxes in
new, but adjacent suitable locations. We have
known pockets of Gouldians spread across the
northern savannahs, so if we can extend these
isolated populations out toward each other,
eventually we could potentially join them up.
So this is another way you can help. We can
put up new nest boxes as fast as we can finance
them. Mmmmm $$$$$$$$ please! And also
we need lots of volunteers to come and help us
with the annual census of our populations
around Wyndham. We do this in the first full
week of September every year. Contact David
Myers to book your spot. Not only will you help
a worthy cause but you will also have plenty of
fun, visit one of the most spectacular tree
wildernesses left in the world and see loads of
birds including 6 species of finch. We are of
course trying our best to work on the fire
problem. Getting all the various land owners,
stake holders and organisations, who each have
their own agenda, to work together is an
enormous and difficult task which in all honesty
will probably not be achieved without Federal
Government involvement. However, we are
plugging away and in some small way are
making a little progress by working with the
local authorities and land owners. We have a
joint research programme into the effects of fire
on the Gouldian finch with the local department
of Ecology and Conservation scientist which will
produce vital information as it matures. We
also publicise the problem and are trying to get
the Federal Government interested. It has been
estimated that 8% of Australia’s carbon output
is created by wild fires!!!! You would think they
should be very interested! And, for our
overseas followers, imagine an area the size of
half of Europe, or the whole Eastern states of
USA going up in flames every year. The
problem is that Australia is so big and Gouldian
finch country so wild that nobody notices.
What I have not covered so far is whether
aviculture could act as a potential gene bank
and perhaps a current working example of this
is the Spix’s Macaw which is now extinct in the
wild. It would be nice to think that this could
be a role for aviculture, but to achieve it would
take a concerted effort by a large number of
people and bird societies.
One of the biggest problems we face is a lack
of genetically heterogeneity, ie rare birds kept in
captivity tend to become too inbred. Some
species can stand heavy inbreeding but most
lose fertility and fecundity and just slowly die
BIRD SCENE 27

FEATURE
out. Australian aviculture has lost over 20
different species in the last couple of decades
for this reason. To create a successful and
useful gene bank the chosen bird or birds would
have to become a popular cage bird kept by
many people. They would have to be cheap
enough for the average person to afford and be
able to be kept and managed in a reasonably
standard set up. Relatively few people can
afford speciality set ups and have the time to
provide speciality food and management. It
would probably be better to concentrate on
birds which are now THREATENED in the wild,
rather than ones which are already endangered
and therefore already have a diminished gene
pool. For more information visit
www.savethegouldian.org
Finally, we would like to give a heartfelt
thanks to our Sponsors, donors and volunteers
whose effort and money has made this
programme possible. And to those of you
thinking of donating – please do, we spend very
carefully, so that each dollar counts. All the
money we receive is spent on the birds, none of
the people working on our administration
receive a salary or indeed claim any expenses.
We have surely redefined the meaning of ‘living
on a shoe string’!
The Parrot Society UK wishes to thank the
Australian Finch Society for permission to
republish this excellent article.
The Save The Gouldian Fund where people
can donate at www.savethegouldian.org
28 BIRD SCENE

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THE NATIONAL
EXHIBITION 2019
BY LES RANCE
In contrast to the very cold start to
the 2018 event, when leaving my
room in Stafford I had to de-ice my
car, the first time that year, there had
been heavy rain around 3.00am and care
was needed to avoid the large puddles at
the sides of the roads In Stafford, but
very fortunately It had stopped raining.
Obviously this is very Important to all our
visitors that are bringing their birds Into
the showground and those who wait
outside for admission at 9.30 am. By
buying prepaid entry wrist bands all our
members could enter the Halls quickly
after 7.30 am. The sale of hobbyist
breeding stock both from our member’s
and non member’s tables who can sell
finches, canaries and budgerigars but not
other members of the parrot family was
very well supported with over 640 tables
30 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
in the Bingley Hall and Prestwood Centre.
A large number of hobbyist bred stock
found new homes from the buyers who
came in large numbers. There is no
doubt that 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 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.
The exhibition in the Argyle and
Sandylands Centres organised with the
assistance of the 18 clubs that support
this event continues to receive plenty of
entries, may this be the case for many
BIRD SCENE 31

years to come. These enthusiasts work so
hard to construct the staging from midday
on the Saturday and take in many
entries in the late afternoon and Saturday
evening. This judged event was as
popular as ever with many high class
birds on view, even if numbers were down
on 2018. Crystal glass rose bowls were
kindly donated by Ray Howells of Birds
and Things for best bird in Show and by
Steve Roach of Rosemead Aviaries for the
best junior exhibit, their generous donations
for these valuable awards are 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.
32 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
Again Neil Randle our magazine designer
took a 1,000 images on the day so that
we have plenty for the next twelve
months. Please do enjoy the pictures on
the following pages. In 2020 the Show
will be held on Sunday 4th October and
will follow similar lines to this year’s
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,
The Waxbill Finch Society and Java Sparrow
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 absorb the
environment and listen to people enjoying
themselves and promoting their hobby.
BIRD SCENE 33

34
BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
BIRD SCENE 35
BIRD SCENE 17

36
BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
BIRD SCENE 17

Rosemead Aviaries
www.rosemeadaviaries.co.uk
Rosemead Aviaries &
Animal Housing
Quality Aviary Panels
1”x 1” Aluminium
Box Section
In filled with Quality
European Wire Mesh –
Aviaries made to measure
Contact us with your
requirements.
T: 02920 577145 | M: 07792 133615 | www.rosemeadaviaries.co.uk
54 Grand Avenue, Ely, Cardiff, CF5 4BL
38 BIRD SCENE

Budgerigar
The
Society
There are many reasons to join the
Budgerigar Society
Starter Pack - Membership certificate,
Colour Standards booklet, members list etc.
Magazine - “The Budgerigar”
The society publishes a bi - monthly
magazine which is posted to all members.
Mentor Network - Guidance based on
location for inexperienced Budgerigar
enthusiasts.
Products - There are some
excellent products available
Ranging from booklets to
equipment and clothing
Official closed rings -
Your own personalised
code, which distinguishes
you from every other
breeder in the world.
Want to know more? Website - www.budgerigarsociety.com
Telephone - 01828 633030 / Email - budgerigarsocietypa@live.co.uk
FREE
Book to
all new
members!
Why a hobby in
budgerigars?
• Caters for all ages
• Great as pets
• Pedigree challenge
• Fellowship of breeders
• Meeting new people
• Travel as a judge/
exhibitor
MEMBERSHIP FOR 2020 AND
2021 FOR THE PRICE OF
1 YEAR’S MEMBERSHIP
BOOKS AND PRINTS:
AFRICAN
POICEPHALUS PARROTS
Print & Booklet
£16 plus p&p UK £5, p&p
world £10
THE MANUAL of COLOUR
BREEDING
PRICE REDUCTION!!
on remaining copies, now only
£20 each plus
p&p UK £5, p&p world £10
THE ROSELLAS
PRICE REDUCTION!!
On remaining copies, now only
£5 each plus p&p UK £5, p&p
world £10
The Following Supplements &
Titles are now out of print and
unavailable:-
INDIAN RINGNECK
PARRAKEET
(Supplement to Manual)
LINEOLATED
PARRAKEET
(Supplement to Manual)
COCKATIEL
(Supplement to Manual)
BREEDING THE AMBOINA
KING (CD)
GENETICS WIZARD
Cheques/drafts in BRITISH POUNDS STERLING ONLY payable to: J&P Hayward
Carterton Breeding Aviaries, Brize Norton Road, Carterton, Oxon, ENGLAND OX18 3HW
Tel: 01993 841736

ARTICLE BY:
ROSEMARY LOW
Mice and rats are extremely
resourceful creatures. If there is
a way to get into our aviaries and bird
rooms, they will find it. This means that
waging war on rodents must commence
literally before the foundations of the
building are laid. In fact it should start
with the planning. If you decide to
build a wooden bird room or perhaps
convert a double garage which is partly
constructed from wood, it will be almost
impossible to exclude vermin. Gnawing
through wood is so easy for mice. Once
they enter it will be extremely difficult
to exclude them. If you must use timber,
take the following precautions:
MIC
ROOFS AND BIRD ROO
CONSTRUCTION
1. Stand the building on a concrete
base.
2. Be aware that insulating the bird
room is asking for trouble. Of course
it helps to prevent heat loss but
it is better to spend a little more
on heating the room (if heat is
necessary) than living with mice
breeding in the cavities between
the two walls. I know because this
happened to me. After two micefree
years, the mice moved in. The
glasswool insulating material was
deemed perfect for mouse nestmaking.
The only solution was to
rip out the inner wall, including the
roof lining, and leave the building
permanently without lining. The
mice moved out. But that was not
40 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
E,
M
BIRD SCENE 41

the end of the problem. They moved
into the other building which was
lined, and took up residence in the
roof. A nightmare scenario! The
patter of feet which I was hearing
daily were those of mice. There
was no alternative but to take the
roof off and construct an entirely
new one. That was four years ago
and my bird room is now mousefree.
One advantage was that with
the new roof I did away with the
skylight windows. Its inclusion had
been a mistake because it caused
condensation to drip from the roof to
the floor.
3. If you have a wooden building, nail
tin plate or aluminium, inside and
out, to the height of 1ft (31cm). This
precaution will be useless if there are
any holes through which mice can
enter. Check the point where
electricity cables leave the building,
cover ventilator and extractor outlets
with small mesh and ensure that all
doors and windows are tight-fitting.
Also remember that if you have
pop-holes to allow your birds access
to outdoor flights, mice will enter if
they have access to the flights. Welded
mesh should be buried around the
perimeter of the flights to prevent this.
For preference, don’t build a bird
room from wood. Brick is much
more expensive but if you can afford
it, brick or breeze blocks are ideal
materials. You might also consider
obtaining, second-hand, the kind
of prefabricated cabins which are
used on building sites, for example.
As long as there is no wood in their
construction!
Precautions
If you have outdoor aviaries and you feed
your birds in the flight part, mice will
be almost impossible to eliminate. You
might also attract rats. To protect food
and water from vermin, weather and the
droppings of wild birds (increasing the
likelihood of disease being transmitted),
it is essential to have an indoor section,
either an enclosed shelter or a cage
inside a building, where the birds are
fed. This increases the length of time
it will take mice to find a food supply,
although it is not guaranteed to keep
them out if wood is used to construct
shelter or building.
There are other precautions that you
can take to discourage mice from finding
your garden attractive. If you feed the
wild birds, clear up any uneaten food
before nightfall. If you keep rabbits
or other pets that have a dry food,
remove any dry food at night. Finally,
do not discourage your neighbour’s cat
from visiting your garden at nightfall.
Generally speaking, once a cat has
discovered it cannot reach the birds
in your aviaries, it will lose interest in
42 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
There are other precautions
that you can take to discourage
mice from finding your garden
attractive. If you feed the wild
birds, clear up any uneaten food
before nightfall. If you keep
rabbits or other pets that have a
dry food, remove any dry food at
night. Finally, do not discourage
your neighbour’s cat from visiting
your garden at nightfall.
BIRD SCENE 43

Also, with the increase in Sparrowhawks
in gardens, it will prevent these pests from
attacking your birds. Another tip is to grow
climbers such as passionflower, honeysuckle
and clematis over the top and sides of the
flights. Sparrowhawks are now so numerous,
even in city gardens, that every step should
be taken to prevent them diving on the
aviaries. Even if they cannot reach the birds,
the shock can cause birds to desert eggs or
young.
them - but if there are mice about it will
return night after night. I would strongly
advise that when planning your aviaries,
buy enough welded mesh to double
wire all surfaces that are accessible to
cats and owls. It might seem like an
expensive exercise but this will prevent
deaths from injuries by night marauders.
Also, with the increase in
Sparrowhawks in gardens, it will prevent
these pests from attacking your birds.
Another tip is to grow climbers such as
passionflower, honeysuckle and clematis
over the top and sides of the flights.
Sparrowhawks are now so numerous,
even in city gardens, that every step
should be taken to prevent them diving
on the aviaries. Even if they cannot
reach the birds, the shock can cause
birds to desert eggs or young.
Eliminating mice
The trap is the most environmentally
friendly form of elimination. But does it
work? At the risk of displeasing mouse
trap manufacturers, I have to say that
I have never caught a single mouse in
the metal traps that catch mice alive.
I am told that wooden ones are more
successful. Obviously traps can be used
44 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
only in bird rooms where there are no
birds loose. They can be used in aviaries
only if they can be placed inside a box
and if no small birds are present which
could enter the box.
The traditional type of spring trap,
usually baited with cheese, can be
successful - assuming you are not
squeamish about removing victims. Note
also that mice absolutely love chocolate
and this can be the best bait of all. Be
warned that some very cheap wooden
spring traps are almost impossible to
set. I once tried a plastic spring-trap
which was very easy to set. I soon found
it had a major disadvantage. The spring
was not strong enough. The mice would
be trapped but not killed. I found mice
trapped by the tail or the foot and being
too soft-hearted to see any animal suffer,
I would release these victims alive.
The newspapers often feature
advertisements for ultrasonic mouse
deterrents. I have not tried them since
I have been assured by two people
who have that they are not effective.
Members’ experiences on this method
would be welcome.
The obvious alternative to traps is
poison. I greatly dislike the use of
BIRD SCENE 45

poison since it can get into the food
chain and because death is not swift.
Presumably it could also poison a cat if
a cat caught a mouse which had eaten
poison. I look on poison as a last resort.
However, to deal with rats and, in some
situations, with mice, there seems to
be no alternative. The mouse poison
which you can buy in a hardware store
is unlikely to be effective over the long
term, since mice will eventually become
immune to it. It is therefore advisable to
contact the vermin control department
of the local council. On one occasion
I saw a rat in my garden and a very
helpful man from the Council arrived
with some blocks of poison placed
inside small cardboard cartons. There
is no charge for this service. If you as
much as catch a glimpse of a rat, call
the council immediately. Do not leave
nest-boxes in position in outdoor aviaries
46 BIRD SCENE

FEATURE
If you place mouse poison in your bird room,
don’t think all you have to do is to put it
in a suitable place and wait for the mouse
population to crash. Now your work begins.
On the first and succeeding nights of poison
use in a bird room, sweep the floor, clean
the cage trays, etc, and remove every food
container. If they can feed on seed, they will
not take the poison.
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all year unless you close the entrance by
nailing wood over it. If a rat enters the
aviary and finds a bird roosting inside,
it will kill it and you are likely to find a
headless victim.
If you place mouse poison in your bird
room, don’t think all you have to do is
to put it in a suitable place and wait for
the mouse population to crash. Now your
work begins. On the first and succeeding
nights of poison use in a bird room,
sweep the floor, clean the cage trays,
etc, and remove every food container. If
they can feed on seed, they will not take
the poison. Mice are so resourceful that
they can learn to feed during the day but
offering them only poison at night will
usually solve the problem.
BIRD SCENE 47

NO 1 PARROT FOOD
A traditional and sound base food mix, made to an enhanced formula. Composition:
striped and white sunflowerseed with safflowerseed, whole maize, whole oats, paleskin
peanuts, monkey nuts, pine nuts, chillies, flaked maize, flaked peas, puffed maize, puffed
wheat, naked oats, buckwheat, and red dari. Feed with fresh fruit and veg.
Avian nutritionists, breeders and bird-keepers are learning ever more about the food needs
of these splendid birds and the nutritional benefits of some foods vs. others. Hence, even a
traditional base mix should be upgraded as our knowledge grows.
This excellent formula has 16 ingredients. It should be fed with fresh fruit and vegetables, or
can be blended with Johnston & Jeff's Fruit, Veg and Nut Mix.
THE FINEST BIRD FOOD
CONTACT:
JOHNSTON & JEFF LTD., BALTIC BUILDINGS, GATEWAY BUSINESS PARK, GILBERDYKE,EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE HU15 2TD
T: 01430 449444 www.johnstonandjeff.co.uk mail@johnstonandjeff.co.uk
Johnston & Jeff foods are only sold through retailers. Please contact us if you need information on your nearest stockists, our mail order
partners, and for information and feeding guides. We reserve the right to add to the composition of our blends if we find a better grade or wish
to enhance the menu. Please check our web site for up-to-date details.