Bird feeder is Fun !

[jdirgo]

You're right Les, it was from England and not the mainland (I googled it). I seem to remember that one of our Kings gifted some of the geese to someone (I'm guessing the breeder in England) who conserved and bred them. Those gifted geese's offspring and their offspring, etc were the ones that ended up saving the species. I wish I could find a reference to that.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell

[Carolann R]

Lucy, thanks for the plans for the little henhouse (sshhhh...) that was me that wanted it.

When you talked of the parrots it reminded me of a trip we made to San Francisco just a few years back...there is an area down not too far from the Wharf that has a feral parrot population...I guess (according to an elderly lady we met) that some parrots were either released or escaped from their owners and over the years this parrot population grew...it was a pretty thing to see walking down the street. I used to own an Amazon Red Head (not unlike myself) and he was so smart and amzaing. He would come find me in the night sometimes (up the stairs, up the bed). I would wake to his gentle grooming of my head and little cooing and clicking sounds. I miss him. We lost him to a respiratory illness. That was very difficult. He was given to me by an English lady I knew while living in Southern California...his owner (also an English Lady) passed away and he needed a home. He didn't talk but could sound like two or more cats at a time...ergo his name was "Cat." He bonded with me immediately which I was flattered about...that's rare. And the only other person he would let touch him was Tony (only after he gave him a good honk on his finger). Sometimes I feel like I hear him call me. That phenom happens with all my pets, though. I hear my little girl lhasa-terrier mix Peaches sometimes - we put her down last October. (Sorry to drone on...)

Aloha!



Carrie

http://www.cafepress.com/dreamhawaii
http://www.hellophoenix.com/art

Edited by - Carolann R on 07/05/2006 04:44:22

[Lucy]

Carrie,

This site will make you smile with delight at all the pictures of Amazons and other parrots. There is a link to Franks site which has movies of his in action too.
Lots of fun browsing around looking at them all.
http://www.fluffies.org/parrots-around-t...-index.htm

I am sending you a private email to to follow up on what you were mentioning.
It is so hard to lose them. I am sorry for your loss of your dog in Oct. That is a hard thing to have to go through, but the memories are seet of them....

Aloha,
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

[Les C]

Lucy, when you return to the Islands, you may want to suppress that urge to feed the Nene. There are signs that ask you to not feed them. You really don't want to be responsible for the demise of one of these neat birds. Especially since a "take" of an endangered species usually comes with a fairly stiff penalty. (Not that the hunter who shot a California Condor a couple years ago got any penalty that was considered stiff!)

Cathy, this is a good reason to not consider bringing in any Nene, you might have a greater responsibility for this than you bargained for. I'm not even sure if the state would allow this in the first place. It would make better sense to donate to the captive breeding program and make sure that the habitat in your neighborhood may be suitable to attract Nene, than to try to introduce your own.

Carrie, the parrots in San Francisco are a really great story. In fact, a really nice movie was made about them, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill". The DVD is worth getting. And this coming from a birder! Actually, I have to fess up, we have a Rose-breasted Cockatoo in our family. We gave it a home when her previous family was going to give him up to someone who really didn't care about the bird, even though the bird seemed interested in him.

Les C

[huligirl]

Mark Bittner is the caretaker for the Parrots of Telegraph Hill. Here is his new web site for you bird lovers, me being one.

I found this on the web in December of 1998 when Gene and I visited SF for Christmas. We were on Green street across from St. Paul's Cathedral and saw all the wild parrots in the palm trees surrounding the part in front of the Cathedral. It is fascinating reading of the struggles and successes of this feral flock.

http://www.markbittner.net/

Just returned from my Malasada run and owe many of you e-mails and telephone calls and promise to get into that this evening as duties call presently. Aloha all. Mella

[Lucy]

Hi Cathy!
About the Nene, check this out! New wildlife center coming to North Kohala
http://hawaiiislandjournal.com/2006/0603d.html
It includes helping the Nene.
I also posted a link few posts back about the 24 Nene that were released to Maui recently.
Things are happening for them that is for sure.

List of Hawaii's breeding birds.
http://www.birdinghawaii.co.uk/Annotatedlist2.htm

Did you find out anything more about bring them in to Hawaii?

One of the problems with the Nene as I see it is that they are all real closely related. I am wondering if they are a real endangered species because no one saved them before it really was too late. But time down the line will answer that one all on its own.
People have messed up lots of conservation or otherwise, breeding "programs" for many animals already.

Aloha,
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

Edited by - Lucy on 07/06/2006 10:24:41

Edited by - Lucy on 07/11/2006 09:17:59

[Carolann R]

Ohmigosh Mella! Good to hear from you! I am so grateful for the website because of this trailer for the movie: http://www.wildparrotsfilm.com/trailer.html

It is so wonderful I can't wait to find it. I am glad that someone was taking intimate notice of them...I loved my parrot so much and he was soooo smart! If people think that these birds are just "birds" and are not living, breathing, emotional beings...they'd be real wrong.

Mahalo for the connection to San Francisco!

Carrie

Carrie

http://www.cafepress.com/dreamhawaii
http://www.hellophoenix.com/art

[Les C]

Just about all captive breeding programs like those for the Nene, CA Condor, and 'Alala (Hawaiian Crow) are certainly feeling their way as they go. These all started late in the decline of each species and the gene pool is certainly very limited. The risks are great that some kind of affliction will wipe them all out or that the remaining population will be genetically weak in some way. But the hope is that if you can maintain the population long enough, preferably in the wild and in separate geographic locations, they will begin to develop different strengths and weaknesses and on the whole become a more viable species. There is also a small possibility that they might even evolve more that one species.

There is a couple, Peter and Rosemary Grant, who have been researching the finches in the Galapagos Is., often referred to as Darwin's Finches. These are actually composed of seven or so different species. What the Grant's (and their assistants) have been observing is evolution in a timeframe of less than 25 years. (It's no longer just a theory, folks.) It's being measured and documented and it doesn't take thousands of years. You can read about it in Jonathan Weiner's book "Beak of the Finch".

To bring this back closer to on-topic, it has been said that if Darwin had visited the Hawaiian Is., instead of the Galapagos, his thoughts about evolution would have jelled much quicker because the evidence here is much clearer.

Good birds to you all.

Les C

[Ironman]

Folks:

I worked for the Smithsonian National Zoo for 13 years and I can tell you from personal experience it is VERY easy to raise Nene's. Primarily I was working as a reproductive physiologist designing and evaluating breeding programs for a multitude of endangered species. The key with the Nene is that you have a diverse enough gene pool to ensure viability of the population over time. At National we imported specimens from England's Jersey Wildlife Trust and from two private aviculturists in the US to combine with National’s gene pool. Prior to the availability of PCR analysis to map the specific gene pool or lineage of a particular specimen we had to rely on the accuracy of the records kept by each institution, some good, some bad.

On an annual basis at the height of the work at National Zoo on the Nene I was raising 35-50 birds a year. They are grazers unlike most waterfowl and consume unbelievable amounts of kale and collard greens as they forage. They also get very tame which is a downfall because then they have no flight response to predators and ill intentioned humans. Many of our stock were returned to Hawaii through the Honolulu Zoo who had established a release program which focused on the Big Island. Other stock were sent to other zoos to keep the captive population genetically viable in the event of a die off in the wild population.

Over and above the seed feeders that you folks are enjoying you might try is to use conventional hummingbird feeders to attract some of the Hawaiian specific honeycreepers. They are nectarvorus and in the captive population that I worked with they really enjoy and need the nectar supplementation.

A simple way to prepare nectar is the following:

Boil 1 cup of water
Add 1 quarter cup of granulated sugar (So it is a 4 parts water to 1 part sugar ratio)
mix until dissolved; cool to room temp before putting out for the birds.
We also added a powdered protein supplement that you can also use or not.

Be sure to keep the feeders VERY clean. Nectar is an enriched media and grows all kinds of organisms in a very short time. Also, do not use honey in place of the sugar. I know it seems more natural/organic etc, but honey contains some specific funguses that can damage the liver of nectar feeding birds so stay with the granulated sugar.

Once they find it they will continue to return to supplement their diet, great fun!

Enjoy


Will Peratino

[mella l]

Will thank you for the background information. I will definately bring my hummingbird feeder now! Just made a batch today in fact. 3 cups worth, as it goes fast here. In Hawaii I imagine smaller batches as due to heat and humidity they will develope mold sooner than on the mainland. Where would I find the protein powder? What is it called and what is the measure for 1 cup of nectar?

Last question, did you study the Asian Leopard cat, an endangered species? domestic Bengals, a hybrid of ALC and Ocicat, or Egyptian Mau's have been recently been banned in Hawaii after being an importable pet since 1992. They were delisted 7-05 because of their hybrid background, although the breeding program is from the 70's and these cats are as domestic as any puddy tat!

A person tried to import a Savannah breed and when turned down because of it's hubrid status pointed out to the AG Dept that the Bengal breed is also hybrid. Savannah's do not have the lengthly breeding background of the Bengal. Savannahs are a relatively new cross of Servil X domestic breed. Just curious if you were familiar with the Bengal Breed developed at UC Davis, CA in the 70's by Jean Hill, or the plight of the ALC. Aloha, Mella



mella l

Edited by - mella l on 07/11/2006 10:28:33