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THE MAURITIUS PROJECT
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FORESTRY QUARTERS.
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CARL laNES MauritiusProgrammeDirector
DearMike
MikePearson andhiswifemanned theCanadian WPTstandthroughout thesymposium.
raising,thesymposium was excellent,showinghowthiscanbe donein anapparently effortless way.In fact,alot of thoughtwent intoit. Onthefirsteveningparrotrelateditems(suchasa$100gold coinshowingtheBahamas Amazon, stainedglassparrots,beautifulrugs madebyJacquieBlackburnanda porcelalllcockatoo)wereauctioned. Theproceeds, $2,645,wasdonated to agraduate awardin avianstudies attheUniversityof Guelph, Ontario. MarkHagenhadgivensomeof the mostsought-after items.His company, Rolf.C.Hagen,madea generous gesturein donatingthe entireproceeds fromthesalesof Hagenproductsatthesymposium to theCanadian WorldParrotTrust.In thiswayCWPT'sfundswere swelledby $5,138!CWPT'sstand wasmannedby MikePearson and hiswifeSharon.Theyhadan attractivedisplayof T-shirts,videos, booksandotherproductsanddid wellon salesandmembership. Twentyonenewmembers jollled, andthIrtyfivemembers renewed, contributingtowardsatotalof $3,164takenonthebooth. FIRSTCANADIANWEST PARROTSYMPOSIUM ThefirstCanadian Parrot Symposium (West)in Victoria (BritishColumbia)will takeplace fromMay 15-17.Overseas speakers includeCharlesMunnand Rosemary Low. Thevenueis DunsmuirLodge,sethighonthe woodedslopesof MountNewton, 15milesof Victoria.It overlooksa panorama of islands,mountains and ocean.Thelodgehasextensive hikingtrailsin anaturalwoodland setting.Furtherinformationcan beobtainedfromRozWebb,502 Broadway St.,Victoria,BC,
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Canada V8z2EB,tel:250479 1183orfax:2504798078.
I wouldlike to thankyouandAudreyReynoldsandeveryoneat Paradise Parkfor thesupportthattheyhavegivenusthisseason and overtheyears,withoutwhichwecouldnothaveprogressed nearlyas far aswehavewiththeEchoParakeet project.Thislastseason hasbeen a watershed with theparakeetworkandthiswasin no smallpartdueto thehelpwereceivedfromNick,KirstyJ andPete.Theyreallyarea winningcombination. Nick is anexcellentorganiserwhokeptcamp workingandorganisedandgreatlyreducedtheusualentropypresentin runningafield camp,hetoola lot of theorganisational burdenoff the shouldersof myselfandKirstyS.At theaviaries,KirstyJenkintookto theworklike anold hand,goton verywell withAranxiaandhada wonderfultime.It is dueto theexcellentworkof AranxiaandKirstyJ thatwesuccessfully reared11outof 13young,andseveralof these wererescuedbirdsfromfailing nests,andnotat all easyto rear.Pete fittedintocamplife andhisnononsense approachandpracticalskills wereappreciated by all. He organised oneof themostsuccessful andenjoyableChristmases I havehadhereand hisbutcheringskillscamein veryusefulwhilepreparingwild pig andvenisonfor Christmasdinner.Theyarea winningcombinationandworthahugeamountto theproject,andwewouldverymuchlike to seethemouthere againasapartof theEchoParakeet team.Thiswouldbea veryusefulcontributionby theWorldParrotTrust/ Paradise Park. Thelastwild Echofledgedafewdaysago(27thJanuary)theseventhsuccessfully fledgedfromsevennests.The bestproductivityfromthewild birdsfor wellovertwentyyears.Youwill recallthatweattempted a different management strategythisyearto helpthewild birds.In thepastwehavetriedto maximiseproductivityby doubleclutching.Thisdoesnot alwaysworkandif it doesit meansthattheyoungof thesecondbroodfledge verylatein theseason whenthereis a veryrealrisk of themdyingduringcyclonicweather.I wasunhappythatas aresultof theseeggmanipulations notall pairsin thewild wererearingyoungthemselves. As youwill beaware it is veryimportantthatpairsreartheirownyoungsinceit helpsmaintaina stablepairbondanddevelopagood breedingpair.Wehavealsonotedthatin thewild, chicksin broodsof twoor threedonotdo aswell assingle chicks.Sothisyearwe"downbrooded"all pairswith young.Welet themhatchabroodandthenharvested all butoneof theyoung.Theseharvested youngweretheneitherfosteredto pairsthathadnoyoung(dueto them failingfor onereasonor anotherbutstill oninfertileor dummyeggs)or rearedin captivity. In captivitywehaverearedelevenyoungfrombothcaptivebirdsandharvested/ rescuedeggsandyoung.All of theseareduefor releaseandthefirst groupof threeyoungweretakenupto campyesterdayafternoonandplaced in thereleaseaviary.WithinminutesthethreeEcho'sreleased lastsummerflewin andlandedon thetopof the aviaryto meettheirnewfriends,with muchcallingbetweenthem.I haveheardthismorningthatthealready released Echo'sarearoundmostof thetimetakinggreatinterestin thenewbirds. Wehavehadtenof theelevenhand-reared youngbirdssexedandthereareeightfemales.Someone is smiling uponus.Wehadoriginallyplannedto captureup surplusreleased malebirds,sincethewild populationis skewed towardsmalesandwewantedto balancethesexesasbestwecould.Howeverthisis notanimmediateproblem andwewill leaveasmanyof thebirdsat libertyaspossible.Theotheryoungwill begoingupto theforestfor releaseoverthenextmonthor so.Wewill probablybekeepingthemin thereleasecagefor aweekor tendays beforereleaseandthenmonitoringthemintenselyfor amonth.Theearliestwearegoingto befinishedis goingto belateApril. Kirsty Sis returningto theUK attheendof themonthsincesheis totallywhackedandneedsthe rest.I will bestayingonuntil earlyMayto keepeverythingtickingover.Thefirstreleaseof lastsummerhasbeen agreatsuccess andthethreebirdsarenowinteractingwith sub-adultwild onesandtheyhavebeenseengoing aroundin a groupof fouror five - thethreereleased birdswithoneor twowild ones.Wehavealsohadawild birdfeedingatthesupplemental foodhopperwith thereleased birds. I will keepyouinformedasthereleases progress. Bestwishes CarlJones.
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