Birds of Belize News Nov/Dec 2008

	December 2008
Saturday 13th December	Mr P makes friends: This morning we awoke to find Mr P sat in his usual tree with two red-lored friends beside him. He had a quick feed while the two wild birds looked on with wary interest, and they even allowed one of the noisy ground-dwellers to climb up and replenish the food (and snap this quick picture of Mr P in the process)
	November 2008
Sunday 30th November	Spike is making excellent progress. He has grown in a lot of new feathers and most of his spikes have disappeared. His chest has some grey areas, but his wings and back are greening up beautifully. We have yet to see him fly, but it's early days. He's never been allowed to fly before and right now probably doesn't think it's necessary to learn since everything he needs is within climbing distance. It will probably take an accidental shove from one of the other birds for him to realise he no longer plummets to the ground like he always used to.
Wednesday 26th November	Blue is now very content in the aviary night and day. He has discovered a kindred spirit in Spike and the two of them spend a fair amount of time together, feeding and occasionally grooming. He punctuates Spike's inane nursery-rhyme singing with the occasional scream. Very musical; we should release the CD. Blue is in this picture somewhere - honestly
Wednesday 19th November	Mr P came back to visit. He was originally donated to the Centre back in March before construction of the aviary was completed, so he enjoyed the 'old-fashioned' method of release: freedom of the orchard, careering from tree to tree whilst his grey-haired carers chased him around on ladders. As a result he became strong and confident very rapidly. We thought he was gone for good this time, as he has followed the usual pattern of disappear and come back since late August. This 'holiday' he had been absent since 7th November and yet, nearly 2 weeks later, the call of the peanuts was (hopefully temporarily) louder than that of the wild.
Saturday 16th November	Today was the big release day for Tuki-Tuki. The neighbours came over to witness Tuki's first flight since his tumble from the tree 3 months ago. He sat patiently on Nikki's finger while he was carried outside. He looked a little bemused at the Big Outdoors for a second or two, and then he was off. He flew into a nearby tree, caught his breath for a few minutes, then took off, circling the house and disappearing back to his real home. Good luck Tuki!
Friday 15th November	Chilli took his first tentative steps outside today. He flies well, he has spent several months in the aviary, will reply (very vocally) when we call and has formed a healthy bond with us. This is the recipe for a perfect release candidate. He has the security of an open cage outside the house and trees all around him to seek refuge if necessary and - well, the rest is up to him. So far he hasn't ventured too far, but as he gains confidence, he should start exploring by himself.
Wednesday 13th November	We have decided Tuki is ready to rejoin the mad world of wild parakeets. We plan to release him on Saturday when his young rescuer is out of school to witness his achievement.
Monday 10th November & Tuesday 11th November	Monday - Monday - Blue entered the aviary for the first time. He rather nervously climbed the wire, got a little lost in the trees, and then he discovered leaves, and friends, and climbing.... woohoo Tuesday - It seems that Blue loves the daytime but is freaked out by the night. Maybe it's a little early for teh big wide world - he's still a baby after all. He happily came back into the playroom for some down-time and will just do day-trips into the aviary for now.
Friday 7th November	Pinky had a small abscess on his eye. Whilst we had our friendly retired vet (who now works for eggs and oranges) up at the Centre delivering his birds, we asked him to take a look. He soon sorted poor Pinky's growth with a quick flick of the fingernail. And it healed so fast that we forgot to get a before-and-after photograph. Miraculous!
Friday 7th November	Bonnie, Kalie, Kleintjie - Red Loreds These three birds were rescued by our freindly retired vet and his wife. They have been doing stirling work saving parrots from nest-robbers and mistreatment for almost as long as we have. Although they have great facilities for birds, they have several long-term residents who for health reasons will probably never go wild and therefore need the aviary space. It was a sad day for Dr & Mrs L when they had to say goodbye to their charges, but thanks to excellent diet and nutrition they have the best start possible to be released. We will keep them at the facility for a month or two to get them used to the sounds of the area and the feeding station locations, then see if they want to escape...