Sprite, our beautiful green budgie, , is currently in and out of the nestbox. She is laying eggs, and although they are infertile, she is doing well to get them in the nestbox and visit them regularly. Hopefully this trial run will result in at least one successful clutch of little ones down the road.
Oftentimes, when I interact with my pet parrots, I wonder about their wild counterparts. I have five species of birds, specifically budgies, a sun conure, a cockatiel, an Indian ring-necked parakeet and a blue and gold macaw. So there are a lot of different areas of the world to think about, many different habitats to ponder, and an array of plights that are faced by my birds’ wild cousins.
When it comes to the budgies, cockatiels, and Indian ring-necked parakeets (rose-ringed parakeets), there is currently not much concern about their status in the wild. Their populations are healthy and thriving. However, this is not to say that they might not someday face some of the challenges that many other parrot groups face. Loss of habitat, demands from the pet trade and climate changes seem to be more and more far reaching, and so even a thriving population deserves to be considered by a watchful eye.
Now the situation gets more concerning. Although macaws are currently listed as a species of “least concern,” their populations are declining. Habitat loss and poaching are weighing heavily on wild macaws, and help is needed to turn this situation around. The following video is a good snapshot of what wild macaws face in areas like Honduras. Luckily, partnerships with the local population of people have helped turn some of this around, but more assistance is greatly needed, as you will see:
Unfortunately, the story gets even sadder when it comes to the sun conure. This species is listed as endangered, with populations decreasing. Shockingly, there are now more sun conures living in people’s homes than there are in the wild! The pet trade is one of the greatest pressures on wild populations, and more controls are needed to prevent the wild trapping/acquisitions of this bird.
Many other species of parrots are facing a grim future in their native habitats. There are only three small populations of Hyacinth macaws left, the largest being in Brazil (fws.org). Also per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “there are estimated to be less than 6,000 yellow-crested cockatoos left in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.” And who can forget the Spix’s Macaw famously featured in the film Rio? This bird was actually considered extinct in the wild due to, yep, you guessed it, the pet trade and habitat loss. However, a recent introduction project, has placed this bird in its’ native habitat once again:
https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/world-sensation-the-spix-s-macaw-is-back-872013636.html
It is imperative that wild parrot populations receive our help and attention. As much as we enjoy having these birds in our homes, their wild counterparts deserve to roam their native habitats and thrive. Here are some resources to find out more. If we all do even a little, collectively we can achieve a lot!
http://www.macawrecoverynetwork.org
************************************************************************(cover photo of perched sun conure credit: James Lee via unsplash.com)
To see more of our birds, please visit The Parrot Perch on YouTube:
Are you looking for find more good information on all things parrot? Well thanks to windycityparrot.com, you won’t have to do much searching! Click here to find their recently compiled list of “12 YouTubers For Parrot Lovers You Need To Know”:
The list contains some really great channels. Want to know how to free fly a bird outside….there’s a channel for that! Want to know how many times Caiques poop? Don’t know what a Caique is, but you are dying to find out? Yep, there’s a channel which can help you out! How about a video depicting a bird which takes care of a baby in front of David Letterman? Uh huh.
Shameless plug….our channel , The Parakeet Perch, made the list (and we are so proud). What’s cooler, though, is to know that there are quite a few people out there who share our passion for birds and education. Check out the link and see some of these cool people in action. If you aren’t a bird lover already, you are sure to become one soon thereafter!!!
Our little Sprite.
In running a YouTube channel about birds, one always thinks about content. Content. Content. Content. What do I post about? What do my viewers want to see? What will make my stats get better? I realized, in my most recent contemplation, that I had sorely neglected sharing recipes with my audience. Bird recipes are so fun and often easy to do. Alongside a little research into what’s appropriate to feed birds, there exists an endless number of possibilities for birdie treat diy projects.
So this week, I decided to try bird sushi! I personally have a huge love affair with sushi, finding it both beautiful and very pleasing to the palate. Although I couldn’t fix my birds a lobster roll or a spicy tuna, I did find that there are several ingredients that birds enjoy which would make a really mean looking sushi roll. So I “rolled” up my sleeves and played around in the kitchen with some turnip greens, peppers, cucumbers, carrots and brown rice. Here’s what I came up with! The birds really enjoyed it, and you can check out our YouTube video featuring the birds eating their new treat and also ending with bonus footage of our conure inspecting some of the ingredients. Keep being creative out there!
We’re so excited to say our new video is up on YouTube! It’s about determining gender for a budgie. This can sometimes be a pretty tricky endeavor, so we hope you enjoy the little tips and tricks that we’ve added to the video along with a few surprises. Check it out!
Have you met Sango and Sprite? These two are the newest additions to our flock here at The Parakeet Perch! Although we easily figured out a name for Sango, we were stumped on Sprite, our first green(ish) bird! I say greenish, because, she’s actually got a mixture of blue and green on her abdomen. Here she is with Sango and you can see a bit of what I am talking about.
We ended up running a naming contest on our YouTube channel, and one of our viewers suggested Sprite. We love it! The name actually fits both her color and her bubbly personality. Sango, on the other hand, could have been named Scary. He came to us very shy and nervous, hyperventilating often when I would try to handle him or he wasn’t near Sprite. Thank goodness we got them in a pair! He is coming around, now that he’s housed with my other two male parrots who have shown him a bit of confidence. We can’t wait to see how these two birds turn out as they move towards adulthood. Check them and my other birds out on my YouTube channel, The Parakeet Perch!
What a lovely story about how charismatic a female budgie can be and how an owner can be a trusted friend to their bird. I hope you enjoy the share!
Photos of Lucky: Stephen Kenny (my brother-in-law)
The years after my divorce were pivotal ones for me. I came out of my shell and into my own. It’s not really that I learned to stand on my own two feet, so much as I learned that I had always been able to take care of myself.
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Hi everyone! Whew, it has been a minute since we’ve published much from the perch! Over the last year, we have flown to another home and have been adjusting to changes in jobs and family. However, 2018 promises to be bigger and better than ever for the birds. Their new bird room has lots of space for add-ons, so stay tuned for some exciting new surroundings for the birds and some new additions of other kinds (shhhhhh…it’s a surprise). Thanks for continuing to share our journey with us. We love you all!
Siri, Sunny, Segoe, Sydney and Sophia
Here at the perch, I often get asked whether parakeets make good pets. Although I think they make awesome pets, there are both pros and cons to owning this sweet little parrot. So….you know, since I am a youtuber and all, I decided to make a video to help those folks who want to know more about budgies as pets. Check out this fun little video, featuring me, Sydney, Siri, Segoe and Sunny!!!
The Parrot Perch 