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The Parrots International 2009 Symposium was unsurpassed – ranking right up at the top of some of the best avian related functions I have attended. The hotel and the food were spectacular. When you enter the lobby of many of the other chic hotels in Las Vegas, you walk directly into the casino. When you enter the lobby of the M, you walk past two large waterfalls on your way to the check- in desk. This atmosphere conveys a feeling of elegance and a promise of pampering. The rooms were stylish and modern. They even had televisions in the bathroom mirrors. Las Vegas has some of the top paid chefs in the world. I suspect that they are employed at the M, because the food was delectable. There were 20 speakers scheduled, but Ryan Watson from Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar had to drop out. His wife was about to have a baby, and Al Wabra has had five Spix’s Macaw chicks this year. Three Spix’s chicks had previously been announced, and two more hatched Spix’s chicks were announced for the first time at the Symposium. Last year was disappointing, since no chicks were produced. Therefore, everyone is happy this year. Mark Stafford, the Founder and President of Parrots International, played a cameo video of Ryan showing us the Spix ‘schicks in Qatar. Mark also explained to us many of the key points that Watson would have made in his presentation, and updated us on the many Parrots International projects.

The Guest Speakers

Paul Butler, from R.A.R.E. U.S, set the mood for the event during his “The Power of Pride” lecture. His focus was to instill pride for the unique birds and other animals that share the land with the local people. By recruiting the support of the people through pride, he hopes to save the environment. He spoke about the many obstacles that were conquered and the battles yet to be won, as well as the danger that has been encountered, yet his talk was light hearted and humorous. Many of the speakers echoed the rallying call of pride.

Carlos Bianchi used his research into the Pfrimer’s Parakeet Project to explain how we can improve our knowledge about endangered species. He has demonstrated a method, GIS, whereby he can predictably determine where populations may exist by examining areas where they are known to be present. Visit Carlos’ blog from the field.

Roelant Jonker, from City Parrots in the Netherlands, lectured about the changing environment and how parrots must adapt to survive. For years, he has tracked feral parrots living in areas that are foreign to the species. He has observed the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, as well as Scarlet Macaws nesting in the Netherlands. Putting his experience to work, he feels that we can help parrots, such as the Golden Conure, adapt to their native habitat, changing from wild to urban. During a conversation with Roelant, I learned that he is allergic to birds.

Chris Biro’s demonstration was breathtaking. His Sun Conures flew around the conference hall, taking money from people and dropping the bills into a donation pot. During lunch, the macaws flew around the outside of the hotel, even demonstrating prey avoidance maneuvers which experts had claimed that captive birds would never learn to do. They did not do these on cue, they were spontaneous. For the birds it was a form of play and practice.

Chris has rated outdoor flight in five levels. Level zero is indoor flight. Level 1 is outdoors in a flat area, where there are no trees, buildings or gullies, and the birds can be seen for a 1/4 of a mile in all directions. Level 5 was free flight off of cliffs in areas where retrieval was near impossible. Chris emphasized the dangers of moving birds too quickly from one level to another when they are not ready. I spoke with him privately and he made some suggestions for indoor flight. If your bird comes on recall, slowly begin to hide. Stand near a wall and do not have your entire body visible. Slowly, over time, have less and less of your body visible, until the bird cannot see you at all. This shaping technique teaches your bird to look for you and can be very helpful should the bird escape.

We also discussed how to get birds to fly that show no interest in flying. He suggested placing two T-stands at an angle to each other. He had one T-stand that was very long. Place a bowl at the end of the long T and the bird on the short T. Then drop a treat into the bowl. The bird will have to walk the distance to the bowl. Then begin separating the T’s so that at first the bird will have to do a big stretch and then a small hop, a big hop, and eventually flight. (Thanks Chris!) Visit Wings at Liberty website.