Between us we’ve been organising 10,000 Birds ‘Parrot Month’ (or ‘Parrot Month and a half’ as it increasingly looks like becoming!) for about ten weeks now, and one thing that struck me a while back is just how often the same names and the same conservation/research organisations - eg World Parrot Trust, Dr Stewart Metz, BirdLife International, Monica Engebretson - crop up again and again.

Coincidence or conspiracy? Eight weeks ago I fancifully thought that some sort of back-scratching ‘old boys club’ might be operating, with shadowy figures in the ‘parrot world’ conspiring and linking to each other and making sure that all the fame and glory was contained within a small elite group - until I came to my senses (and the jet-lag wore off and my brain started working again) and it became strikingly obvious that the same names and the same organisations were being mentioned over and over simply because they all work extremely hard and there are so few individuals working on parrot conservation that many of them know each other.

And they certainly aren’t in it for the ‘fame and glory’ or the money, because there isn’t any. They’re ‘in it’ because they are dedicated, committed people who are hugely concerned that the threats to parrots worldwide aren’t recognised nearly enough of by the rest of us, and the feeling that if they don’t do something right now then many parrot species are going to disappear without most of us even noticing…

One organisation that seems to be linked to all over the web (and now from 10,000 Birds I’m glad to say) is Foster Parrots, Ltd, which is described on its website as “a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and sanctuary of unwanted, languishing and abused captive parrots and other displaced exotics.” Run By Marc Johnson and Karen Windsor in Rhode Island, Foster Parrots has earned itself an excellent reputation in the five years it’s been open for its highly ethical policies concerning ‘parrot adoption’ and welfare issues, and is affiliated with many of the groups and organisations we’ve already featured on ‘Parrot Month’ (the image that keeps coming to me is of a sort of inter-weaving family tree where “Parrot” is the common ancestor and the conservation organisations are the relatives - a bit like this one, in fact).

I emailed both Marc and Karen to see if they’d be interested in an interview, and two remarkably interesting and enthusiastic people mailed back almost straight away to say yes. We’re putting the posts together right now: Corey is handling an interview with Karen about Foster Parrots and the work done at their ‘New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary’; I’ve Skyped and emailed with Marc about the work they both do promoting conservation and eco-tourism in Guyana, one of the world’s best countries for seeing parrots because - at the moment - huge areas of undeveloped rainforest and savannah still remain intact within its borders (check out the rave reviews a recent familiarisation trip received here).

That ‘family tree’ effect has been hard at work too, and we’ve also been talking with Judy Karwacki (a eco-consultant based in Vancouver who found our ‘Parrot Month’ series via a link off another site) about a USAID project that is also promoting conservation and eco-tourism in Guyana! 10,000 Birds now finds itself in the happy position of working not only with Foster Parrots on spreading awareness of Guyana’s birds and the urgent need for eco-tourists to ‘discover’ Guyana’s forests and thus provide the incentive to protect rather than fell them [and, yes, eco-tourism is not a panacea but the forest does need to provide financial value to the locals or they may as well sell it off to feed their families], but also with Judy - the net result will be a series of posts in the fall/autumn along the lines of ‘Parrot Month’ which should provide more information on visiting Guyana, birding Guyana, and promoting conservation work in Guyana than anyone knew existed (aim high, why not?).

It’s not a path we expected to be travelling, but we’re all absolutely thrilled and it just shows that blogs - as we always knew they would - are being increasingly recognised as highly effective relationship-building tools as well as an excellent way for getting important and up-to-date information out to a large number of interested readers…

So, talking about important and up-to-date information, how about I give you some?

Judy has sent me an article written by Kirk Smock (author of the Guyana guidebook published by Bradt Travel Guides, and Senior Writer for the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative) that originally appeared in Guyana Birding News, a newsletter sponsored by www.guyanabirding.com. The photographs are copyright Chris Collins of Neotropical Bird Club. We’ll be going into much more ‘Guyana detail’ in the autumn/fall but this seems a good way to introduce both the country and Marc and Karen’s work out there: therefore this (slightly edited down) article should be thought of a Part One of a three part series which will cover both Guyana and Foster Parrots…

Red-shouldered Macaws, Guyana. Photo copyright Kevin Loughlin (Wildside Nature Tours)

Parrots (Psittacidae) of Guyana
Kirk Smock

Due to habitat loss (often attributed to deforestation) and the trappings of birds for the wildlife trade, the Parrot family has one of the highest numbers of endangered or threatened species of birds in the world. Wild populations are dwindling in many of their native habitats, but within Guyana’s stronghold of tropical forests, Parrot species are fairly numerous and the birds can be quite easy to spot. Guyana has 28 different species of Parrots, including six species of Macaws; six species of Parakeets; six species of Parrotlets; and ten species of Parrots.

Parrots often roost in social groups of 10-30 birds and wake up just before dawn to make their way towards feeding areas. (This early-morning hour is a particularly good time to view flocks of parrots and macaws just above tree canopy height.) After a few hours of feeding in the morning, the birds often break to rest, bathe, drink and socialize. The afternoon is spent feeding again and just before sunset the birds return to their roosting areas. Once back in their roosting groups, the birds squawk and chatter amongst each other excitedly and loudly before settling in for the night. Parrots are intelligent and social birds and their many vocalizations are used to communicate, verbally mark their territory and identify who is nearby.

As their main food source comes from plant and tree materials, nearly all parrot species are mostly or exclusively arboreal. A parrot’s diet consists of various plant parts, including seeds, fruits, nuts, blossoms, leaves, berries, nectar, pollen and buds. Some species also rely on insects and snails as a source of protein. Many species of parrots also ingest clay and mineral-rich soil in a practice that is believed to help neutralize toxins found in some plants.

Guyana is becoming famous for its expansive pristine rainforests and rich biodiversity, and because of this Guyana is a fantastic destination for anyone wanting to see an impressive range and abundance of parrot species. Parrots flying overhead are a common sight throughout the country, and on a two-week trip, it is entirely realistic to see at least twenty of the twenty-eight species found in Guyana.

All of Guyana’s top birding locations provide birdwatchers plenty of opportunity to see parrots, and here we will just name a few.

In the Botanical Gardens of Georgetown there are five species of Amazon Parrots, including the Festive, Mealy, Orange-winged, Yellow-crowned and Blue-cheeked. Blue-and-yellow, Red-bellied, Red-shouldered and Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Brown-throated Parakeets and Green-rumped Parrotlets can also be found in the Gardens.

At the Iwokrama International Centre Field Station, Blue-and-yellow, Red-and-green and Scarlet Macaws regularly give great views around the lodge clearing, and there is an excellent chance of seeing the range-restricted Blue-cheeked Amazon a few miles down the road.

A little further south, the bizarre-looking Red-fan Parrot, as well as Caica Parrot (a Guiana Shield endemic) can often be found at the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway. Iwokrama also has healthy populations of Red-bellied and Red-shouldered Macaws; Brown-throated, Painted and Golden-winged Parakeets; Tepui, Lilac-tailed, Scarlet-shouldered and Sapphire-rumped Parrotlets; and all ten species of Parrots found in Guyana.

Nearby, at Surama Eco-Lodge, Dusky Parrot and Brown-throated Parakeet are regular visitors.

For the more intrepid visitor, a trip to the village of Karasabai provides the chance to see one of the last remaining populations of the highly endangered Sun Parakeet. This species is now totally protected in Guyana and the community is rightly proud of their small, but growing, flock of parakeets (around 100 birds have been seen at once).

Another increasingly popular location to find an array of Parrots and Macaws is at Nappi, a small Makushi Amerindian village outside of Lethem where the Rupununi Savannas converge with the foothills of the Kanuku Mountains. Thanks to Foster Parrots Ltd. (www.fosterparrots.com), Nappi has a beautiful new ecolodge and 250 square miles of protected lands at the base of the species-rich Kanuku Mountains.

In an effort to provide the local villagers with an alternative to income gained by exploiting the land (through the wildlife trade, logging and mining), Foster Parrots agreed to build the ecolodge for the village of Nappi based on their agreement to declare 144,000 acres of tribal territory, and all wildlife within, as protected. The ecotourism project is community run and all profits go directly back to the village. The area is especially rich in Red-bellied, Scarlet, Red-and-green, and Blue-and-yellow Macaws, as well as Giant Anteaters, a variety of primates and jaguars.

 

Parrots of Guyana Checklist (From A Field Checklist of the Birds of Guyana, 2nd Edition, Smithsonian Institution)

1. Blue-and-yellow Macaw Ara ararauna
2. Scarlet Macaw Ara macao
3. Red-and-green Macaw Ara chloropterus
4. Chestnut-fronted Macaw Ara severus
5. Red-bellied Macaw Orthopsittaca manilata



6. Red-shouldered Macaw Diopsittaca nobilis
7. White-eyed Parakeet Aratinga leucophthalma
8. Sun Parakeet Aratinga solstitialis
9. Brown-throated Parakeet Aratinga pertinax
10. Painted Parakeet Pyrrhura picta
11. Fiery-shouldered Parakeet Pyrrhura egregia
12. Green-rumped Parrotlet Forpus passerinus
13. Dusky-billed Parrotlet Forpus sclateri
14. Golden-winged Parakeet Brotogeris chrysoptera
15. Tepui Parrotlet Nannopsittaca panychlora
16. Lilac-tailed Parrotlet Touit batavicus
17. Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet Touit huetii
18. Sapphire-rumped Parrotlet Touit purpuratus
19. Black-headed Parrot Pionites melanocephalus
20. Caica Parrot Gypopsitta caica
21. Blue-headed Parrot Pionus menstruus
22. Dusky Parrot Pionus fuscus
23. Blue-cheeked Parrot Amazona dufresniana
24. Festive Parrot Amazona festiva
25. Yellow-crowned Parrot Amazona ochrocephala
26. Orange-winged Parrot Amazona amazonica
27. Mealy Parrot Amazona farinose
28. Red-fan Parrot Deroptyus accipitrinus

 

This article on the Parrots of Guyana originally appeared in Guyana Birding News, the newsletter sponsored by www.guyanabirding.com. The website is part of the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI), a joint project of the Guyana Tourism Authority and the United States Agency for International Development/Guyana Trade and Investment Support project. Several issues of Guyana Birding News are archived on www.guyanabirding.com/trellis/e-newsletters; the site is also home to interesting information and useful resources for planning a birding adventure to the unspoiled wilderness of Guyana.