Update, November, 2009
WE HAVE GOOD NEWS TO REPORT. The flock has grown.
Thank you for continuing to visit our web site and participating in the update to the Wild Parrots of Santa Barbara. This year has been challenging for the flock not only from predators but wildfires. We have included several new items in this update including photos of local wild life that share the territory with the parrots
We did endure another fire, the Jesusita fire and nearly evacuated one more time. The fire came within a mile of the Bird Farm. This was the third fire in 9 months. We were prepared and able to crate and box nearly sixty birds in about 30 minutes. Just as we were about to evacuate the winds shifted and the fire moved in an opposite direction.
The 2009 year began with 10 flock members but almost immediately the flock lost two, the hybrid male and the only producing female narrowing the flock to 8 birds. We were quite concerned for the future of the flock but as nature often does, survival won out. The hybrid hen who had lost her infertile hybrid mate ended up with the flock leader, the male Lilac Crowned. We have observed this male for more than thirty years. During that time he and his now missing female produced over 80 fledglings. Their eldest, ten year old Billy has also found a mate. The new pairings have resulted in five additions to the flock, an increase of over 60%. From our first observations we have identified three Lilac Crowneds and two hybrid youngsters. The fledgling hybrids look like large Lilac Crowneds. Their large mother hybrid can be easily picked out while the flock is in flight. She is a Lilac Crowned x Double Yellow Head Amazon. This will be a first for this hybrid female. The previous seven breeding seasons she had been with her sibling, hybrid male. While eggs were laid the male was obviously infertile as is so often the case with male hybrid amazons. We are curiously waiting to see how the colorations of these new hybrids develop as they mature. While the best scenario would be additional pure and unrelated Lilac Crowneds this mating adds some new blood to the flock. The wild flock,now at thirteen creates a stunning visual impact when they fly into view. Their calls can be heard a mile away.
The behavior of the flock continues to produce new observations. For some reason and after more than 30 years they have moved to a new territory. We have daily sightings from our field observers approximately ten miles west. Each morning they do visit their old territory and then leave for the new territory for the remainder of the day and roost there at night. How such a decision as moving to a new territory is made among flock members is a subject for interesting discussion. Does the leader decide, is there some sort of vote or is it purely random influenced by current flock challenges and survival?
During the weaning of last year’s two Lilac Crowned fledglings we often observed older siblings help in the feeding. We thought this unique to this flock but have now learned that other birds sometimes show this family behavior. The Yellow head Mohoua of the Ulva Island, New Zealand has year old fledglings take part in the raising of new chicks. With our small we hope to make more detailed observations with this year’s young.
Owl observation:
We were fortunate to have a pair of Great Horned owls nest in a Eucalyptus tree located on the bird farm. In the huge nest eggs were laid November 2008. They survived the November Tea Fire and hatched late December. Two fledglings were produced and we have posted pictures below. Observing the hunting parents was very interesting. We had previously thought they only hunt at night but watching the owls chase down Band Tailed pigeons in broad daylight was quite an experience. We knew they would kill birds while roosting at night but did not know they are diurnal. Hopefully, they will return this year and we can get some daytime photos of their hunt.
Food
Oranges, loquats, pineapple, strawberry and lemon guavas and apples make up the majority of foraged fruit.
History
We continue to receive inquiries about the origins of this flock of parrots so will keep this history available for every future update.
Where did the SB parrots come from? Over the years we have entertained several explanations, they are escaped pets, smugglers released their captives while being pursued by law enforcement and that the Santa Barbara Bird Farm released them in the 1977 Sycamore Canyon fire. It is interesting that these same stories with different characters are used to explain the wild parrots found in most California locations. The Conures of Telegraph Hill have been confirmed as escapees mostly through sightings of leg bands and the Nanday Conures found in Malibu are surely from escaped or released pets.
The fire and release story for the Santa Barbara flock is not correct, we did not release any birds during the fire and also did not have amazons at that time. The wild parrots, primarily Lilac Crowned were here and well established when in 1975 we relocated the bird farm to its current location. At that time there were seven members to the flock. This number increased to a maximum of seventeen and now down to ten. The challenge to their existence has been demonstrated through the years. Escapees have joined the flock but their survival is relatively short. The one exception was a Double Yellow Headed Amazon that joined the flock in the late 80s. He paired with a Lilac Crowned hen after her mate was captured. The flock was in disarray without their leader. The Double Yellow established order and the flock grew in numbers. Until his disappearance in 1999 he produced offspring for approximately 14 years. It should be noted that of perhaps three-dozen offspring over thirty years from all pairs only eight are still accounted for. Even with the now wild savvy flock providing training and monitoring very few individuals have made it to adults.
These birds that have in some cases benefited from increased human introduction of additional food and water sources. The SB flock has acquired an appetite for the local, abundantly available fruit.
The suggestion that these birds originated from escapees who learned to survive is difficult to support. None of the birds with the exception of the Double Yellow Head has ever demonstrated prior human contact. The smuggler release is improbable. Smugglers will immediately clip the wings of the captured birds to prevent escape.
After studying these wild parrots we are considering another possible explanation, they were always here. Santa Barbara hosts the northernmost and smallest flock of these LC Amazons. Larger flocks can be found further south in East LA and San Diego. But these flocks have been substantially altered by random escapees and released pets. Unlike our isolated flock they cannot be studied as a homogeneous flock. We have also noted that the Santa Barbara LCs have a much deeper maroon coloring than the birds that have been imported from Mexico suggesting a possible variation from the dominant region just south of the border.
Please enjoy the photos below and as always your comments and questions are greatly appreciated.
Please visit: http://www.araproject.nl/ for updates on the Scarlet Macaw pair in the Netherlands. 
