Update, July 2008
Thank you for continuing to visit our web site and participating in the update to the Wild Parrots of Santa Barbara. Many of you have forwarded interesting questions and observations of your own. This information greatly helps us determine the status and range of our flock of parrots, thank you.
We have included a photo of the planned, new Santa Barbara Bird Farm flights. These will be used to enhance and provide a richer environment for our remaining flock of beautiful parrots. There will be no nest boxes in these flights but will be outfitted with favorite chew toys, water features and all natural perches. Many compatible birds will be allowed to fly and forage together.
Since our last update several events have occurred. The flock count is now at ten confirmed members but may be eleven. It is difficult to maintain a confirmed count as at least two pairs have gone to nest. When we observe eight birds in flight or coming to forage this would justify our count of ten as two hens are in the nest. If a third pair are also on eggs this would explain the eleventh, unobservable member.
We nearly lost one of last year’s fledglings. He showed up, quite fluffy, obviously in a serious state of distress. Hanging below him as if broken was a badly injured leg . Perching was quite challenging and landings were by beak and one foot. Catching him was not an option. Food and water were placed nearby which he finally took advantage. Of concern was the resident Coopers hawk who had been showing up quite frequently and this young parrot was at a huge disadvantage not being able to quickly launch himself if attacked. With luck, his leg mended and about two weeks later could land and perch with both feet. He may have injured it during the extremely rough play or high speed flights through the trees that these youngsters seem to enjoy.
Close calls from hawk attacks are evident in many resident birds, including parrots. The birds show gaps of missing tail feathers, some with only one or two remaining and this sharply reduces their flying skills. This year we have had an abundance of quail and the hawks have focused their attention on this alternate prey so we are hopeful this year's young parrots will survive.
During the middle of July we expect to see this year's fledglings. Once we are confident of our count and the breeding success we will post an update to the web page. Please keep checking back through the month of July.
Food
Oranges and loquats make up the majority of foraged fruit. The three available guava, pineapple, lemon and strawberry have been in flower and then buds with these being relished as treats. Observing a wild parrot with pink pineapple guava flowers stuck to their beaks is always an amusing sight.
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 heard 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 eleven. 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 in the late 80s appeared with the flock. He mated with a Lilac Crowned hen after a breeder in Mission Canyon had captured her mate. The flock had been devastated without their leader. The Double Yellow established order and the flock grew in numbers. He produced offspring for approximately 14 years until his disappearance in 1999. 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 with San Diego supporting the largest. 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.
