News about parrot conservation, aviculture and welfare from QfjfliFWurld0Orrot~t TUBPARROTPORTFOLIOA report on the first five years of the World Parrot Trust By Michael Reynolds Any new enterprise sets out in a once again by her generosity in review of our projects during our spirit of faith and hope. When that donating half her royalties from first five years. Also enclosed is a new enterprise is a charity, with her new book 'Endangered Parrots' leaflet designed to promote sales limited funds and without paid to this Trust (see page 11). of our shirts and prints, and to staff, this is particularly so. To pile It is a remarkable fact that the encourage the enrolment of new on the agony, when the fledgling Trust has only one part time paid members. I would like to appeal charity intends to work in the member of staff. This is Judith personally to every member and highly contentious fields of parrot Venning, our UK administrator, every reader to use these print conservation, aviculture and who also coordinates the voluntary items to spread the word about welfare, it could safely be work of our branches, ancillary what we have achieved, predicted that the founders would trusts and support groups in together, in five rewarding regret their initiative. Australia, Belgium, Canada, years. If you can make good It has not turned out that way. Denmark, France, Germany, use of more copies, just let The founders - Andrew Holland, South Africa, Switzerland us know. If you have any Greenwood, David Woolcock, and the USA. Our sincere thanks comments or advice on Rosemary Low, Audrey and are due to all those who have so how we might approach Michael Reynolds - have seen their generously given their time and the next phase of our creation blossom into an expertise to the Trust. From time development, please international organisation which to time the Trust pays for writein. has achieved a great deal. Half a professional work on its projects, I am only too aware that when millionpounds (about $800000) but 1think it would be I write about the plight of the has been raised and spent to help extraordinarily difficult to find any parrots I sound like an unwelcome and the world the survival of parrot species in other wildlife conservation body 'conscience' repeating well-known of conservation to join the wild: to be exact, twenty-five which is as cost-effective as The facts, and in any case I know I am our exciting adventure, our CITESAppendixOnespecies in World Parrot Trust. speaking to the converted in the crusade to preserve these eighteen countries. The support Paradise Park, in Cornwall, UK, pages of this newsletter. Let us all wonderful birds which have so and development of responsible where the Trust was founded and aim to win new members and new much to contribute to our psittacine aviculture has also been is based, provides substantial free financial support for the Trust by recognition and enjoyment of all an objective, together with the facilities including office space, inviting our friends in aviculture the wonders of the natural world. difficult task of trying to improve computers and other equipment, relations between aviculture and telephone service, mail costs, the conservation community. transport, and much donated staff This newsletter 'PsittaScene' - time. Paradise Park also gave the 21st quarterly issue - is read £11000 ($18000) to start the Trust by over 6000individualsand off, and Martin Ballam and David organisations interested in parrot Woolcock have raised £72000 conservation and aviculture. The ($117000) in donations from t;ditorship of Rosemary Low has visitors at their eagle flying been an important factor in the demonstrations. The World Parrot successful expansion of the World Trust greatly appreciates the Parrot Trust's membership and volunteer spirit that motivates its influence. Rosemary's total and membership and especially its selfless commitment to the many active supporters, and wellbeing of parrots is beyond intends to continue its programme question, and is demonstrated in that manner so far as it is practical. The complexity and volume of its work is growing rapidly, however, and the time will "psittacine come when it will need a paid Director. (sWasin) Belonging In this issue of 'PsittaScene' is or allied to the included a copy of 'The Parrot parrots; parrot-like" Portfolio', which gives a brief Moluccan Cockatoo - one of the endangered speciesin our 'Parrot Portfolio' Photo:Bonniejay. TWOPOINTSOFVIEW ByRosemaryLow ROSEMARYLOWtookadvantageof indirectlyfor causingtheirdemise, to conservationmanagementof thepresenceofspeakerson surelyhehasa moralobligationto endangeredspecies.Fortunately,I conservationtopicsat the atleastattemptaremedy!Itis wasableto dothis through conventiontoasktwo of themto untenablethata life-formshould, employmentwiththeNewZealand answervariousquestionsrelating asaconsequenceofour actions- WildlifeServiceand,morerecently, to their work. or ourindifference-slideto theNewZealandDepartmentof DONMERTONisworldfamous extinctionduringour life time(a Conservation.Mycareerbeganin for themajorroleheplayedin meresecondingeologicaltime). thelate1950'sandis still going savingwhatwasthentheworld's Wemustdo allwecanto avertthis strong!At that time endangered mostcriticallyendangeredbird,the for, oncegone,suchtreasurescan speciesconservationwashardly ChathamIslandBlackRobin neverberestored. knownandsupportfor it was Petroicatraversi,whichwas RolandSeitre:Myworkis public almostzero.Workingeffectivelyin reducedtoa singlebreedingpair. relationsbetweenwildlife this field wasthereforeextremely Nowtherearemorethan 150.For difficult and,throughnecessity, zoologistsandthepublic:I ama almostsubversive. manyyearshehasheadedtheteam freelancephotojournalist. workingto saveoneof themost RL:Youhavehadaninterestin RS:I amnot interestedinbirds criticallyendangeredofall parrots, naturalhistorysincechildhood? exclusively.Myfirst interestwasin theKakapoStrigopshabroptilus.He mammalsbut,birdsbeingeasierto wasawardedtheQueen'sService Wasthis stimulatedbyaparticular happening? see,Iwentbirding.Myfatherwasa medalfor servicestoconservation, pilot andI benefitedfromcheap DM:It wasanaturalinterest- or andin October1994theRoyal airfares,ofwhichI tookgreat SocietyfortheProtectionofBirds shouldI sayobsession?- advantage.Thatis whyI wentto (RSPB)(UK)grantedhimits medal stimulatedbytwofactors.My lookfor wildlife in Africaor South for his "internationalcontribution grandmotherkepta CanarywhenI AmericabeforeEuropeandeven to speciessurvival". wasonlyfour or fiveyearsold.She France.Ibasicallyknownothing ROLANDSEIIREisa allowedmeto carefor it andlater aboutwhereto seerarebirdsin my to fosterGoldfinchnestlingstoit! photojournalistwhotravelsthe owncountry. Secondly,Iwasbroughtup in a world,particularlythetropics,in RL:Whatis yourparticularinterest searchofconservationstories rural settingandkept andbred birdsof variouskinds,ie,I was today? whichwill appealtothepublic.He DM:Managementofcritically is extremelyknowledgeableabouta stronglyinfluencedbyobservation widerangeof life forms,after of wild birdsandby aviculture! endangeredbirds.Thisis often RS:Iwouldtrackmyinterestto throughdevisingandapplying graduatingasavet,managinga close-ordermanagement breedingstationandworkingin the earlyimprintingin childhood.A field asa zoologist. familyfriend,with whomI spenta techniquestofree-living lot of time asababy,hada flat full individualsand/orthroughhabitat ROSEMARYLOW:Howwouldyou of wild animals. restoration.Suchprogrammes describetheworkyoudo? oftenrequirea captivecomponent. DonMerton:Attemptingto DM:Mainlybirds-but in all things In factmostmethodsIhaveused addressoneof themost natural.Thissoonbecamefocused havebeenadaptationsofclassic fundamentalproblemsofour time, onbirdsnativeto mycountry(New aviculturaltechniquesappliedto "theglobalspeciescrisis":the Zealand),andsoonafterthat to free-livingindividualsor crucialchallengeofaverting thosefacingendangermentand populations. extinctionandfacilitatingrecovery extinction.Thisallhapppenedby theageof 12years,atwhichpoint I RS:Mymaininterestis in birdsand in uniquelife forms.Wheremanis mammals,occasionallyreptilesor responsible,eitherdirectlyor wasdeterminedtodevotemylife Don & Margaret Merton on Maud Island, New Zealand. Photo:Rosemary Low 2 invertebrates. Earlier I would go It is hard work and you have to be RL:You are an excellent RL:What role has your wife played where my goalled me but now I open-minded. Basically this is in photographer. Is there anyone in supporting your work? must be able to financemy contradiction with being a collector species or photograph which has DM: Margaret's role has been assignments with pictures or where you always want to have provided a particular challenge or pivotal. Without her (at times features so I have to target more. But the skills and the people produced photographs of which super-human level of) support, "marketable" (Ihate the word!) are there and the old mentality is you are particularly proud? tolerance and personal sacrifice at species. I really enjoy having an changing, so things should get DM: Certainly; the Kakapo is my absences from home (on field "unattractive" species published: organised. particularly difficult to photograph expeditions) for six to eight months that is where the challenge resides. RL:If you had a very large sum of in the wild since it is very rare, Recently it was a feature on each year for the past 30 years or money to spend on one particular nocturnal, inhabits very dense more, I would not have been able to comparative