birding-aus

Cage Bird Birders

To: "Birdchat" <>, "Birding-aus" <>
Subject: Cage Bird Birders
From: "Trevor Quested" <>
Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 09:08:14 +1000
As I was leading a beginners group yesterday, a request to pick up a couple
from the US, was no trouble.
Will we see parrots?  Yes I said.  So we pick them up and it is about an
hour to the meeting place. 
Will we see a Mallee Ringneck? I just bought one this week!
No, I said, they are about 5 hours west of here.
Will we an Eastern Rosella? We have one and it whistles beautifully.
Perhaps I said. 
The conversation went on like this for a while.  I was trying to be as
diplomatic as possible but another side of life was being spelt out. One I
was extremely opposed too.  The route to Australia had taken them to Hong
Kong to see the birds in cages and going back, the Singapore Bird Park was
big on the list.
We were a bit early and I see a Red-rumped Parrot fly up to the wires.  We
stop quickly and get our binoculars out to have a look.  Turns out this is
the first time the binoculars bought in Hong Kong have been used.  They
were coming to the correct day!  The Red-rumps hang around long enough and
more information is forthcoming.  The Red-rump was a lifer!  How about
that.  It was obviously not stunning enough to be flogged off overseas to
the cage bird trade.  I think the male is quite a stunner and so did they.
We meet like all beginner outings often do, at a sewer treatment works. 
Hardly a glorious sight for tourists but a good place to show birds.  Not
much reaction for a while until some Little Corellas land. 
Two species of Corella occur around Sydney thanks to loonies in the cage
bird industry capturing them in the wheat belt and dumping them. There are
quite big numbers now.
So, we are of to see the quail paddocks on the flood plains of the
Hawkesbury River.  Luckily some Galahs fly over.  These ones seem brighter
than the ones in cages in America!  We can't stop ourselves flushing quail.
 It is great fun and we get good looks at them but time marches on.
After a 2pm lunch most of the group have had enough so it was agreed we
should take our visitors to the Cumberland State Forest to look for
parrots. Will we see Cockatiel, Hooded Parrot, or Palm Cockatoo?
No. They occur miles away.  Did I think the Orange Crested Cockatoo was a
Sulphur-crested mutant? 
At the forest, immediately we see parrots.  Crimson Rosellas,  Rainbow
Lorikeets, Musk Lorikeets and phew, as we were leaving, a Sulphur-Crested
Cockatoo. 
It is 4pm and just over the road is Koala Park.  They have lots of
cage-birds so I suggest we go in. Then comes an amazing scam.  Apparently
in Florida one can pay just $500 and become a registered Independent Travel
Agent.  This permits discounts across the world. Why don't I join?  
The poor lady at the counter gets told a pack of lies about bringing
busloads from the States and he cheats her out of paying for two to enter. 
This is the man who tells me earlier in the day he drives the latest
Porsche and she the latest Mercedes (which didn't have as good an
air-conditioner as the Lexus Coupe)
Around the cages we go.  The adrenalin rises. Every parrot has a value. The
poor old Major Mitchell can't be found. The Manager chats to the head
keeper who assures us it is in there.  The bird comes out of hiding and
exhilaration follows.  I say about seeing a flock wheeling in the sunlight
on the red soil plains.
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos get special attention.  This is a lifer even
though it is in a cage.  
Several parrots had feathers missing, one Wedge-tailed eagle in a small
cage had its' upper mandible missing, to me it was a sad place. 
Our visitors told us the cost of Macaws when I said how good it was to see
them in South America.
And they said they had a lovely day and gave me $20 towards the petrol.
We thought they were very nice people too.

Trevor Quested & Annie Young
Sydney,  Australia

Phone   +61 2 9955 6266
Fax  + 61 2  9959 4005

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