Paul. That's all very well. But how are you going to train them? Sniffer
dogs are trained with operant conditioning methods which involves them
finding the scent and receiving reward. Even after they are trained they
will not perform unless they are consistently having success and receiving
rewards. Presumably, the dogs looking for Western Ground Parrot dogs have
success in finding them and are receiving their rewards. I am not a dog
expert, but I watch quarantine dogs at work every day and know that one of
the biggest challenges for the handlers is keeping the dogs motivated.
Cheers Steve Murray
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul G Dodd
Sent: Wednesday, 6 June 2012 10:43 PM
To: 'Stephen Murray'; 'Andrew Stafford'; net. au'
Subject: Using dogs to find Night Parrots
I'm not so sure about that Steve, I believe the Western Ground Parrot
Recovery Project uses trained sniffer dogs for surveys.
The difficulty with Night Parrots, I should imagine, is that they are not
necessarily confined to a known locale like the Ground Parrots are.
Presumably it may be possible to use a survey team with dogs in an area
where Night Parrot has most recently been reported.
The question (raised by Jeff Davies), which I believe is perfectly valid, is
whether the Night Parrots are truly nomadic. If they are not, and
"generally" inhabit a particular area (or areas) then the use of dogs is
quite possibly feasible.
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Stephen Murray
Sent: Wednesday, 6 June 2012 8:37 PM
To: 'Andrew Stafford'; net. au'
Subject: Using dogs to find Night Parrots
Andrew. Dion's suggestion was to use dogs to track the Night Parrot, which I
think is unfeasible. Using dogs to flush them out is a different matter
entirely. My own dogs (when they were alive) were very good at flushing
birds like quail and Buff-banded Rails. Using them to spring whatever they
can find works very well.
Steve Murray
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Andrew
Stafford
Sent: Wednesday, 6 June 2012 8:02 PM
To: net. au
Subject: Using dogs to find Night Parrots
Anyone who doesn't think the idea of using dogs to find Night Parrots is at
least worth considering should check out Andrew Isles' and Peter Menkhorst's
Short Communication in Emu 81(4). The note discusses Ewan Walton's
observations of Night Parrots during the 1950s near Ross's Spring, south of
Cowangie. (Interestingly, many of the early Victorian records of Night
Parrot are centred around the Murrayville district; Ross's Spring is not far
to the south-east of here.) Isles and Menkhorst's paper reads:
"In the summer of 1954, while Mr Walton was hunting near Ross's Spring, his
dog flushed several 'strange parrots' from beneath clumps of Triodia
irritans. He took an interest in the birds and, during repeated visits to
the area between 1954 and 1959, flushed the parrots on about twenty
occasions. He saw the birds on most but not all visits. In November 1959
a-fierce bushfire swept through the area; since then, Mr Walton's visits
become less frequent and he did not see the parrots again.
"In his letter Mr Walton gives the following description of the birds:
'slightly larger than a grass parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) but heavier at
the top end . . . green with yellow markings not unlike a budgie, short legs
and tail slightly on the long side. They lived in small holes under the
spinifex (like tunnels or burrows). When you walked through the spinifex
these birds would run out and scatter like quail. They showed a marked
preference for running although they could fly quite well. When approached
closely they would fly a short distance and land on the ground and run
although I've seen them land in trees. I've never seen these birds about
during daytime without having to walk through the spinifex and stir them
out. If you walked up to them with a great deal of caution they were fairly
quiet and often I got to within 30 or 40 feet [+lorn] from them' ...
Approximately three weeks before the 1959 fire, five parrots were flushed by
his dog and some then perched on th e lower branches (less than 1 m above
ground) of a mallee tree. This is the largest group he recorded."
The paper can be read in full (PDF) at
http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MU9810239.htm
Cheers
Andrew
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