LoraKim Joyner's Blog, page 10

A Dark and Stormy Night in Honduras

One thing for sure about wildlife conservation is that nothing is ever for sure. You just can't know when the miracles, or disasters, will strike. The following is taken from a Facebook post written by LoraKim on January 30 when a small (actually really not so small) disaster struck One Earth Conservation's scarlet macaw project in Mabita, Honduras.On a dark and stormy night, actually many, the seas were too rough to bring supplies to Pt. Lempira, Honduras. Maybe that is what led to the gas station selling us kerosene and who knows what else mixed in with our diesel fuel. This bad fuel took out parts of our truck's motor (injectors/valves) and we are facing an "unbudgeted" $2,000 unexpected repair. It turns out that our particular vehicle is sensitive to bad fuel and the rigors of tropical field work, and we have been advised to get a better used truck. This would cost $10,000 (which we also don’t have). A new truck is $30,000.These dark and stormy nights and days over the last year have led to massive failures in beans and rice crops, and the people here are hungry. They are also hungry to save their endangered parrots. While our truck was working last week we visited several communities, far by truck, and several only reachable by boat, walking in mud, or riding horses and motorcycles. Our project is growing, perhaps crazily so, to cover 12 communities (up from 4 last year). We do this as internationals lurk along the frontiers this week seeking to buy macaw, parrot, and toucan eggs to sell illegally to the world. The pressure is intense and we need strong coordination and communication, and for that we need reliable transportation.I am here in the nearby city of Port Lempira heading to the repair shop in a few hours. What do I tell them? Do we scrap the car? Repair it? Trade it in for another used truck? I seek your guidance and support on behalf of the people and parrots of the Moskitia region of Honduras.Update - LoraKim decided to go ahead with repairing the truck for now, which is a short-term solution. We will have to find the funds eventually to purchase another vehicle better suited to the circumstances of field work and unexpected problems, such as bad fuel. And the need for transportation is just as great in the other countries in which One Earth Conservation works!

Parrots and People Fight for Freedom in Honduras

It takes more than a village to care for the earth, it takes a strong village. In other words we need competent, and minimally corrupt, government culture and policies to nurture ourselves and the planet. A study in December, 2017 showed how political instability and weak governance led to loss of species. One person, one organization, or one community cannot do it alone – though it begins there. We begin with one individual putting the dreams of freedom into action, and extend it to family and community, and then to region and perhaps even to a nation. The Virunga National Park, one of the most long standing and stable organizations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has influenced governments and processes and has brought stability to what is often an area beyond the rule of law.This list of severe issues we face doing parrot conservation in Honduras is compellingly dire:Global witness called Honduras the most dangerous country for environmentalistsIt is in the top three countries with the highest murder rate outside of a war zoneDrug traffickers often work with impunity leading to corruption, gangs, and unprecedented violence in most of the countryPeople flee the country seeking safety (economic and personal) - more than 200,000 have fled violenceAs you can imagine, doing conservation in regions like this is challenging, let alone living, and living well. Likewise throughout Latin America, where One Earth works, the problems can be intense. Having lived in Guatemala during the Civil War in the 1990’s I am vividly aware that the core problems that are hurting the people are also hurting the parrots (to find out more, read my book, “Conservation in Time of War: A Transformational Journey Through Beauty and Tragedy.”)What are these core problems, the core oppressions at the base of all this tragedy and suffering? Some would say it is patriarchy, others would use words such as power-over, domination (human and white), colonialization, and inequality. These oppressions weave a sticky web that catches each of us in a system where we are both benefited and harmed. We all are trapped and must address these core oppressions for co-liberation. We work together to free not just ourselves from our imprisonment, but all of life, for none are free until all are free. What happens in Honduras is happening to each of us, as we are not separate from life but interdependently relational. If we want freedom for ourselves, we have to work in solidarity with the people and parrots of Latin America to free themselves. On the streets of Honduras this week people will be risking their lives for freedom. They are fighting to unweave a web of core oppression from our societies so we can reweave justice, freedom, and equality. As people protest (even as they and others also try to keep everyone safe), though they may not know it, they are freeing the parrots and other beings of the world.I thank them for this.May they be safe from harm and all beings be safe from harm.

Parrot Welfare Brigades - Flying Towards Freedom

Students in Catacamas after 3 days of classes and visiting homes (arms raised in solidarity with life and wearing "Parrots Fly Free" wrist bands)Every year since 2013 I have been teaching the veterinary and natural resources students at the National Agriculture University in Catacamas, Honduras. Two years ago I suggested a project I call the Welfare Brigades (Brigadas de Bienestar) and the students and staff flew with it. They had visited 506 homes in the local neighborhoods before I got there, 104 of which had parrots (20.5%). While I was there we visited another 111 homes, 16 of which had parrots (14.4%). Many of these locations had more than one parrot, and several had over a dozen in the larger collections. Students learning about avian welfare and the need for play and stimulation. Brigadistas make toys to give out to the home owners (photo above and below). Dr. LoraKim Joyner with staff member of the University, Ing. Juan Pablo Suazo Euceda, as we get ready to accompany the students visiting homes. The Brigades are possible because of Juan Pablo - huge thanks! Much good can come of these Brigades, but the most important are to:Decrease the suffering of homed parrots in HondurasDecrease the demand through less bird deaths and more awareness/education of home ownersCollect data to inform conservation plansOffer training and a chance to contribute to the students Red-lored amazon in her cage which she never leaves (photo by Brigadista Dayana Serrano)There is much anguish and loss amongst most of the homed parrots in Honduras. It's mostly because people just don't know how to take care of their birds. We strive to fix that problem. There is also much loss in the wild population - the macaws are nearly gone and the more attractive amazons (because they talk), such as the yellow-naped amazon, are not far behind. Sick great green macaw in one collection. There is no trained veterinary care for birds such as these taken from the wild.Our goal is to put an end to the illegal wildlife trade so that parrots may fly free for generations to come in Honduras. The Welfare Brigades are helping this happen, though it is still on such a small scale. We will be extending this project to many more homes in Catacamas over the next 2 years, and also to Pt. Lempira in the east. These two communities book end the Moskitia region where there is intense pressure to extract the wildlife, as evidenced by the high percentage of parrots in local homes. This data doesn't even include the number of parrots that have died during capture, transport, trade, and inadequate home situations in the last decade, or the international trade. The loss is devastating, as it has been going on for decades. Concerned home owner with her two mealy amazons in their cage (both have been barbering their feathers - photo above by Dayana Serrano). The Brigades were able to suggest changes to improve the birds lives, such as letting them out of the cage to wander in the trees around the home (photo below).We will continue to fight for the well being of parrots in Honduras, and the international community can help. You can financially support our Welfare Brigades, and then also spread the word that extraction of parrots from the wild is unacceptable. To truly change this ethic of extraction and domination over another species, we need an international consensus that parrots do not belong in captivity. This is not to lay blame or shame on any parrot owners, which is not helpful, but to put forth a vision and dream of freedom. Many people with parrots in their homes, once they realize the damage it does to the birds, or to their own human spirit or relationship with nature, want them to fly free with the greatest autonomy and flourishing possible. The Welfare Brigades work relationally and collaboratively with home owners, just as they would in any country. One Earth Conservation's vision in our new Freedom Project is a world of co-liberation where people and parrots can escape the chains imposed by a culture of domination and oppression. We have to be able to imagine what that looks like, and this is our objective - to make the vision concrete so that each can choose their path to freedom. Home owner with two orange-chinned parakeets, showing stress and feather abnormalities. They are in an area where they are exposed to a lot of kitchen smoke, which is not good for them.Hondurans are undergoing civil unrest after a suspicious electoral process for President in late 2017 that is widely seen as fraudulent. They are taking to the streets to protest the election results this weekend when I am scheduled to fly into the capital city, Tegucigalpa, which I may not be able to do. These people want freedom from corruption, power over politics, and inequality. One Earth stands with them and their parrots, for we know that none are free until all are free.Won't you fly free with us? Brigadistas joyful with the nourishing work of caring for parrots (and eating tamales!)

A New Dawn for Parrot Conservation

Field team with leaders at Caiman Field HouseCaiman Field House Station located in Yupukari Village, Guyana, is well known as a way station for tourists, researchers, and conservationists along the Rupununi River in Region 9 (southern Guyana). It is our last field stop before heading back at the end of October 2017 to Georgetown, the capital city of the country. We came here to see what parrots are here, and if the village is interested in a conservation program with the parrots.LoraKim Joyner and Danika Oriol-Morway in the middle of a count in YupukariWe barely have time to stow our gear before heading out to the evening count near the station. Yellow-crowned parrots fly by us, and some into the cashew trees to feed, but most seem to be heading west into and beyond the village. I move in that direction and just as the sun sets, I hear a lot, and I mean a lot, of parrots coming from the valley on this side of the village. I am now on the hunt for a roost site!Yupukari roost siteI meet our guide in the dark the next morning and we make our way down into the valley by flashlights. Over the next two days we find the roost site and do some preliminary counts. We can't yet get a precise count because the birds are coming in by the hundreds and we haven't found the best locations to count the site. It actually seemed overwhelming at times with the incoming onslaught of both parrots and mosquitoes. Tree covered in termite construction on way to roost siteHere is our tally at the roost site:-555 Amazon parrots spending the night in the central roost (506 orange-winged and 49 yellow-crowned)-40 Amazon parrots flying by or roosting further away-36 Brown-throated parakeets flying by-8 red-shouldered macaws flying by-11 red-bellied macaws flying byThough at first appearances this seems like an ample number of parrots, they could be congregating here because there is nowhere else safe to go, as trapping of parrots is still allowed in Guyana. The red and green macaws, and the scarlet macaws, have long been trapped out according to reports, and all parrot populations plummeted due to the export trade of the 1990's and 2000's (before the USA and Europe imposed an import ban). The villagers of Yupukari tell us that currently there is no trapping for sale here, only for homed companions. Regardless, monitoring this roost site, and others, is important because it can be an indicator of population trends. We plan to come back in March to firm up the methodology so we can repeat roost counts throughout the year and future years.Red-bellied macaws flying out of a palm oasisWhile in this area we also want to survey the smaller macaws that are here - the red-shouldered and the red-bellied. We hear that they feed, roost, and nest in the Ité palm groves, so we head out in our truck to see what we can find. It does appear that every grove has a flock of red-bellied macaws. We would also like to monitor these populations, as the areas where they are found often flood and are at risk from industrial farming. It may be that the macaws are here because the flooding makes most of this area inaccessible for much of the year.Palm oasis where the red-bellied macaws congregateWe meet with local school children and teachers and they would like to do a parrot conservation club in their village. The leaders of the village and our guides are also open to starting a parrot conservation project. Our primary guide, whose house is the closest in the village to the roost site, says he loves the birds because "they are such close friends to humans." He also tells us that Yupukari is a blessed village because there are lots of birds around. He mourns that there are no more sun parakeets here, telling me that "the trappers took our sun." Mike Schindlinger singing "Fly Parrot Fly" for the school in YupukariThe past is full of anguish and loss in these colonized areas of Latin America, but there is still an ever present beauty in the people and parrots who, with persistence, will see a new dawn where life is preserved and cherished.Sun set seen while counting at the roost site

The Freedom Project - None Are Free Until All Are Free

National Bird Day falls on January 5th and is a day to celebrate birds, as well as to shine a spotlight on issues critical to the protection and survival of birds, both captive and wild. Today's blog highlights this goal, as well as an upcoming international project where One Earth Conservation along with other collaborators seeks to promote freedom for all - a co-liberation for life on this planet made possible by raising human awareness. We assert that no cage is big enough and that none are free until all are free. Our guest blogger today is Eric Kreuter, board member of One Earth Conservation. He lives with Pluto, a Myer's parrot, a species from Africa.WE ALL CANNOT CLAIM FREEDOM IF SOME ARE HELD CAPTIVE Eric and PlutoThe beautiful parrot in the photo above is Pluto. She is a Meyer’s parrot and is about 15 years old. The prior owner had to give her up subsequent to a serious car accident. When I went to a pet shop to look for a bird, I noticed Pluto perched very quietly. Once the shop-owner explained what happened I knew Pluto was the bird for me. From my research and work on the Board of One Earth Conservation, were I to seek another bird in the future I would only seek a rescued parrot and not one from a breeder.The cage becomes the enclave where true separation exists between the one or few who are not free and those who can enjoy freedom of movement, choice and future. Yes, we adore the beautiful exotic bird maintained in the carefully maintained cage, but, realistically, we mistakenly observe the cage as a home. Homes have doors and windows, most usually allowing occupants to enter and exit at will and breathe outside air with little effort. The cage, however, usually metal, while constructed with panels on hinges we can infer to be doors, are operable from the outside by humans with human fingers. Thus, the human becomes the controller of the relative freedom of the bird, deciding when it remains and when it is permitted to visit the outside domain known as the home.Does a bird or other animal have any rights as humans define them? While no direct maltreatment is suggested solely due to the housing of a bird in a cage, when the construct of freedom is considered, the considerate human must declare dominance over the captive creature. The term “pet” degrades the animal in a way that decapitates its right to freedom. As such, there is no problem imprisoning the bird for brief or even long periods of time because we, as humans, dictate the flow of coming and going through the aforementioned door—a gateway to relative freedom.When the bird is removed from the cage, albeit in a most loving manner, we ought to consider this to be an act allowing the creature to taste something its nature hungers for—the freedom to be outside the cage, perhaps even to fly. Flight, then, becomes either the exposition of freedom or repression in the case of inadequate space or temporary impossibility due to trimming of its flight feathers. Humans, capable of convenient rationalization, may restrict flight out of concern for the bird that it might cause self-harm in the risky human home environment.Observing the bird doing what it can, but, frankly, less than its natural gifts would permit, relegate it to be a mere object—a statute of sorts, but one that can move or squawk or speak human language. Is this different than the circus lion that jumps through the fiery ring at the command of the master wielding a whip? The lion, in its natural habitat would behave not this way, thus the master displays dominion (a form of force) over the lion. Ironically, the lion is capable of destroying its own master, but normally does not do so because of years of training and bonding with the master—something we can call trust.The less-stressed bird will wait patiently for the next opening of the cage-door, knows its food and water bowls will be replenished regularly and will be kept warm. The bird suffering trauma or boredom may experience self-excoriation or exhibit other signs of panic.These issues can be segregated by birds bred for captivity where they have no memory of their natural outside world from birds kidnapped from active nests in the wild, transported to human homes (or zoos) and stored in cages. These birds can know the difference between true freedom and relative freedom. Judgment is required to infer cruelty to the act of the poacher, a judgment made easier if laws have been broken. But, even where no crime has been committed, the demander of the poached creature (or even the egg), can be criticized for diverting an animal from its natural habitat to one that is artificial, at least from the perspective of the bird—anthropomorphically speaking.But, the demand for the bred-bird must also be carefully considered as it perpetuates the notion of the right of a human to hold captive a creature lower down on the food-chain of life. Just because we can does not mean we ought. This, of course, does not suggest negative judgment of the holders of bred birds and certainly we must care for those that now exist as humanely and lovingly as we can. But, if we take the brave new step of considering relative freedom, we might elevate ourselves as humans to see what is happening in the world where nesting birds and eggs are stolen, elephants and rhinos are mutilated and killed for their tusks or horns. When we observe through a wider lens we become further enlightened, which may result in a change of mindset, leading to doing something proactive to help creatures from being chased towards extinction, one extracted bird or egg at a time. This, even housing one bred bird, as lovingly as possible, may stimulate conscious thought to the concept of relative freedom and what our responsibility is towards creatures of our One Earth for which we can make a difference.My personal belief in the right to freedom and flight has been reinforced by my involvement with One Earth Conservation and will be applied in the future. I do find a difference between an already existing bird rescued from trauma that could not be returned to the wild and one that is demanded from a breeder. By lowering demand one bird at a time fewer new birds will be borne into captivity from day one.

A Timb Bomb Slows the Extinction Clock

Hector with Hector, the bird he saved (Time Bomb)Last week Rev. Meredith Garmon wrote about his experiences on our Nicaragua Parrot Journey which starred the rescued parrot chick Hector. The young boy who rescued him off the street after he had fallen from his nest was also named Hector, and he thought to pass on his name to the bird. After the bird spent nearly a week in our hotel bathroom he picked up another name, Time Bomb. We tried to make his temporary time in our shower as much like home as possibleHe was a bundle of energy, even during his first 5 tenuous days with us. He eyed us carefully and growled whenever he saw us, a defensive behavior because he was so scared and out of his high tree cavity environment. We were far from everything he had known, and he had lost his parents. We did not know how to reunite them safely, so we knew we’d have to parent the parrot until he was able to be released into the safety of the wild flock. Timb Bomb seemed really curious about MeredithTime Bomb did not want to be parented, though he was still a baby of only 9 weeks. He refused to eat on his own, and would not accept food I offered to him as might his parents. He lost so much weight that I had to force feed him by inserting a tube in the crop. After two days of doing that I noticed a shift in him (I say him because the locals thought he was male because he was so big, though it’s impossible to know). Time Bomb was now admitting a quieter growl and seemed interested in everything around him. He was flying around the bathroom, basically disrupting everything in sight. First he landed briefly in the toilet when Meredith was using it, and then the next time he flew over Meredith, grazing his head, and then hit the toilet lid, slammed it down, and then sat on the now closed lid staring up at Meredith, who mused that he was finished anyway. He dominated the bathroom, and anyone who was in itSoon afterward Time Bomb brought the shower curtain down and the toilet paper roll became a perforated and deformed mass of beak and nail punctures. Every time I was in the bathroom he kept peering out the door and he finally learned to wait in ambush for me on of the floor when I opened the door. I quickly learned to put on shoes when using the bathroom because a frustrated chick has a powerful bite when shooed from the door with one’s foot. On his last night we opened the door to find him hanging from the bathroom mirror and sparring with his reflection. It was as if first his nest cavity could not contain him, and then not the bathroom. I have never known a bird so engaged with his surroundings, and it seemed to me, willing to risk so much to be free. He knows, perhaps as humans are only beginning to learn, that liberation is not something we do for someone else, it is something we empower others to do for themselves. Hector at Emerson's house - closer to freedom!By now Time Bomb had learned to eat from a syringe, and I give great thanks to the Hotel Playa Santa Domingo’s kitchen staff for allowing me to use their stove and blender to provide a puree of dry dog food. Because we had to return to the USA, we made arrangements for Time Bomb to live in Emerson’s spare bedroom until a release cage could be built up the slopes of the volcano, Maderas. Emerson is one of the LOCO’s, our conservation team on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. Apparently Time Bomb continued his antics there, flying around the room, chewing through bags of rice, and once escaping the house. First they had to tow all the cage materials up the slope of Volcano Maderas, and then assemble it at Abraham's farmI am grateful that Emerson and his family took such good care of Time Bomb, while cage wire could be ordered and the cage materials transported up the steep and rocky slope to Abraham's farm on Maderas Volcano. Abraham, as well as Emerson and Norlan, had no experience in parrot rehabilitation and liberation, but they were game to give the bird the best chance to survive. The plans are to teach him to eat, on his own, food naturally found in the surrounding forest and get him in peak physical condition. While this happens the wild flocks that fly over the farm can begin to get to know Time Bomb. This way, when the day arrives when he is let out of the cage, Time Bomb can join one of the flocks and then return when he needs to get food or protection at Abraham’s farm. It is a risky time for him – for predators like nothing more than a single, young, naïve bird. They worked until dark to get it done so Time Bomb could be even closer to freedomThere is hope for him though, because the conservation team on Ometepe is growing stronger, with greater capacity and experience to protect and cherish their birds. They are doing so because they know that the extinction clock is ticking for parrots in the Americas due largely to the illegal wildlife trade. But when Time Bomb finally goes off into the wild, we can reset this clock for there will be one more free flying wild parrot that might not have been. Time Bomb gets to see his first sunset since falling from his nest two weeks earlierThis is conservation, saving one bird, one person, one forest, one community at a time. Every bird and every relationship matters by scaling down to this intimate, precious, and singular level. By doing so we gain the perspective and power to scale up across the broader region.Thank you Time Bomb for teaching us this lesson. We begin with one while on our way to loving and saving the many. Emerson feeding Time Bomb in the liberation cage

A Minister and a Parrot in Nicaragua

Our guest blogger today is the Rev. Dr. Meredith Garmon, board member of One Earth Conservation and minister at the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains, NY. He originally published this in his blog on Community UU Matters.Meredith Garmon, guest bloggerAmong my "extra-curricular" duties is being on the six-member board of "One Earth Conservation" (OEC) -- the nonprofit organization founded by my spouse, LoraKim Joyner, and Gail Koelln, a UU of the Shelter Rock congregation. As a part of this work, LoraKim travels half-a-dozen or so times a year for trips of 10 days to two months to various locations in Latin America: mostly to Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, though she has also been a few times each to Guyana and Paraguay. She works with local groups concerned to preserve their parrots. One of the OEC board members is Honduran and lives and works as a biologist in Honduras; the rest are US Americans. Of these, I've visited an OEC project once before (a year and a half ago, in the Mosquitia region of Honduras), but the other board members had no direct experience of the work they oversee. In addition to affording some hands-on exposure for the OEC Board, this trip also includes four others representing OEC's pilot experiment in offering eco-touristry experiences that (a) allow participants to learn about the various forces threatening native species, particularly parrots, (b) assist the actual work of the conservationists, and (c) help fund the conservation projects. We began with a seminar-style presentation about the project, Nicaraguan history, and the status of the Ometepe parrots. We know that the primary threat is poaching: people stealing the chicks from the nests to sell throughout Central America and Asia to people who think it's cool to have a parrot in their house. (Import of wild birds into the US has been illegal since the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, and has been banned in Europe since 2007.) The T-shirts worn by the Nicaraguan team of conservationists elegantly yet forcefully make the point: over a picture of a Yellow-naped Amazon parrot are the words "Tu casa no es mi casa" (Your house is not my house.)Meredith, LoraKim, and Gail leaving Ometepe Island on a ferry on Lake Nicaragua with the Concepcion volcano in the backgroundTo get up the tree requires first using the sling-shot to get a rope over a branch. They let me have a try. I missed (photo below).We spent time in the field watching the young men of the local conservation team climb trees to see if the nest cavities were active this year. Climbing a tree this way is a lot of exercise, as I found out when I took my turn to experience what it means to be a parrot conservationist (photo below).When they find active nests, they alert patrol volunteers to watch the trees to try to prevent poaching. The patrol effort is woefully understaffed, so the poaching, sadly, is slowed less that we'd like. For two hours each day -- from 1.5 hours before sundown to half an hour after -- we split into teams of three or four to go to various high-ground spots to count the parrots we see as they head from wherever they've been feeding to wherever they're going to overnight. The parrots fly by, usually in twos or threes, sometimes in flocks of 40 or 50. The team leader carefully records the time of each sighting, the number of parrots seen, the species (almost always one of three: yellow-naped Amazon, red-lored Amazon, or Pacific parakeet), and the direction of travel. Later LoraKim and the team leaders will sit down to look carefully at the records and determine which sightings were the same parrots passing by multiple observation spots.LoraKim estimates there are probably about 1200 yellow-nape and 400 red-lored left on Ometepe. But it's important to gather the data for more accurate estimates each year. If we can document how much poaching is occurring, and document how effective the conservation efforts are in reducing poaching, the efforts can build support -- both in the hearts of the people, and from funding agencies. Other field trips show us other efforts on behalf of sustainable ecology:We visit a 900-acre cooperative farm that is also a hostel: "Run by a collective of 24 families the farm produces organic coffee, plantains, milk, corn, beans, rice and vegetables, and protects the surrounding natural environment" (Finca Magdalena).We visit family plots of less than 10 acres where, with the guidance and assistance of Fauna & Flora International, sustainable and crop-diverse farms are succeeding.We lunch at El Jardin de la Vida, "a sustainable eco-friendly hostel and restaurant built with minimal concrete, natural materials and renewable energy."There's reason for hope for this planet's bipeds, feathered and featherless. Also reason for despair: the poachers have developed better suitcase-sized incubators and are now stealing eggs rather than chicks. While we are there, a pall is cast by the news of some foreign visitors on the island putting out word that they are looking to buy parrot eggs or chicks. The day before we arrive, a young boy finds a fledgling yellow-naped Amazon walking by the road. He can't fly yet -- but he gave it a try and found himself stranded on the ground. The boy throws a cloth over him, takes him home, and contacts the conservation team (whew!). The next day, LoraKim and I arrive to pick up the bird to take a stint of caring for him until he can be released -- this will take several weeks, says LoraKim, so in the few days we'll be on the island we're just hoping to get the process off to a solid start. "Time-bomb" as we name him, expecting him to explode on us at any time, doesn't yet know what eating is -- he's only had food pushed down his mouth so far. He's very angry about being away from home. LoraKim boils dry dog food until it makes a smooth mush. She slides a tube down Time-bomb's throat and injects the mush into his crop while I do my best to hold him still. He doesn't like this one bit -- but when we're done he seems to notice that it feels better to have some food in him. Over the next few days, he gets less angry -- comes to see us as his flock rather than predators. He learns to eat from a syringe, without the tube down his throat. Then he learns to reach out on his own to take bites of food from a bowl. All the while he's living in our hotel bathroom, which we've tried to make suitable habitat by putting most of a small tree in the shower stall. Time-bomb flew onto my shoulder, where his interest in my ear made me a little nervous (photo above).Before we leave, we'll transfer Time-bomb to a family that can take care of him until he can be released. We're worried that he's too acclimated to people. We're worried that without his parents and a parrot flock, he'll be an easy mark for a hawk. But he might make it. Right now, we're Time-bomb's best bet to keep ticking.

4 X 4 Parrot Conservation

November, 2017Valle Department, Honduras Transportation was a real problem - sometimes we had a 4X4 truck, and other times we slogged through flooded cow manure fields or took a motor-taxi (toot-toot). Here is one of our conservationists, Roger Flores, in a toot-toot.Four of us of various backgrounds - biologists, veterinarians, agronomists - but all parrot conservationists, headed to the Pacific Coast of Honduras this past November where there are mangroves, islands, and volcanoes. We were situated in a tri-country area whose land mass flows into the Gulf of Fonseca (map below). Gulf of Fonseca. White circular area is where we concentrated our efforts in 2016and 2017. Red circular areas are where we need to count in 2018.We spent only 4 days there (all very long days, let me assure you). No one knows the status of the endangered yellow-naped amazon parrot in this region, and our goal is to find out what it would take to understand this population and the risks to it. We did a very quick survey last year and after only a few counts, we knew that there were a minimum of 79 distinct individuals in this location. Counting at a boat launch into the mangrovesThis year we were able to extend our monitoring to a few more areas and found 94 distinct individuals. After speaking to a lot of local community members, we now suspect that there are more to be found in the Isla de Toro area and on the islands of Tigre and Zacate Grande. We also have yet to identify the location of the roost site near La Ceiba or to confirm if there are yellow-napes near San Lorenzo. Locals told us that there were not many birds in that area and further east because of loss of habitat, in large part due to shrimp farming. We did two counts in shrimp fields (photo below shows car tires being disinfected as we entered the shrimp fields), then taught shrimp farmers how to count so they could help us, and then witnessed one of the most glorious and long lasting sun sets I have ever seen - in a shrimp field!Clearly, there is much more work to do in this part of Honduras, though it does seem as if there might not be more than about 200-300 birds in total, and that the poaching levels are high. The reason there might be birds here at all is because parrots often find refuge in mangroves and on volcanic slopes, which make up this coast and neighboring islands. Even still, birds can be “poached out” of this area too. Because of this, some of our counts had few birds. When that happens we enjoy the people sights, and other birds such as the cooper hawk and turquoise-browed mot mot in the photos below.So, while we seek to know the population better here, we also need to begin nest identification and protection efforts by involving local community members, as well as education and consciousness raising efforts. This is a new project for us, and one we can’t turn our backs on, even if we have yet to raise the funds for it. So, it might mean just four of us doing this work, four days a year, but I hope not. This is the Isla de Tigre in Honduras, where the locals say there are a lot of parrots. There could be, as it is a volcano island, which is often the last refuge of birds under heavy poaching pressure.We don’t want to lose the population here, well, first, because this culture and parrot families matter. And also, this coastal area is a vital link for the species from Costa Rica to the drastically reduced populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Somewhat accurate map of current rangeThank you for helpings us if you can with a donation of any size (click here to donate), and thanks to the Honduran conservationists Roger Flores, Gustavo, and Jonathan Hernandez. Our counting crew with Isla de Tigre in the background (from left, Gustavo Cabrera, me, Roger Flores, Jonathan Hernandez).

Freedom in Nicaragua for People and Parrots

There are islands of hope in each and every one of us. It is a kernel of truth, of beauty and of the desire to live, and live well. This connects us to all of life and cannot be taken from us. With this inner sense, we know that all life is free. This nurtures us and gives us strength, and is the work of One Earth Conservation in our Nurture Nature Program. Yellow-naped Parrots and Green Parakeets flying in front of Concepcion Volcano during one of our yearly counts, which is part of parrot population monitoring effortsThere is another level, an outer level, where each living being lives in freedom, choosing to interact with their environment on their terms. Circumstances restrict the outward expression of this freedom, and of this flourishing. This causes great suffering among marginalized human communities and the biotic communities in which they are embedded, and the individuals within. The outer work of One Earth Conservation is to diminish this harm, pain, and loss, which means we resist the powers and community structures that would visit disaster upon the whole, the many, and each and every one. Dr. LoraKim Joyner with the LOCOs, who manage and lead parrot conservation efforts on Ometepe, along with Flora and Fauna InternationalTo accomplish this inner and outer work, One Earth Conservation and companions are going to Ometepe Island, Nicaragua this week where we will work with our partners. We will nourish our inner lives and each other by growing our five intelligences (emotional, social, multispecies, ecological, spiritual) in a mini Nurture Nature Retreat that includes activities interspersed around conservation activities. We will nourish the life outside of us by joining with the people and parrots of Nicaragua as we do this work. We seek to be in solidarity with a people whose tortuous history was brought about in part due to the United States' relations with this country over the years, including the Iran Contra Affair and one of our citizens taking over the country as its President. We will join the work of their hands, helping them restore life as together we seek to be in solidarity with the diminished parrot communities of this land, brought about by the wildlife trade that bled feathered life from here to the USA before 1992 when the trade in parrots was banned.Really what we are after is freedom, for none are free until all are free.This is the work of conservation. This is the work of all of us. For we all are conservationists. We all have to be conservationists.

Nicaragua, Here I Come!

LoraKim and a fellow conservationist in Honduras. I am so excited to be going on my first trip ever to Latin America. I’ll be joining LoraKim and nine other North Americans from December 2 to December 9 to visit Ometepe Island on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. We will learn about wild parrot conservation and have the opportunity to assist LoraKim and her partners in Nicaragua with some of their fieldwork. It’s the adventure of a lifetime for me and, I suspect, for my fellow travelers too! LoraKim is currently in Honduras conducting conservation work with the yellow-naped amazon, which is a highly threatened parrot in that country. She will be stopping back in New York later this week before heading off to Nicaragua, so she’ll have more to say about her work in Honduras in next week’s blog. We will be working with the same species in Nicaragua, where they are also highly threatened. In Nicaragua, she is working with two local partners, Loreros Observando y Conservando en Omtepe (the LOCOS) and Flora and Fauna International, on understanding the status of these parrots on Ometepe Island and to get a base estimate of their population numbers there. Working with partners from local communities and other organizations, no matter what country we are in, is key to the success of any parrot conservation project. One of the two volcanoes on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua Ometepe Island has one of the densest, if not the densest and most numerous populations of this species, in all of its range. One Earth and its partnering organizations are involved in nest monitoring and protection there, as well as education, awareness raising and community enhancement activities. Last year they discovered something amazing, which is that the birds are breeding much earlier than anywhere else in their range, which is a scientific marvel. The hard news is that these birds are getting poached for the illegal wildlife trade. That is the reason why their populations are threatened. In Honduras, LoraKim and her colleagues all arise at 3:30am (I’m SO looking forward to that in Nicaragua…not!), walk in the dark through mud, bugs and flooded fields, and finally return to camp for a quick dinner and sleep in a hammock before doing it all over again. Being the soft North Americans we are, our crew will luckily get to sleep in hotel beds in Nicaragua and LoraKim tells us that the terrain is less harsh at Ometepe. The reason conservationists get up so early is to be able to count birds, which is always the first step in their conservation. To create a conservation plan, we first need to know if any are even there and, if so, how many. You could say that we count the birds because they count on us.Juvenile yellow-naped amazon