| |
February 2008 - Volume 6 Number 2
|
|
Is it Spring Yet?
Over the last few days the signs of spring are starting to appear, or maybe it is just wishful thinking ... as I put bids out this morning the small song birds were very active. Even though we are still getting some low overnight temperatures and we have had an inch or two of snow in the last week it seems that spring may be just around the corner. Even the horses here are starting to shed, perhaps they know something we don't?
With spring in the air it is also the time of year when I make the annual trip to the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators Annual Conference. This year the trip comes a little later than usual, however the trip is also a little longer as we migrate overseas for the first time with the conference being host by Avifauna in The Netherlands.
|
|
|
Once again I will be presenting at the conference and also hosting a vendor table to promote our CueAssist show control system and our show production services. Avian Ambassadors is donating a CueAssist system to the conference conservation raffle and artist-in-residence Nance is donating the pastel and charcoal work shown above to be offered in a "second-chance" drawing for all of the conservation raffle ticket holders that do not win one of the main prizes. The IAATE conservation raffle helps to fund the conservation work of IAATE including the grants awarded annually to members for their own conservation projects.
Training Blog
I really don't like that word "Blog" however it is what they are called so I guess I need to get over it. "Bird Training" is a new Blog that I have started to create a place where people can go to find resources and get information about training. Unlike a typical Blog the Bird Training Blog does not show comments from readers. To allow comments is to invite those endless, often circular discussions that always seem to bog down Internet discussion groups and confuse those trying to learn about training. The Blog will present my approach to training and my personal understanding of the sciences of Operant Conditioning and Applied Behavior Analysis. When possible I will be including good on-line references in support of the techniques being described. Also, a special email address has been set up so that people can write and ask questions related to training. My intention is to use those questions as the subject for future Blog entries. It is an experiment to share information and also through answering the questions I hope that my personal knowledge base will also grow.
If you are interested in animal training please visit the Blog where the initial entry has some articles that I feel present some of the prerequisites for begining trainers.
|
|
2008 Season
This is the time of year when we begin contacting people to make bookings for the new season. Already I have several tentative bookings for non-show events. These including chairing a symposium for the Raptor Research Foundation at their annual conference. This symposium will cover raptors in education and should be an interesting day. We are also talking to the organizers of the New Mexico Wildlife Film Festival with a view to flying Prophet at one of the film openings. Other events in negotiation include the annual raptor handling class to be held once again at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
Please contact us as soon as you can for show booking so that your date does not get taken!
Also, bear in mind that I am available to come to your club or other meeting to speak and depending upon the location having a bird present is also possible.
|
|
Birds in the News
Here are a few stories culled from the world-wide-web over the last few weeks. If you come across a story or news item that you think would be of interest to Safari readers please let us know.
- Predators under threat ... again. While this article is about the recent Federal government action against wolves, it also reminds us that persecution of predators is not a new scenario. Before the introduction of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act birds of prey were similarly persecuted.
- Vultures, the Rodney Dangerfields of the Bird World. This article tells of the once-a-year festival at the Reed Binham State Park in Georgia, USA that celebrates one of my favorite birds ... the vulture.
- Wedge-tailed Eagle used for Cockatoo control In Melbourne, Australia a wedge-tailed eagle is being used in an attempt to reduce property damage by flocks of cockatoos.
- Two California Condors Travel to Mexico City. There is a new web site dedicated to the California Condor Conservation and posted on it is some great video of the transfer of two condors from San Diego to the zoo in Mexico City. This great web site also has a short video about problems from lead poisoning faced by the population of condors released into the wild.
- A Federal District Court in Phoenix Upholds Protection of Habitat. Around 8.6 million acres of critical habitat for the threatened Mexican spotted owl in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado has been protected in a recent ruling.
- A Chance to Visit one of the Rarest Parrots on Earth. The Kakapo is a very rare parrot indeed with less than 100 birds known to be alive today. During September and October this year members of the public have the chance to experience this bird at the Kakapo Encounter 2008.
|
|
What? No Photos!
If you are reading Safari in plain text mode you are probably not getting to see the photographs that the HTML readers are seeing. To view this issue of Safari in your browser please click here. Also, back issues of Safari are available on our web site.
|
|
|
Support Avian Ambassadors
Please don’t forget that making any purchase from Amazon.com can provide additional support to Avian Ambassadors. Go to our website and click on any Amazon link, just be sure that your browser will accept cookies. We are also Amazon Associates in Canada and the UK, so if that is where you live you can still support Avian Ambassadors. Remember to go to our web site and then click on the Amazon link for your country of residence.
|
|
|
