Ian’s Bird of the Week – Yellow-crowned Parakeet ~ by Ian Montgomery
Newsletter ~ 3/8/12
Last December, the Red-crowned Parakeet was the bird of the week http://www.birdway.com.au/psittacidae/red_crowned_parakeet/index.htm . That was photographed on Enderby Island in the Auckland Islands one of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic islands. Here is a close relative the Yellow-crowned Parakeet photographed on the same trip in Fiordland on the South Island. I’ve chosen it for this week’s bird, as I’m going to Norfolk Island tomorrow and I need your moral and spiritual support to help me photograph the endangered Norfolk Island or Tasman Parakeet.
http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/culture/lotr/Anyway, I’m wandering. The Norfolk Island trip is being organised by the same birders from Victoria that were my companions on the Sub-Antarctic trip. I’d originally turned down the invitation to join them on the grounds of extravagance so shortly after the other trip. We had such fun together, however, that I changed my mind, particular when their flights were re-routed through Brisbane, an easy, if horribly early, connection away from Townsville.
The Tasman/Norfolk Island Parakeet looks similar to the Red-crowned but yet smaller (21-26cm/8.3-10.2in). Like all the 10 members of this South Pacific genus (Cyanorhamphus – ‘blue bill’) it has suffered from the introduction of mammalian predators by Europeans, is classified as endangered and is restricted in distribution to the Norfolk Island National Park. Its numbers have increased recently from a dangerous low as a result of conservation efforts. There is talk of reintroducing it to Phillip Island, a small predator-freed island off Norfolk, and to Lord Howe, where a similar parakeet became extinct. It is thought to belong to the same species, hence the name Tasman Parakeet. So, wish me luck, keep your fingers crossed and transmit the same spiritual energy that is has been so successful before, and I’ll try to bring you the Tasman Parakeet as a future bird of the week.
Best wishes
Ian
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Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://www.birdway.com.au/index.php
Lee’s Addition:
Our prayers will go with you for safety and that you might find your next “Bird of the Week.” We like following your adventures into the wilds. Must be nice to have so many parakeets and parrots around.
Check out Ian’s many members of the Parrots and Allies – Psittacidae Family photos. He has quite a collection of them. He has almost 50 species there. There are 350 total members in the Parrot family. Ian has a few more trips to take. When he mentioned “in the shady areas of the forest they are well camouflaged and the presence of faded yellow leaves,” it reminds me of how well their creator provided for their protection.
There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain. (Isaiah 4:6 NASB)
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