By Nikki Buxton | Managing Director
Hi there,
The first 4 months of 2018 has been our busiest ever. We have no idea why – hopefully it’s greater awareness and not greater incidences of birds in peril. Whatever the reason, we have 3 times the number of cases and it’s certainly kept us on our toes. We have been incredibly lucky to have had the wonderful Dr Sophie Herbert with us. She’s a Canadian avian and exotic specialist, and my goodness she knows her stuff! We’ve witnessed some amazing life-saving surgeries and treatments and I have learned a huge amount. I wish she would stay in Belize for longer, but sadly we lose her at the end of June. We’re pretty sure she’ll be back before long though. Once Belize gets under your skin, you just can’t stay away!
We have just come into baby season, and the parrot chicks are coming in thick and fast. Most are the endangered yellow-headed Amazon removed from the buffer areas of the protected nesting grounds. The Rangers pull any chicks that will certainly get poached or predated and they bring them to us to hand-rear for release 12-14 months later. We just returned last year’s 10 chicks to the Payne’s Creek National Park. They will be released from their pre-release enclosure tomorrow. Keep an eye on Facebook for their story. This marks 70 yellow-headed parrots we have returned to the wild. The population estimates are as low as 1200 individuals, so 70 birds is a respectable percentage of the population to save. This year though, we already have 14 chicks, we are receiving 15 more on Friday and possibly more next week. This is all down to an amazing field team who have installed many extra nest boxes and are monitoring the nests carefully for overcrowding and poaching risk. Given the extra responsibility for BBR, your donations have more and more significance with every month. I know I say this repeatedly in my thank-you emails, but you have absolutely no idea how crucial that monthly disbursement is to our operations. You are wonderful and I really can’t say thank you enough.
Please keep an eye on the Facebook page for updates of our activities. We are about to get a flurry of interns for the season, so I will make sure they are all busy posting as well as working! Also check out our Mother’s Day Campaign. We may just have the perfect gift for that unique and special woman in your life.
Bless you for caring and sharing your hard-earned dollars. You are all our heroes!
Nikki & the BBR Team
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