What do cayman parrots eat

The Bradley Study B. Research on the Cayman Brac Parrot 1. The Cayman Brac Parrot Census, 2. Research on the Grand Cayman Parrot 1. Captive Breeding of the Grand Cayman Parrot 2. The Grand Cayman Parrot Census, 3. The National Development Plan 2. Establishment of a Reserve System 3. Public Education Programmes B. The Animals Law 2.

The Development Plan Law 3. CITES 4. Research 1. Research on Cayman Brac Parrot 2. Research on Grand Cayman Parrot 3. Consenation Management 1. Cayman Brac 2.

Grand Cayman 3. General E. Table 2. Table 3. Table 4. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 5. There is no way to properly thank them all, yet it is hoped that they know the importance of their contribution.

Some of these individuals are: Dace McCoy-Ground, Executive Director of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, for her constant support and involvement in the programme activities and in the preparation of this report. Fred Burton, Director ofscience for the NationalTrust for the Cayman Islands, for his work on conservation of Cayman 's parrots and his contributions to the natural history and research sections of this report.

Phillipe Bush for producing so many beautiful drawings and Gina Ebanks-Petrie for her support and advice. Otto Watler, for sharing his love ofparrots, his gentle husbandry and his honey with the children of Cayman.

These are just a few of the many individuals who made a programme of this size so successful. Everyone who participated in any aspect of the "Year of the Parrot"can share in the pride of accomplishment that comes with a job well done.

The Trust is membership based and structured on "grass roots" principles. Members of the Trust are also members of their local District Committees, each of which elects a Chairman who sits as a member of theTrust Council. The other members of the Council are thirteen officers and members elected by the full membership and three Government appointees. The Trust Council is predominantly Cayman ian, and the Trust is dedicated to the idea that if Cayman ians perceive it as their own and feel that what the Trust owns belongs to the people ofthe Cayman Islands, their support will be the strength oftheTrust.

One of the people who worked hardest at the beginning to see that aTrust was established in Cayman was Patricia Bradley, author of The Birth ofthe Cayman hhd. Although she is no longer resident in the Cayman Islands, she continues to work for the preservation of Cayman 's flora and fauna.

It was Mrs Bradley who sent us both Dr James Wiley and Paul Butler, who, between them, have helped theTrust establish a comprehensive conservation programme for the highly endangered Brac Parrot, Amazona letlcoctphala hesterna.

In the four years theTrust has been established it has acquired almost acres of land and established a fairly comprehensive public education programme on minimal resources.

Although the Trust receives varying grants from Government, its work is funded through membership dues, fund raising and the solicitation of international grants.

We are supported by a membership of adults, children and forty corporate sponsors in Cayman , and have been quite successful at fundraising locally. Internationally we have greater difficultybecause Cayman is perceived as rich, and indeed, by Caribbean standards, we are well off. Nonetheless, the kind of land reserve and conservation programmes the Trust is attempting in Cayman will only succeed if some international assistance is available.

Each of these organizations has funded some of its work, or, in the case of The Nature Conservancy, given us invaluable technical assistance and assistance with land acquisition.

While none of these grants have been large, it is difficult to explain how very valuable they are to us, mainly in demonstrating to the people of the Cayman Islands that things they have always taken for granted - theG'bush", the parrots and the iguanas - are, in fact; considered by the outside world to be of great international value.

This report describes the Trust's conservation programme for Cayman 's parrot, and particularly the work done through the RARE programme. Like every other Caribbean territory that has worked with this small but innovative and very effective conservation organization, the people ofcayman have had their eyes opened to issues that theyhad never before considered, and are coming to see conservation as something essential to preservation of their way of life.

The Natural History of the Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands are a group of three low lying, small islands with a combined area of square kilornetres, in the Caribbean Sea some krn.

Location of the Cayman Islands They were formed by the uplifiing of the southern rim of the North American tectonic plate, as part of a largely submarine ridge running west from the Sierra Maestra of Cuba. The surface rocks consist of Pleistocene limestones and marls overlying an emergent core of Tertiary dolomite: both formations erode into characteristic pinnacled karst. The two dominant natural non-marine ecosystems in the Cayman Islands are mangrove swamp formations, which occupy two thirds of Grand Cayman and a third of Little Cayman , and Dry Evergreen woodlands and thickets, which occupy the limestone and dolomite karst terrain above sealevel.

Dominant, Natural Non-Marine Ecosystems in the Cayman Islands The economy of the islands rests on tourism and a thriving offshore finance business. Tourism development in the Cayman Islands has focused on the marine environment, notable for clear water, thriving coral reefs, and attractive cord sand beaches.

The Current Status of the Environment Much emphasis has been placed by the local government on marine conservation, and a highly successful marine parks programme is now in operation.

However this effort has not prevented a progressive degradation of the marine environment resulting from extensive coastal development in western Grand Cayman , which was underway long before the Marine Parks legislation was conceived.

Until the creation ofthe National Trust for the Cayman Islands late in , the only non marine conservation areas were a number of Animal Sanctuaries designated by the Government under the Animals Law. These were all brackish water ponds of some importance to migratory waterfowl, and included no dry land habitat.

The Animals Law has proved lacking in many aspects, several of these Animal Sanctuaries have been deregulated by Government or otherwise violated, and enforcement has foundered on the absence of any compensation offered to owners of property designated as sanctuary. Significant areas of primary or near-primary lowland woodland still remain, largely unrecognized when the islands' flora was first studied in detail, because of lack of access through the inhospitable terrain.

The human population was very low in the early OYs, and it has been only in the last 30 years that development and the associated exponential increase in human population has resulted in major encroachment into the interiors of central and eastern Grand Cayman , and the central plateau on Cayman Brac. Primary undisturbed dry woodlands and thickets of Grand Cayman are now mostly fragmented by development and agriculture. Significant areas remaining include about 30 acres in south George Town, a large contiguous block of about 1, acres in "the Mountain", and various fragments intersected with roads and agricultural development in the Beach Bay area and in East End.

The mangroves on Grand Cayman can conveniently be divided into two blocks, the mangroves west of Savannah, and the Central Mangrove Swamp.

The rate of mangrove destruction has accelerated greatly in recent years with the lifting of the moratorium on dredging. On Cayman Brac, the woodlands of the Bluff were extensively degraded by timber extraction earlier this century, recovery has begun, but it will take many decades.

A few undisturbed areas are also present. Construction of roads throughout the Bluff in the 's has greatly increased the threat to these woodlands.

On Little Cayman , the natural environments are still substantially intact, though development seems likely to commence on quite a large scale in the very near future. The need for significant woodland reserves on all three islands is dear, and establishment ofthese becomes more urgent by the day as land prices rise and development moves further into virgin territory.

Efforts are being made within Government to address these conservation concerns, at the level of development planning, and in revision oftheAnimals Law. The Trust is involved in these processes. However, conflicting concerns within Government, for promotion of agriculture, promotion of development in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman , and for protection of local landowners' rights to realize financial gain from their land holdings, make it unlikely that Government will be able to realize adequate terrestrial reserves by these means, within the time window left before the last pristine areas begin to be degraded.

Faced with this situation, the Trust has embarked on a major programme to establish terrestrial reserves in the Cayman Islands. Major factors working against attempts to protect natural environments in the Cayman Islands indude: The absence of an effective Development Plan.

Government initiatives to build roads into inaccessible areas, for agriculture and to stimulate development. Government's vested interest in keeping land salable, to maintain income from land transfer taxes. High land prices. Private ownership of wetlands. Tradition of landowners' freedom from Government restricttions on land use. Rapidity of habitat loss. Low degree of public accountability in the development planning and permitting process.

Inadequacy of present environmental legislation. Visually it is not easy to distinguish from the Grand Cayman form, the subtle differences being somewhat variable: generally the forehead is pure white rather than rose tinted, the white eyering is broader that the Grand Cayman form, and red on the throat and abdomen is more extensive. However, in behaviour the two are quite distinct: their vocal repertoires are remarkably different, and the Brac subspecies shows an array of cryptic behaviour patterns that are normally associated with avoidance of aerial predators, unlike the bold, conspicuous Grand Cayman parrot.

Amazona leucocephala hesternabreeds in tree cavities in the evergreen woodland formations which cover much of the central plateau of Cayman Brac, and like all Amazon parrots is primarily a fruit eater, taking a diverse range ofwild and cultivated fruits, as well as flowers and bark of certain species. Described as "not uncommon" by Brown in Bangs, , then as "uncommon" by Johnston in , "rare" by King in , there is some evidence that the population has been declining slowly throughout this century.

Sequential estimates by Noegel similarly suggest adecline, from in the early 's, about in the mid , and only 45 by the early 's R. Noegel, in Bradley, In , l? Bradley estimated a total population of only about 26 adults, and 11 to 15 juveniles in the wild on Cayman Brac. Endangerment: Evidence ofhistoric decline, and the extremely low population estimate in , indicated that the population was in immediate, critical danger of extinction.

Bradley conducted intensive surveys of the rand Cayman population during Bradley, , and estimated a total population of between 9 15 and 1, individuals. Endangerment: Bradley considered the Grand Cayman population to be thriving and reasonably secure in the short term, but under chronic pressure from a variety of sources including habitat destruction and the harvesting of chicks for the local pet trade.

In the long term, accelerating habitat destruction for real estate development and agriculture will inevitably lead to a decline, and projections for the development rate of Grand Cayman give no reassurance for the stability of Grand Cayman 's parrots over the next few decades. The subspecies is considered vulnerable. The Existing Protection for Cayman 's Parrots At theend of , some protective mechanisms were in place which affected the parrots of the Cayman Islands.

These are listed below. This placed absolute restrictions on international trade in wild parrots from the Cayman Islands: international trading of wild caught parrots had been occurring before this, although not apparently to any devastating extent. The problem had been most significant on Cayman Brac, according to anecdotal accounts. At that time, parrots were, however, still listed as game birds in Cayman Islands law, so it was legal to shoot and capture parrots within the islands.

In January , the Cayman Islands Government passed an amendment to the Animals Law, removing both subspecies of parrot from the game bird list. This revision gave legal protection to parrots in the wild, making it illegal to shoot or capture them. It, however, failed to address the fact that large numbers of parrots were already in captivity as pets.

The change made it technically illegal to own a pet Cayman Parrot, yet this was apparently not an intentional consequence of the legislation, and this aspect has therefore never been enforced. In any case, no effective means of enforcement exist for any terrestrial conservation aspect of the Animals Law. Terrestrial Reserves On 8th December, , the Cayman Islands Government transferred ownership of an undemarcated parcel of mixed woodland, thicket and wetland on Grand Cayman to the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, for conservation.

The land had been in Crown ownership in absence of private claims at the time ofthe original land adjudication for the Islands. The balance of dry habitat includes much woodland and thicket utilized heavily by parrots, for foraging and nesting the wetlands do not include any mangroves of nesting size. The area is known as the Salina Reserve, named for the traditional name of the wetland, which although basically a fresh water system, develops a crust of bleached dead algae visually similar to a salt pan at the height of the dry season.

The majority of the Reserve is primaryvegetation, with very little human impact evident anywhere. The Salina Reserve was designated by theTrust as under total protection for conservation of its flora and fauna, and will be declared inalienable under the Trust Law once all the boundaries have been surveyed.

This offers the highest level of protection available under Cayman Islands Law. On 13th March, theTrust came into joint ownership with Government of a 60 acre parcel of low elevation disturbed thicket, for development as a Botanic Garden. The core of this area proved to have retained diverse indigenous vegetation, and has been designated as a conservation area within the master plan of the Botanic Garden.

The area is part of a large area utilized by parrots for feeding, and there are plans to try and encourage nesting in pseudo-natural nest cavities. These National Trust owned conservation areas were the only truly terrestrial reserves on the Cayman Islands as of December, areas protected under Government legislation are restricted to marine conservation zones and landlocked brackish water ponds, neither of which have habitat value for parrots.

The combined area of the Salina Reserve and the conservation zone of the Botanic Garden site, about acres in total, is significant in terms of parrot habitat protection, but by any measure severely insufficient alone to safeguard the parrot population in the face of long term, island wide deforestation.

Other factors Both subspecies of Cayman Parrot feed on cultivated fruit, in particular mangoes. Mangoes are damaged at flowering, in early immature fruit, and at the ripe fruit stage. Particularly on Grand Cayman , where parrots are more numerous and farmers are cultivating grafted mango strains for commercial purposes, there is strong feeling among farmers that parrots are a pest, and should be controlled, not protected.

Although no research has been carried out to evaluate the economic significance of parrot damage to commercial mango crops, the farmers' opinion carries political weight, and the Government is reluctant to press too hard on enforcing and strengthening conservation legislation for parrots. Cayman ians have kept pet parrots for longer than living memory, and it is very hard to convince people to cease robbing parrot nest for pets when this has been so much part of their traditional way of life.

Again, the relative abundance of the Grand Cayman subspecies, combined with its conspicuous behaviour, makes it difficult for people to see that the bird is under any threat, and that there is any need for them to do without their pet parrots.

James Wiley about conducting research on the Cayman Brac Parrot. TheTrust had also been involved in a number ofsmall publiceducation programmes. The creative and innovative approach of the programme fitted well into the scheme of things already started. The primary focus of both the RARE programme and the public education programme of the Trust encompasses protection of habitat as well as protection of particular species.

Butler's approach of using Cayman 's parrots as a "flagship" for habitat protection appealed to the Trust. One reservation the Trust had was the anticipated reaction from farmers whose mango crops suffer from parrots destroying budding flowers and dipping young fruit.

However, Mr Butler explained that he would assist us with networking through the scientific community for information which might help us identify non-lethal control methods. After meeting with Government oficials about the programme, it became apparent that although the Government had no objections to the programme, the Trust would be on its own. No supportwould be forthcoming from Government, either financially or in naming the parrot as the National Bird.

However, the Trust Council felt that the programme would accrue several benefits: 1. From a conservation point of view, the programme would be valuable in that it would further expose the Trust and the goals of the Trust to the general public. It offered an immediate action plan to assist in the preservation ofcayman Brack most endangered parrot. And if the programme was well received, it might possibly influence Government to take a stronger stand on enforcement of the law.

The implementation of conservation education in the school system and in the community would make inroads into public opinion and might subsequently be adapted to cover other "flagship" species and other environmental concerns. The anticipated financial assistance from RARE and local businesses would be supplementary to the Trust's budget and enable an expansion of the public education potential of the Trust in its mission to protect habitat; 4.

The international publicity garnered by the programme would assist theTrust to solicit additional international support and funding to further its land acquisition, public education and research programmes. It was also felt that this exposure would also enhance the image of the Cayman Islands as an ecotourism destination. Programme Objectives Implementation of the RARE programme in the Cayman Islands required a split focus to some extent because of the different circumstances surrounding the endangered Cayman Brac parrot and the vulnerable Grand Cayman parrot.

The objectives of the programme differed somewhat from Island to Island. General Objectives: To raise public awareness about the uniqueness of Cayman 's parrots. To develop a sense of identification and national pride in these unique creatures. To increase understanding of the causes of their endangerment with emphasis on the need to protect their habitat. To raise public awareness of local and international legislation protecting Cayman 's Parrots.

To stimulate a more protective attitude towards the Brac Parrot. Grand Cayman Objectives: To increase general awareness ofthe need to protect habitat for all Cayman 's endemic wildlife and the parrot in particular.

To work with farmers to better understand parrot crop damage and work together to identify non-lethal solutions. To facilitate this programme, RARE provided the counterpart with "A Conservation Manual for the Caribbean" written by Butler and two days of training to set up the programme.

On page 14, Figure 3 shows that educational materials and activities were tailored to all age groups in the Cayman Islands.

On page 15, Figure 4, is a summary of major activities by month and indicates that this programme was adopted for the calendar year of This chart has been amended to reflect activities tailored to the Cayman Islands. Information on the posters was based on the Patricia Bradley population study done in It was agreed to personify the parrots as "Grand Cayman ian" and " Cayman Bracker" to help identify their unique characteristics and establish a sense of pride and "ownership" among Cayman ians, especially among Brackers.

Theseposterswereofaveryhigh quality and were highly fade resistant. The same art workwas reduced and replicated on 4, badges with the words " Cayman 's Parrots - Protect them in the wild.

The words here reflect a continuous thread running throughout our programme, that of habitat protection. The art work from the poster was photocopied and reproduced in one colour as a part of our fact sheet. Originally, 10, copies were printed in green on white paper. A subsequent version of this fact sheet was produced at a lower reading level for use in the schools.

See Appendix for samples of each of these fact sheets. Questionnaire A questionnaire was designed for pre- and post-programme evaluation of public knowledge and attitudes based on the questionnaire used in other RARE Programmes.

The Cayman Questionnaire, however, was altered to seek information about each of our endangered sub-species separately. The questionnaire was also reviewed by staff from the Natural Resources Unit of the Government. These questionnaires were produced in-house at the Trust and numbered consecutively. A copy is included here on page A RYIC"..

We are Very interested in your opinions. By answering the following questions, you will help us undersmnd how to protect them. YES 2. YES NO OTHER Check one only please - a. NFTAR 3. OTHER 6. Pre-Assessment Survey The purpose of this survey was to assess the knowledge of and attitudes about Cayman 's parrots in a random sample of the population of the Cayman Islands.

This pre-assessment is necessary to formulate an effective public education campaign and will also act as a baseline against which to measure the effectiveness of the one year Cayman Parrot Education Programme. It parallels similar questionnaires used in other Caribbean islands but was customized for the Cayman Islands because there are two unique sub-species ofArnazona leucocqhekz. One per cent of the population was surveyed based on the Census, by Electoral District. Only Cayman ians were surveyed.

Table 1. Methodology The NationalTrust recruited surveyors and held a training session with all surveyors. The key points emphasized during the training session were: Politely introduce yourselfand state the purpose of the questionnaire.

Inform them that they will remain anonymous. Emphasize that it is acceptable to respond "don't know"; that there should be no stigma real or imagined attached to this choice; that we are really interested in what they think; that it is important to find what out what they don't know as well as what they do know.

Slowly read each question and record the answers on the question sheet. Do not let the questionnaire out of your possession. If possible fill it in for the person. Remain completely objective.

Encourage the person to state their opinion freely. Under no circumstances answer the question for the person. In cases where a person gives more than one answer, record the first one given. Once all questions have been answered, go over the questionnaire and correct answers with the person, complementing them on their accurate responses and tactfully correcting misconceptions. The questionnaires were given to the following people on the 1st ofDecemberwith an ideal target completion date of 15 December All others were completed by 25 January 1.

All figures represent persentages of individuals surveyed. Does Cayman have a national bird? BIRD B. Parrot Is the Cayman Brac parrot found only in Cayman Brac? How scarce is the Grand Cayman parrot? How scarce is the Cayman Brac parrot? What is the main reason for the Cayman Brac parrot becoming rare? What is the fine for hunting or trapping our parrots? What is the fine for illegally clearing land in an animal sanctuary? Protecting our parrots is going to cost money - money that could be used for other things.

Do you think it is important that government spend time and money on our parrots? Not IMPT Other 8. What local newspaper or magazine do you read most other than The Compass? Discussion and Analysis In general, it was apparent that there was a substantial lack of knowledge about Cayman 's endemic parrots and little comprehension of the impact of development on the environment.

This is likely due to the fact that removing the parrots from the game bird list was effected through a change in regulation and was not publicized. Of even greater concern was the total lack of awareness of the existing Animal Sanctuaries. Many asked if Cayman had any animal sanctuaries. Poster Distribution As part ofour emphasis on the Brac Parrot, a decision was taken to initiate the distribution ofthe 2, posters in Cayman Brac.

While a nine-man team from theTrust was carrying out the Cayman Brac parrot census in February, , the Counterpart visited every school in Cayman Brac, talking to every child in every school, and held teachers workshops about the Cayman Brac parrot, its endangerment and the RARE programme. At this time posters were distributed to the population.

When Cayman Brackers saw the poster and saw that the Brac Parrot was featured, they glowed with pride. Posters were put up all over the island including in police and fire stations, post offices, schools, the library, the museum, and in restaurants, hotels and government offices.

In keeping with the Trust's philosophy ofeducating the population through the children, everyteacher was sent apacket including fact sheets, support materials and a poster for every classroom in every school in Grand Cayman. Several faculty workshops were held to educate and motivate teachers to incorporate this conservation information into their classes.

Additional posters were distributed through government offices, banks and businesses, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, church halls, post offices, doctor and dentist's offices and the hospital.

A notice was put in the paper that posters were available from the National Trust and many groups and individuals contacted us for posters. We made a concerted effort to distribute the posters to Cayman ians who could vote and make a difference in the long term rather than giving them to transient tourists. It is interesting to note that even after a long meeting between the counterpart and the farmers where parrot crop damage was the main topic, every farmer at the meeting wanted a poster to take home.

We earmarked posters for distribution in the schools at the beginning of the school year. The Cayman Brac teachers informed us that they had liked the posters so much that they had laminated them so that they would last. A special issue of theTrust's newsletter, Update, was produced which featured an article about the Cayman 's Parrot Conservation programme and the Cayman Islands National Museum Exhibit. Even though we have given out all of the posters, we continually receive requests for the posters and are considering reproducing the poster as a fund raising retail sales product.

The exposure of our original posters was significantly enhanced when Cayman Horizons, a local tourist publication which serves as the in-flight magazine for Cayman Airways, offered to run the fact sheet and poster for a cost to the Trust of the colour separations.

This increased the circulation of our poster and fact sheet by 60,, and ensured that it was read by every person flying Cayman Airways. Badge Distribution A decision was taken early on not to give out the Cayman parrot badges to those who complkted the questionnaire. It was felt that many in Cayman were too sophisticated for that. It was decided instead to disseminate the 4, badges during the schools visitation programme.

This was effectively accomplished. In addition, a fact sheet at the appropriate reading level was supplied for every child in every school in Cayman Brac. Additional adult fact sheets were left for distribution where posters were displayed in the two main banks and three main supermarkets in Cayman Brac.

In Grand Cayman , the fact sheet was inserted in the local daily newspaper circulation 6, to all three islands in conjunction with aspecial section featuring Cayman 's parrots, Fact sheets of an appropriate reading level were distributed to every child in every school in Grand Cayman.

Additional fact sheets were also distributed at several locations where posters were displayed. This same information was integrated into several issues of The Trust Times, the Trust's junior members newsletter, during the year. Fact sheets were also used extensively in summer camps in conjunction with field trips to Otto Watler's Captive Breeding facility, Fact sheets were also distributed at several events held during the year including school fairs, the National Trust Fair, Tourism Awareness Week and the Heritage Days held during Pirates Week.

In all, well over 10, adult fact sheets, 6, children's level fact sheet and 60, in Cayman Horizonswere distributed during the year. As morewere needed, we photocopied them in-house. The counterpart, who is an accomplished writer, produced a number of newsworthy articles which also reinforced the objectives of the public education programme.

The local press is both supportive of the National Trust and sympathetic to conservation issues, and the programme received very good support from the local media with the exception of Newstar magazine. This magazine, in January of , produced a feature article criticizing the Trust for "jumping the gun" on saving the parrot. The author criticized the Trust for mounting a forceful, and effective multimedia campaign based on suppositions and no substantialdata as to whether the parrots were endangered or not.

He then proceeded to make a case that the parrots were not in fact endangered in Grand Cayman , based on comments from local farmers but otherwise totally unsubstantiated by any scientific data. Although this article and magazine are not as widely read as the local newspapers, it may have contributed to some of the "don't know " answers recorded in the post programme questionnaire.

Children's Song Afier a number of unproductive attempts to have local musicians create a children's song, the Counterpart contacted a local song writer, George Nowak, known as "The Barefoot Man". On a prior occasion he had allowed the Trust to use his music with new lyrics for asimilar project. He agreed to allow theTrust to use the music from his original song, "We are the Children of the Caribbean" with a new lyric especially written for the Cayman parrots conservation education programme by the RARE Counterpart.

This songwhich appears on the next page, was taught to every child in the Cayman Islands, with the exception of the students of the two schools which were not visited during the campaign due to lack of response from their respective principals , and in all the summer camp programmes in which the Trust was involved.

There was plenty woodland for them and you and me. Then people came to Cayman , her population grew. And clearing land became the common thing to do.

By making room for people, many parrot homes were lost. Development has made us rich, but parrots paid the cost. But if we work together, we can make the damage stop. Save our tomorrow tod You'll be our example by what you say and do. When one day we are parents, we'll be thanking you. Based on photographs taken by Richard Ground and drawings by Phil Bush, she designed patterns so that the Cayman Brac parrot would be slightly smaller that the Grand Cayman parrot.

On top ofthis a pair of baggy green bloomers are worn to simulate our parrot's chubby thighs. Next achest plate full ofbrightly coloured feathers is donned. Alarge and elaborate set ofbrightly coloured wing and tail feathers is the last piece before the head piece is tied on. It takes two people to dress one of our parrots but they are splendiferous when complete. A special series of "how-to" directions and slides were produced and sent to our counterpart in the Bahamas who started the programme a few months after Cayman.

These ideas were shared with many teachers in a series of Teachers' Workshops designed and conducted by our counterpart in various schools. The Head of English at the Cayman Islands Middle School expressed an interest in integrating the parrot conservation themes and information into a creative writing unit. This was their way to field test the unit they were planning for their students.

A wonderful political satire on a parrot conservation theme was the end result of their day, in addition to their well made lesson plans. Teachers from this Department also assisted the Counterpart in re-writing the fact sheet for lower-ability readers. The materials to construct: the PVC pipe puppet theatre were donated by a local business, Serv-u-well and the unit was constructed.

However, the teachers involved felt that the puppet theatre was too large for reasonable use in their classrooms. They developed instead some fairly creative "Punch and Judy" style puppet theatres made from cardboard boxes. Several original plays were written as well as songs and poems. Several different types ofhand puppets were also used by the students: Sock puppets, marionette puppets and tennis ball puppets.

The best of these original plays written by students in the Cayman Islands Middle School were taken on tour to primary schools in the area Other original works were used in a special parrot production for the Schools Radio Broadcast and was aired for all schools in Cayman. See directions in the Appendix. The concept was simple and inexpensive. A tennis ball was used for the parrot's head. The tennis ball was cut so that when you squeeze the sides, theV-shaped slit opens like aparrot's beak.

The head was then painted to simulate the natural colouration ofour parrots with acrylic paint. With this type of project each child can have their own "pet parrot". This activitywasvery popular in several summer camps and lead to many role playing opportunities to stimulate children's imaginations, and to sympathise and empathise with the parrots' circumstances.

Parrot balls in the hands of an imaginative child offer endless hours of enjoyment. These are broken into pre-schools, primary schools, middle schools and high schools. There were basically three unique elements in this programme. Cayman Brac Schools Pre-school through high school in Cayman Brac were targeted for two schools presentations: an introductory presentation about Cayman Brac's unique parrot; and the regular schools visitation programme later in the year.

All schools in Cayman Brac one pre-school, three primaryand the combined middle and highschoolwitha total enrollment about children and teachers were addressed by the Counterpart in February This presentation included the information on the posters and fact sheets, as well as information about the Trust's Cayman Parrot Census Project which was underway at that time.

This had a strong positive impact on people in the Brac which was evident by the friendly inquiries made by Brackers who saw the parrot census-takers standing in the bush. Schools Presentation Beginning in April , an entertaining and informative assembly programme was offered to all the schools with appointments beginning in May and continuing through December During that time four pre-schools, six of the seven government primary schools, five of the six private primaryschools, and all middle school students werevisited.

The actual programme had several elements. The Counterpart addressed the children, tailoring remarks to suitable age groups to achieve the following objectives. At the end of this assembly the students will be able to: -list three characteristics of Cayman 's parrots; -state the Latin name of each sub-species; -identify three characteristics which varied from the caymanenric subspecies to the hatema subspecies; -state three things threatening the existence of Cayman 's parrots.

These cognitive objectives were achieved through lecture, story telling, demonstration and song. The assembly presentation followed this outline: 1.

Cayman 's Parrots - special, unique and only in Cayman 2. The Story of the American Passenger Pigeon 3. They do however find something shiny on their pillow: "Cent, five cent, ten cent, dollar" The catchy refrain of acurrent best-selling record in the Caribbean. As the child finds his way to school he meets several individuals who ask him what he has in his pocket. Each time he answers "Cent, five cent, ten cent, dolla" until he meets the Candy Man.

Now each child has to make a decision about how to spend their resources -how much should they save for lunch? How much should they spend on candy? Most children made reasonable decisions spending one cent or five cent on candy while saving the rest for lunch, giving the Counterpart the opportunity to compliment them on already knowing how to intelligently manage limited resources.

However, it was interesting to note that children from more affluent families more often said they would spend all their money on candy. Parrot appearance - On a given cue, the playing of the hit song "Cent, Five Cent, Ten Cent, Dolla" , the two Cayman parrots, Cappy from George Town and Polly from Cayman Brac came flying into the room, displaying slightly raucous behaviour, as Cayman parrots do, to the delight of the students and surprise of the teachers.

To prove that they were truly West Indian creatures, they also demonstrated that they could dance "Dolla wine". The students loved it. Show and Tell - The Counterpart then had the two parrots stand still together so that she could point out the similarities and differences for all to see. Cayman Parrot Badges -The Counterpart then asked the children if they would like to see Cayman 's parrots preserved. The children also promised to wear the parrot badges as a sign of their personal commitment to preserving Cayman 's parrots in the wild.

Then the children sang the Cayman parrot's song. The Counterpart sang the verses and all present sang the chorus complete with hand motions for the younger children.

While they sang, the parrots went around and pinned a badge on each student. Students were again encouraged to wear the Cayman Parrot badge as a sign of their commitment and spread the word to their friends and families.

The Finale - The parrots showed their appreciation and said good-bye flying away in their typical raucous manner, occasionally nuzzling their beaks on a teacher or two on the way out, to the glee of their students. The Counterpart then thanked everyone on behalf of the National Trust and Cayman 's parrots and showed everyone the special parrot issue of the Trust Times and the Cayman Parrots Colouring Bookwhich she left for each student.

High School Visits As high school students are a bit more sophisticated, a different presentation was given at that level. The Counterpart presented a lecture augmented with slides to achieve the same cognitive objectives. All students were addressed in assemblies during the Cayman Islands High School Heritage Week, the focus ofwhich was preserving Cayman 's natural heritage.

A large display was also set up in the school library featuring the displays produced for the Trust Fair. There were also several small group lectures given in the biology classes at the request of individual teachers. These focused on the concept of ecosystems, balance in nature and what causes animals to become extinct. Other lectures were given in English Department to assist students preparing term papers on endangered species, in particular parrots.

In all the number of counterpart contacts with individual school children was Table 3 on the next page shows a comparison of the number of students in schools with the number of counterpart contacts. Parrots On Parade In Batabano Although Cayman does not traditionally have a carnival like many Eastern Caribbean countries, in recent years the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman has been sponsoring a street parade and dance similar to carnival celebrations on other islands, but on a much smaller scale.

They are nearly ready for the wild. That will be a special day. There was a time when that would not happen.! About the trees- I love trees and my little yard is filled up with them. I use the underplanting method. I have pomegranate growing under sweet sop and inpatiens under the pomegranate. Trees are the best carbon blocker — save the ozone layer, plant a tree.

Your good health depends on it. So good to hear someone close to nature. Thanks for sharing. Very wise about the underplanting. We could grow a lot more here with that technique and of course, keep the oxygen fresh around your house. Superb post. All that has to be done to make a big difference would be for planning to require aspects of landscaping to be made up of trees which would help support parrots.

The medians of roads could be lined with them. Almost no cost, and would improve and support the environment, for people and animals. One of the issues that I and many others have been seeing is the attack of birds during mating season and during the time when there are hatchlings and fledglings. In Camana bay where I work Dart has had to erect signs warning persons of the dangers of the birds as they are nesting.

In Prospect where I live, there are nesting parrots aplenty, but they are now nesting in the yards of persons who have large trees etc. That can pose a problem as when they are nesting, birds like all animals will become violent and start attacking. A friend of mine who lives in a George Town apartment complex is now wary of walking her dog in the mornings and evenings as the birds have taken to using the trees that are in the complex as a nesting ground.

The development that is happening is quickly eroding what habitat these animals have and they are going to what every other species has done. They are going to either adapt or die. The Government needs to protect the species in the same way that it has done the Blue Iguana. Unfortunately, man does not realise what he is doing until it is too late.

You work in Camana Bay — cannot even distinguish between a Ching Ching and a parrot — and think it is a problem when local birds take issue with you snooping around their nests! Are you sure the birds are parrots? If they are it sounds like they are changing their habits as well as their habitats. Look at all the blind people walking around Camana who have been attacked. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Anonymous says:. Cyborg says:. Charles Darwin says:. Jack says:. Dena says:. Johnny Rotten says:. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Favourite comments over past week So my 9 year old son has a covid positive classmat You can criticise Roy and the PPM for a number of Who cares about cases.

The cases are because local Does anyone think that someone who has very little In other news, the sky is blue and the earth is ro What a sad and pointless thing to waste your life She looks even worse now. Imagine wasting your own Why doesn't the government just import a load of t Sounds like CIAA staff can not do their job. It is a shame she is spending good money to ensure Not everyone has a MLA's salary..

What a waste of time. Import them ourselves? During the breeding season they look for food as well as tree cavities in which to raise their young. It is almost impossible to spot them at this time as they are perfectly camouflaged among the leaves of the trees. In the late afternoon they return to their roost.

The Cayman Brac Parrot previously inhabited Little Cayman but its prime nesting sites were destroyed in the Storm of It now has the smallest known range of any Amazon parrot in the world. Its survival depends entirely on the protection of remaining old-growth forest which can still be found on Cayman Brac.

Habitat loss through development and trapping for the illegal pet trade also jeopardize the future of these birds. It is illegal to trap, sell and keep the birds in captivity. Yet, many people still keep them as pets. In an effort to curb the illegal trade in the national bird, the DoE set up a six month amnesty program, running from September 1st to February 29th Pet parrot owners can now legally register their birds without the risk of their pets being taken away. About a year ago, the DoE started a collaboration with a private member of the public to open a much-needed Parrot Sanctuary in East End.