|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Parrots 2008 International and Local Speakers |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
 |
Dr Donald J. Brightsmith - Ph.D. Schubot Excotic Bird Health Centre, Texas, A&M University Rainforest Expeditions, Peru
Donald has worked since 1993 researching wild parrots in Peru, Indonesia, Florida and Costa Rica. The results of these investigations have been published in numerous scientific journal articles and magazine articles and presented in invited talks on 4 continents. Throughout his career, Donald has made a special effort to educate and learn from the aviculture community. He is currently a researcher at the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Centre at Texas A&M University where his research focuses on conservation, natural history, ecology, diseases, and diets of parrots.
|
He is the Director of the Tambopata Macaw Project in south-eastern Peru, a board member of Parrots International, a consultant for the Indonesian Parrot Project, and an advisor for the Brazilian government's Lear's Macaw and Spix's Macaw Recovery Programs. Despite his position in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Donald is not a vet, but trained as a conservation biologist. He holds a PhD in Zoology from Duke University, a MS in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Arizona, a BS in Natural Resources from Cornell University and spent one year at Oxford University. The content of his lectures comes from scientific literature and Donald's personal experience as an advisor and researcher. This is his first visit to Australia and he is very excited to be presenting at Parrots 2008. |
|
|
Dr Susan Friedman - California, USA
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., is currently a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. A Behaviorist for over 30 years, her area of expertise is learning and behavior with a special emphasis on children's behavior disorders. Over the last decade, Susan has helped pioneer efforts to apply to animals the humane philosophy and scientifically sound teaching technology from the field of Applied Behavior Analysis that has been so effective with human learners. The guiding principle of this approach is a hierarchy of teaching interventions starting with the most positive, least intrusive, effective behaviour solutions. |
 |
| |
|
Susan is a steadfast proponent of changing behavior through facilitation rather than force. These tools of facilitation focus on animals' extraordinary biologic capacity to learn by interacting with their environment. She teaches that by changing the environment for success, animals learn to behave successfully. Susan currently teaches "Living and Learning with Parrots: The Fundamental Principles of Behavior" to online and live workshop students several times a year to caregivers and veterinarians and other animal professionals.
Susan is the first author on two chapters on learning and behavior for two new avian veterinary texts (Harrison and Lightfoot's Clinical Avian Medicine and Luescher's Manual of Parrot Behavior) and a frequent contributor to popular magazines. Many of her articles can be found at The Gabriel Foundation. She has given a wide variety of workshops and conference presentations including the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, the American Federation of Aviculturists and the Moorpark College Exotic Animal Training and Management program, as well as many national bird clubs and symposia. This year she was a guest speaker on the topic of learning and behavior for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Colloquium. Susan is a core member of the California Condor Recovery Team and takes every opportunity to work with companion animal caregivers, veterinarians, animal trainers and zookeepers to empower and enrich the lives of all learners.
|
|
|
|
 |
Barbara Heidenreich - Texas, USA
Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional in the field of animal training since 1990. She owns and operates a company, Good Bird Inc., that provides behaviour and training products to the companion parrot community. These products include Good Bird Magazine, books, videos, consulting services and training/behaviour workshops. She is the author of “Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behaviour Problems in Companion Parrots” by Avian Publications and also “The Parrot Problem Solver. Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behaviour” by TFH Publications. She is a past president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. |
Barbara's experience also includes consulting on animal training in zoos and other animal related facilities. Her specialty is free flight bird training. She has been a part of the development and production of more than 15 different free flight education programs. Barbara continues to provide consulting services to zoos, nature centres and other animal facilities through her other company Animal Training and Consulting Services. In her career she has trained animals, trained staff, and/or presented shows at facilities around the world, including the U.S.A., Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and Canada. |
|
|
Dr Chris Kingsley,
BVSc (Pret.) bSc (Hons.) Zoology (Natal)
- Republic of South Africa
Born in 1952 in Pretoria, South Africa. Moved to the gold mining town of Springs in 1954, where I attended school. At the age of 10 years I built my first small aviary, in which I kept some African waxbills. In about 1967 I saw my first Lories, two Chattering Lories in a pet shop in Springs. Managed to acquire them by swapping for waxbills which I was by that time breeding successfully. My love for the family of brush-tongued parrots has never ended. During my school years I was actively involved in the establishment of a bird sanctuary in Springs to protect breeding colonies of waterbirds at a local dam. |
 |
| |
|
After matriculating in 1969, I spent a year in the army in Cape Town , where I became involved in an organisation involved in the conservation and rehabilitation of oiled seabirds. From 1971 till 1974 I attended the University of Natal , where I completed an honours degree in zoology.
From the time of qualifying until 1979 I moved about within South Africa doing various jobs. In 1979 I enrolled at the University of Pretoria for a veterinary degree.
During the years as a veterinary student I earned extra money by breeding finches and lorikeets.
After qualifying, I moved to the UK where I was employed in a mixed veterinary practice, seeing a small number of bird patients.
When I returned to South Africa, I spent two years lecturing at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, before establishing my own private mixed veterinary practice.
Because of my interest in birds, and my involvement in aviculture, the practice rapidly became primarily bird orientated, and became an exclusively avian practice in 1988. I continue to practice avian and wildlife medicine from my clinic situated on a small farm on the outskirts of Pretoria.
During the years that I have been in avian practice, the growth in aviculture around the world has been phenomenal. My interest in aviculture, and in avian medicine has taken me to 54 countries, where I have been able to see a huge variety of birds in the wild, been able to visit a variety of bird-keepers, and meet and work with a number of other avian veterinarians.
I have given numerous talks to bird clubs, and avicultural associations, presented papers at veterinary congresses, including the World Small Animal Veterinary Congress in 1994.
I continue to maintain, and enjoy a mixed collection of birds, including a variety of lories and lorikeets, in 200 aviaries at my home in Pretoria.
|
|
|
|
 |
Dale Thompson - California, USA
Dale Thompson has been involved with exotic birds in both aviculture and in the zoo field for over 40 years. He started as an animal keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo for ten years (seven in the bird department) where he was involved in several hundred avian species. Areas of note include the hand rearing of large softbills and being instrumental in establishing a breakthrough in the captive reproduction of the toucan family. Dale has been involved in seven world and/or US first breeding awards. |
Dale became the Director of Avicultural Institute (AI) in 1977. This was a privately owned parrot breeding facility located in Southern California, Over 70 species of parrots (over 6000 individuals) were successfully reared including the full range of Macaws, Cockatoos, Amazons, Greys, Eclectus, Conures and many more including several endangered species. Besides the parrots, this facility also parent reared many Keel-billed Toucans. A separate facility of AI was the largest producer of several Australian finches in the world. The research portion of this facility was multi-faceted but primarily worked with psittacine diets and their individual nutrition needs. Two other studies were in the field of artificial incubation and hand rearing techniques. Through this facility, as one of the Directors of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Birds (IFCB), Dale participated in funding grants (over $500,000) for avian researchers and scientists around the world and assisted in the two IFCB/Delacour Symposiums in the 1980's.
The research part of this faculty worked mainly with avian health issues, parrot diets and nutrition in captivity, and established parameters on correct artificial incubation requirements and hand feeding growth rates and techniques. This facility worked with the USDA (Dept. of Agriculture) on the correct use of medicated (to assist in preventing Psittacosis) pelleted diets for US and US approved quarantine stations bringing in psittacines from foreign countries.
Dale has written numerous articles for several magazines and publications both nationally and internationally. He was a featured columnist and writer for Bird Talk magazine and Editor-in-Chief of the AFA's (American Federation of Aviculture) through the 1990's. He was the English translation coordinator for Thomas Arndt's book Parrots-Their Life in the Wild. Along with Susie Christian, Dale contributed to the Taxonomy and Identification of Subspecies sections of ABK Publication's Revised Edition of A Guide to... Eclectus Parrots. He also wrote two chapters on softbill husbandry in Dr. Murray Fowler's first edition book, Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine.
Dale has given many avicultural lectures both nationally and internationally for many years. Early in his career, he co-taught the first university class on aviculture through UCLA Extension (11 week course). He also taught graduate classes through the Avian Science Dept. of UC Davis a noted veterinarian university in Northern California. His lecturing audiences included many local clubs, national conventions, veterinarian conferences, and avian paediatric symposiums. Internationally, Dale has been invited to speak in the United Kingdom, Tenerife, Panama, and Australia.
Probably one of the most notable avicultural accomplishments has been Dale's involvement in the establishment of Hoffman's Conure, Pyrrhura hoffmanni, in captivity. Using sound genetic techniques given by zoo professionals and aviculturists (Graeme Phipps of Australia being the most influential), Dale formed a Hoffman's Conure consortium which started with only 11 (6.5) birds and reproduced them till there is now over 900 (or more) worldwide. This bird will probably stay as a breeder in aviculture as its coloration will probably keep it out of the pet market.
Dale Thompson has taken many trips to observed birds and other wildlife in the rainforests of the world. These ranged from New Guinea, Australia, to Ecuador, Costa Rica and over 30 trips to Panama. He was also involved in many film and wildlife documentaries with a partner. Some of these included sequences to series for National Geographic and David Wolper Prod. and TV projects as That's Incredible, Those Amazing Animals, and PBS's Wild America. They also have some of the most stunning still photographs of parrots, finches and softbills.
Dale became the General Curator at the Fresno's Chaffee Zoo in Central California in 2000 where he was responsible for over 600 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
The one parrot genus that Dale has been personally involved with most of his career has been the Eclectus Parrot including a wild-caught female that reproduced into her 30th year. He has had a pet Magna Double Yellow-headed Amazon in the family also for 30 years. Dale is married to Katie and two of their four adult kids are either in aviculture or the zoo field. |
|
|
 |
Nicholas Bishop - Taronga Zoo,
Sydney,
NSW, Australia
Nicholas was hatched in Adelaide, South Australia, and grew up near the Adelaide foothills.
As a kid, his father bought him a small patio aviary and bunch of budgies. The rest is history, as Nic has been a self-confessed ‘bird nerd' ever since. As a teenager, he drove his family bonkers by bringing home everything from cockatoos to Chinese geese. However, they are really proud he persisted with his hobby because they can now see how happy he is in his chosen career pathway. Nicholas says that they are still bonkers though – but in a good way! |
| |
Nic's first studies were in Opera and Classical Voice at Adelaide University when he fledged from the family nest. At the same time, he started working as a volunteer guide at Adelaide Zoo and commenced the first of a number of different jobs as a nurse assistant working in aged care centres. This was great work, contrasting with later roles as a Kindergarten aide, theatre attendant, freelance illustrator, singer, actor and finally a bird keeper in Adelaide Zoo's Bird Department in 1999. This led to Nic's current position as a trainer and presenter with the free-flight bird show at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. In this role, his path crossed with renowned animal behaviourist, aviculturist and conservationist, Mr. Steve Martin where in 2007 Nic joined him as a production director and instructor at Natural Encounters, Florida, USA.
Nicholas' academic qualifications include a Graduate Certificate in Applied Ornithology with Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales and Zookeeping Certificate III with the Box Hill Institute of TAFE in Victoria.
However, Nic's primary qualification is passion. He is passionate about parrots and passionate about learning how to improve the lives of the birds in our care. This is evident in his writing for Fledglings, the Parrot Society of Australia's junior aviculturist publication, for which is he co-creator and author. |
|
|
 |
Doug Black - Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Doug has been an avian vet for over 25 years. He began practice at the Springvale Veterinary Clinic, Melbourne in 1978 where he developed a special interest in avian medicine and surgery, greatly influenced by his colleague, Dr David Madill. In 1980 he became a partner in the practice and remained there until the end of 1994.
Through examination, he became a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in the Avian Health Chapter in 1988. While living in Flinders, Victoria until 1995, he kept and bred many species of Australian parrots and finches.
|
Doug was thrust into the world of ostriches in 1988 and developed the surgical and medical treatment, husbandry and nutrition of these birds in Australia over the following decade. The ostrich work was not only spread throughout Australia but also in many overseas countries such as Mexico, USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
He moved to his current location in Moama, NSW in 1995 and gradually moved back into private veterinary practice. He now owns the Moama Veterinary Clinic which deals with dogs, cats, wildlife and exotic pets with Doug's focus on birds of all species - companion, aviary, commercial production (even ostriches and emus still!) and wild birds. He is currently sharing his Moama property on the Murray River with his wife, 3 daughters, a menagerie of animals and a pet galah who he rescued nearly 30 years ago (as well as several thousand wild cockatoos, corellas and galahs who are definitely not pets!!).
He was involved in the initial formation of the Australian Association of Avian Veterinarians. He has written many avian articles and papers, contributed to the early ground-breaking book “Everybird – A Guide to Bird Health” and given many lectures to veterinarians, students, aviculturists and farmers in Australia and overseas.
|
|
|
Daniel Gowland - Priam Psittaculture Centre, Bungendore, NSW, Australia
Daniel Gowland has lived with science and birds his entire life. His childhood was spent in the Kimberley where his father worked as a wildlife ecologist for the Western Australian government. This experience provided fantastic opportunities to indulge his curiosity for Australia's unique and diverse fauna and flora. Daniel's early attraction to aviculture saw him keeping a myriad of parrots throughout his school years. As a teenager, he was put to work in the family's backyard aviaries, collecting browse around Canberra and assisting in construction projects. |
 |
| |
|
However, it wasn't until Dan's family starting serious parrot breeding in the 1990's that he developed an interest in avian research, especially the areas of parrot husbandry and aviary design factors. Today, Daniel continues to focus his skills towards incubation techniques, hand rearing and parrot nutrition in his research endeavours and knowledge. |
| |
|
In 2000, Daniel became Facility Manager at Priam Psittaculture Centre after graduating from the University of Wollongong with Creative Arts in 1998 and Environmental Design and Building Drafting in 1999. He has successfully implemented numerous husbandry projects for increasing reproduction as manager. In 2007, Daniel was invited to provide expert advice to Zoos Victoria regarding the captive housing and management of endangered species. He has also presented a paper at the 2007 ARAZPA (Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria) Conference outlining the value of a specialist captive breeding facility for tomorrow's zoo. |
|
|
|
 |
Shane Hancock, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Shane is an internationally experienced early childhood educator who has been teaching for thirteen years. He is the co-creator and author of Fledglings, the Parrot Society of Australia's junior aviculturist publication. Although he has kept and bred many different bird species from a young age, parrots continue to dominate his primary interest in aviculture. Shane's travels have given him plenty of unique opportunities to view many parrot species in their native habitats around Australia and beyond. He fulfills many roles on the Parrot Society's Executive Committee including promotions, advertising and editorial duties for the PSOA News. Shane is one of the organisers for Parrots 2008.
|
|
|
|
Dr Leo Joesph -
Research Director &
Curator - Australian National Wildlife
Collection, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Originally from Adelaide, my life-long interest in birds, especially parrots, was sparked in about 1969 by the Adelaide Rosellas that have since become a part of my life in more ways than one! After securing a copy of Joe Forshaw's Australian Parrots in 1971, I really became interested in how evolution has produced and moulded the great diversity of parrots and birds. This set me on a path towards qualifying myself to be able to work in a museum environment where I can study bird evolution with traditional specimen-based as well as modern DNA-based techniques. I became interested in South American parrots early on in my life. As a result, I spent about five years in South America where I spent a lot of my time pursuing its fascinating parrot fauna. |
 |
| |
|
All these influences have seen me spend parts of my working life in Uruguay, the United States and now back in Australia. Over the years I have worked on a range of parrot-related topics such as the evolution and population genetics of rosellas, the conservation of isolated populations of black-cockatoos in South Australia and Victoria and the biology, systematics and biogeography of Pyrrhura parakeets of Amazonia and the Andes. |
|
|
|
 |
Graham Mathews - Barmera, South Australia
Graham has been keeping birds for 40 years. Along with his wife Glenys, they assisted with the reintroduction of importation in the early 90's and were members of the syndicates fortunate to obtain birds of selected species ex the UK. They now operate an impressive and very professional aviary establishment known as Bimbimbi Birds in country South Australia.
Being one of Australia's largest breeders of exotic parrots, Graham has been asked to provide a general overview in relation to Exotic Parrot Species Management within Australia. |
| |
Over the years they have kept almost everything from Pigeons to Finches and even Water Fowl, but the 200 aviary collection now only comprises 30 species of Exotic parrots and a few Red Tailed Black Cockatoos.
The majority of their breeding flock is housed in a “State of the Art” suspended aviary breeding complex, consisting of 3 inter-connected buildings containing 93 aviaries. These have been designed to maximise both the husbandry and time management involved and to significantly enhance the natural environment of the inhabitants. A new large macaw breeding complex has recently been completed and this again reflects the philosophy of Graham and Glenys, 'If you're going to do it, then do it properly'. |
|
|
Jim McKendry
- BAppSc (Wildlife Biology) Bteach
- Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
Jim is a biology teacher and parrot behaviour consultant with a dedicated interest in connecting the behaviours we see amongst psittacines in the wild with those we observe in captivity. He has worked professionally as a presentations keeper at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, an experience that further enhanced his avian training skills with a range of species, such as raptors, waterbirds and of course parrots. Since 2005 Jim has continued his association with Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, developing and presenting `Parrot Behaviour and Enrichment Workshops.'
|
 |
He is an active member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators and maintains an online resource base for Australian companion parrot owners, Parrot Behaviour and Enrichment Consultations.
Jim writes a regular column, `Pet Parrot Pointers', for Australian Birdkeeper Magazine and is an editorial consultant on parrot behaviour for this publication. Jim is a strong advocate of approaching the care and management of parrots with sensitive consideration of the essential elements of socialisation, flight and enrichment that are enjoyed by parrots in the wild.
|
|
|
|
 |
Peter Odekerken - Sunshine Coast,
QLD, Australia
Peter has been infatuated with all birds from a very young age and still admires them through adult eyes. Due to his interest in aviculture and the camera lens, he has witnessed first hand a dramatic fall in wild populations that were once prevalent. Conservation is often discussed as being a high priority in today’s world and justifiably so. It should be our global priority to prevent fauna and flora from heading towards extinction. After all, it is the impact of humans that creates the dire situation in which most wildlife finds itself. Great things have been achieved in proclaiming National Parks and World Heritage listed regions, but unfortunately the fact is, that not enough has been achieved.
|
It is his hope that his photography makes people more aware of the wonder of wildlife and the need to conserve it.
Peter is an experienced aviculturist and avian photographer who has recently produced a stunning, commercially available DVD on South American parrots in the wild. His work has an international audience and is often used by major publishing companies and the Parrot Society of Australia. Peter's knowledge of wild parrot behaviours has been gathered through years of globe-trotting in the pursuit of that perfectly captured wild parrot image.
|
|
|
Dr David Phalen - Sydney, NSW, Australia
David Phalen is a veterinarian and is the Director of the Avian Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital at the University of Sydney . He has a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University and a Doctor of Philosophy from Texas A&M University . He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Avian Specialty. David has 5 years of private practice experience and 17 years where he taught exotic animal medicine and surgery to veterinary students at Texas A&M University in the classroom and also in the clinic. David's passion is birds. David has published widely and spoken all over the world on infectious diseases of birds and exotic pets and many other aspects of exotic animal medicine.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Jim Van Reyk - Townsville, QLD, Australia
Jim hails from Tropical North Queensland and has been an aviculturist for well over twenty years. Native species are his passion and an acreage lifestyle allows Jim to keep an extensive collection of Aussie parrots and lorikeets.
The hot and humid climate encountered in North Queensland can present some challenges to keeping a varied native collection. Jim, like many other Northern aviculturists, has had to adapt and modify generally accepted husbandry practices, to suit the Tropics. Jenny his wife supports Jim in his passion for bird keeping, and they are both quite proud of their “naturally” native collection. |
|
|
Paul Stuart - Canberra, ACT, Australia
Paul has been involved in aviculture for over 20 years having first kept budgerigars and cockatiels at the age of 8yrs. He then progressed to Neophemas and Polytelis throughout his early teens and began to explore keeping larger native species. He was hooked. Paul became seriously interested and involved in the technical side of aviculture at age 18yrs and decided to become serious about his hobby. While his mates were out buying their first cars, Paul was buying his first Black Cockatoos and Eclectus Parrots. Success soon followed with his Black Cockatoos and now, 10 years later, together with wife Megan, they have established a collection of quality exotic parrots comprising of both small and large Macaws, Amazons, Conures, Caiques and Cockatoos. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
