2007-2008 Avian
Research Grants Program

AFA Helps Avian Research

The Conservation and Research Committee has selected the following four projects for the 2007-2008 Avian Research Grants Program.

(1) Niau Kingfisher Conservation
AFA Contact: Myles Lamont, myles@hancockwildlife.org

The Niau Kingfisher is a critically endangered endemic to Niau island in the South Pacific. Recent surveys have concluded that there could be as few as 30 individuals remaining in the wild, making it one of the most endangered species of bird in the world. It has, unfortunately, received very little publicity and the projects through the Pacific Islands Conservation Research Association (PICRA) (the current organization involved with the kingfisher research) are in need of financial support to continue their work with this species. A recent doctoral graduate, Dr. Dylan Kesler, who has formerly extensively studied the Micronesian Kingfisher, is in the midst of carrying out a more in depth study of this species biology, and financial support is needed to aid in this species recovery. (Organization website: http://www.picra.net)

(2) Puerto Rican Parrot (PRP) Reintroduction
AFA Contact: Janice Boyd, jboyd46@charter.net

In the past AFA has been fortunate to have Aviary Manager Jafet Velez speak at our Conventions about the USFWS / Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program and his work in the PRP captive breeding aviary. Captive breeding has raised the number of these highly endangered birds to about 200, and now there is a sufficient number of individuals available for a major effort to reintroduce the species to the rugged karst region of Puerto Rico, the northern interior mountainous part of the island which harbors the island's richest biodiversity. The Puerto Rican parrot formerly lived here in large numbers and it is an excellent choice for the establishment of a second wild population of the birds. The first of at least 3 releases took place in November 2006 and this grant will provide funding to aid in subsequent releases. (Press release at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2006/r06-019.html)

(3) Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program (HEBCP)
AFA Contact: Margrethe Warden, birdbrain@mindspring.com

Hawaii is not just paradise in the United States. The islands are home to some of the most endangered birds in the world. In 1993, the state of Hawaii, the United States Department of the Interior and the Zoological Society of San Diego and private landowners joined forces in a collaborative effort to save these fragile species. Utilizing captive breeding strategies, this program has successfully hatched and fledged at least 750 critically endangered birds. Financial support is necessary to continue the fight to bring these American birds back from the brink of extinction. (Project website http://cres.sandiegozoo.org/projects/sp_hawaii_birds.html)

(4) Joint Conservation Grant with Loro Parque Fundación
AFA Contact: Janice Boyd, jboyd46@charter.net

Our joint grant with Loro Parque Fundación allows AFA to team up with one of the major organizational funders of parrot field research projects, and with our grant to help support a project that has been closely scrutinized by a team made up of some of the best-known names in parrot conservation, including our own Cooperative Breeding Program subcommittee member Dr. Susan Clubb. Each year LPF advertises this joint grant for us during their annual call for proposals and forwards to AFA several projects with avicultural content that meet their criteria for funding. AFA then reads the proposals and determines which one of these we select for funding. LPF matches our grant of $2,500, giving the selected project a total of $5,000. We try to have a researcher associated with the selected project be a speaker at one of our later Conventions. (LPF website http://www.loroparque-fundacion.org/)

Fundraising for this year's Avian Research Grants Program runs through summer 2007. The total amount raised will be announced at the 2007 Convention, and funds will be disbursed in fall 2007 for project execution in 2008.

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