November 2001 Field Report

Greetings from Mauritius,

It is now late spring here, and the birds and the bees (and fruit bats and skinks and geckos etc etc) have all initiated their annual mating rituals: the Echo Parakeet season is in full swing and all the Passerine (songbirds) species (including Mauritius' five endemic songbirds) have started to breed - it is a fabulous time to be in Mauritius and in the field!

I spent much of the September doing a Population Viability Analysis (a PVA) for the Pink Pigeon. What that means is that I used computer modelling to simulate what we might expect the population to do over the next 50 years under different management scenarios. The results of my analysis will now be used to help shape a long-term management plan.

PVA computer modelling is a skill that I developed during my training in Jersey (my Diploma project was a PVA and management modelling for Canada's Burrowing Owl population), so it is really rewarding to have my hard work in Jersey paying off so soon! And it was certainly nice to be doing something so useful for the project here in Mauritius - though I must admit that it was, at times, a tad difficult to be so close to fabulous birds in fabulous forests and be (temporarily) tied to the computer!

I am currently splitting my time between the Passerine (the songbirds) and Echo Parakeet teams. The projects are at very different, but equally exciting, stages: all the efforts of previous years are really bearing fruit for the Echos (it looks like it is going to be a bumper year!), while the Passerines season is going to be one of new ideas and experimentation.

This year looks to be fabulous for the Echos in the wild: some of the Echos that were captive bred and released in previous seasons are now old enough to breed. It looks like at least 4 release females and 1 release male are going to breed! There are young wild birds using predator proof artificial nest boxes, and, in contrast to last year, it looks like there is plenty of natural food out there for the birds.

Even in a successful project like this, however, there are always new things to learn and new ideas to be tried. One place where particularly exciting developments have occurred is at the aviaries. In previous years, captive Echo pairs were left alone to get on with it, and get on with it they did, but, unfortunately, many of the resulting eggs were infertile. This year the birds from different pairs were allowed to interact more freely in a large flight aviary and the results have been phenomenal - most of this years aviary eggs are fertile! This more naturalistic set-up clearly provided some healthy stimulation for all involved... Who says a bit of competition is always a bad thing, eh?

Another change to the aviaries this year is the addition of cameras in some of the Echo nest boxes. Since the detailed behaviour of the females in their nests has never been documented (they nest deep in tree cavities), this has yielded some extremely interesting information. For example, it was thought that usually only females feed the chicks, but there have been instances when the female is away from the nest and the male pops in for a quick feed, though at least one of the moms doesn't seem to like this chases her male out! Another interesting sight was a female Echo helping her young to hatch out of their eggs, as careful as a top surgeon. The cameras have also provided important management information. For example, they have allowed us to see exactly which outside noises and activities agitate incubating females, and these things are now being minimized.

As for my time in the field, my first day on the Echo team included a two-hour hike up out of the Black River Gorges in the dark (but that - a perfect example of the blind leading the blind! - is a story for another timeÉ) and I am enjoying the work tremendously. I am particularly pleased to report that Canada's favourite Echo, Gabriella, is the proud mother of three warm eggs and, keeping a New Noah tradition strong, I just happen to be the proud field worker that found them!

Now for the Passerine project. After many years of careful study and population monitoring, the plan this year is to begin experimenting with management techniques for two of the five endemic species, the Mauritian Fody and the Olive White Eye. Some of the proposed activities are to 1) experiment with various forms of predator control around the nests of the Fodies (they normally have a very hard time with rats), and 2) to get some Madagascar Fodies and Grey-White Eyes into the aviaries to act as model species. Simply put, a model species is a closely related, and more common, species upon which you can "practice" hands-on management. The limiting factor for the work on the wild Fodies is the need to find their nests, and this can be very, very difficult. Nest searching involves trying to follow the birds as they fly their way through the forest, invariably leading you on merry goose chases around their large territories (they can be several hectares!) before finally slipping quietly, and usually unnoticed, onto their nests. What makes this particularly challenging is the fact that we are working in an area with very few trails, so while the birds fly in fast and graceful arcs through the forest, the passerine worker crashes slowly through the often impenetrable sea of bushes, guava plants, and prickers that blanket the forest floor. Keeping up is not really an optionÉ At this point we have found 5 active nests, and fledglings from 3 more. This week was particularly exciting - two of the nests reached the stage where the nestlings were old enough to band, so now 5 little endangered Fodies (2 from one nest, 3 from another) are testing their wings with decorated legs!

Since Fodies tend to nest at the very tip of trees, accessing their nests can require some creativity, not to mention strong nerves. One of the nests is located in a very skinny tree (unclimbable) near Pigeon Wood, the field station where I am currently staying, which, by chance, is currently being re-varnished by the National Parks. To access that nest we dismantled the painters' scaffolding and erected it around the nest tree, allowing me to (eventually!) reach into the nest. The other nest was even more of a challenge. We found it on the day that it was due to fledge (the young were perfectly able to fly and did so, I might add, straight at my head!), and it was only 1 foot from the top of a very skinny 35 foot tree. I managed to get up there and, tree swaying, catch the kids and band them 30 feet off the ground. I will spare you the heroics of the moment, but suffice it to say that my mom would have been covering her eyes had she been thereÉ I, of course, enjoyed every second of it! Adrenaline aside, it was truly exciting experience to see new Mauritian Fodies emerging - in such a critically endangered species every nestling is precious, and the fact that we have found successful nests is extremely encouraging.

As for bringing "model species" into the aviaries, the first step, and the step we are working on right now, is getting the aviaries ready for their new feathered inhabitants. Contrary to intuition, the smaller the bird the larger and more complex the aviary they require to keep them happy and healthy! You can stick a couple Pink Pigeons in a plain cage, give them some sticks and some food and they will go about their business. Take a couple of little Fodies (they are the size of small sparrows), however, and they want a three dimensional mansion that mimics their forest home before they are even vaguely ready to settle down and breed. Aviary design was another aspect of my course time in Jersey, so I am again reminded of the value of my time there, and am finding it fun to exercise my artistic side and interior design skills in this fashion!

So, things here in Mauritius are progressing very well - the birds are fabulous, the air is hot (I expect you have had your first tastes of snow now?), and I am learning an incredible amount! I can only thank my lucky stars, and WPTC and all its supporters, that I am able to be a part of it. Thank you.

Grateful in Mauritius,
Merilee
Canada's New Noah