It was breakfast time when I saw a male Australian King-Parrot at the birdbaths. It’s always a thrill to see these magnificent parrots, especially as they don’t often visit my place. I abandoned my cornflakes to take some quick shots through the window, and then I started to feel concerned…
The first two shots were taken very quickly. I was racing around getting ready for the school run but it was clear that this wasn’t a happy parrot. It was hunched up, its wings were drooping and its eyes were closed, or half-closed, far too often.
I thought he was either concussed or unwell and called Nalini, my wonderful friend who runs the Boobook Wildlife Shelter. She thought it sounds like the poor bird has spironucleosis. This is a dreadful protozoal illness that is fatal unless caught very quickly. It causes affected birds to lose weight, suffer diarrhoea and become increasingly weak. And King Parrots are particularly susceptible to it.
I feel so sad looking at these photographs. I was hoping to catch him and take him to Healesville Sanctuary. Armed with a net and a towel, my youngest daughter and I tried to catch him but he flew into the bush. I tried to find him but failed with that too.
This is yet another disease that is often exacerbated by humans choosing to feed birds. It’s easy for feeding trays to become contaminated and to spread horrific illnesses. Feeders and birdbaths must, absolutely must, be kept clean. Well, feeders are unnecessary. It’s best practice to design gardens that provide food and shelter for a range of species rather than be responsible for some of the horrific illnesses and deficiencies that are caused by feeding birds.
Birdbaths need to be kept clean, as clean as we would like if we had to drink from them. Luckily I have some F10 veterinary disinfectant so my birdbath could be thoroughly cleaned.
I feel awful that I was unable to help this magnificent bird. I am so sorry.
I hope that all the birds you see this week are happy and healthy, happy birding, Kim
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Information and education is so vital for everyone and gentle reminders to clean birdbaths and water bowls and, of course, plant bird friendly gardens to provide food and shelter is the perfect way to ensure all our beautiful feathered friends survive all our varied weather events.
Observation whilst in the garden or parks is absolutely necessary as each of us can quickly identify a possible injured or sick bird and then contact the wonderful, tireless, compassionate wildlife carers who can then rescue, render assistance and rehabilitate where possible.
Birds assist humans every day as they fly away when storms are approaching, squawk when danger appears and, of course, provide us with the most magical birdsong, entertain with bathing antics and bring beauty and wonder to our gardens, parks, beaches and natural environments.
Our world would be a dark, sad, ugly, soulless place to be without these beautiful birds.
A good place to start is your garden.
“A good gardener always plants three seeds.
One for the birds,
One for the weather, and
One for herself”.
Leo Ailtman
Add clean water and wait for the magic to begin.
I absolutely love the idea of planting three seeds. And you are so right Barbara about identifying when wild creatures need our help. I haven’t seen another sign of the poor king-parrot. I hope it was able to find a quiet spot to recover, if it was concussion, or that it returns to the birdbath and allows me to catch it.
Poor fellow. I hope we get another opportunity to take him into care. They are so beautiful.
I hope so too Alyssa, so much xo
Yes, he does look very sad, poor bird.
How would you recommend we clean our birdbaths, without unnecessary expense?
Thanks for your question Yahya. An inexpensive way to keep a birdbath clean is to regularly empty it and use a scouring pad with a mixture of vinegar and water. Occasionally it is good to do a deeper clean and I’ve heard people recommend a very dilute bleach solution, I have never done that and don’t like the thought of it. I prefer to use F10 which is a veterinary disinfectant which is effective and completely safe for birds, wildlife and humans. It can be bought in small amounts, isn’t too expensive, and lasts for ages.