is important to The Parrot Society
conservation
As part of its commitment to parrots and their welfare, and under the terms of its constitution as a charitable organisation, The Parrot Society UK sets aside a percentage of its funds to support financially several worthwhile conservation projects around the world.
At present several projects are regularly supported – Scarlet macaws in Costa Rica, the ‘tinning’ of trees to protect cockatoo nest sites in Australia, corn supplementation to aid Lear’s macaws in Brazil, Grey-breasted parakeets (conures), the Vinaceous Amazon parrot, and the Reserve Ecologica de Guapiacu (REGUA) also all in Brazil.
The Parrot Society UK
Endangered Parrots
Most publicised conservation support is ‘ex situ’ – i.e. outside of Parrot Society activities, and generally outside of the UK, and involves the sending of funds following specific requests, to projects that have been well-researched, and for which we obtain useful feedback in the form of reports and pictures for our magazine and website.
World-renowned photographer Tim Flach expresses it well by saying “…we cannot just pluck animals from their native environment and put them on an ark to protect their future, without considering the significance of the habitat they have been taken from. Community-based conservation, therefore, has a more important role to play now than ever before; with increasing economic inequality in the world, it can enable people to maintain their livelihoods while protecting their natural heritage.” These are exactly to type of projects outside of the UK that the Parrot Society likes to support. Examples are listed below.
There is also considerable ‘in situ’ conservation of endangered parrots carried out by PSUK members, by way of the captive-breeding of many such endangered species. This maintains, and in many cases increases, the numbers of these birds in existence, with the aim of keeping the species alive, and potentially providing a nucleus of birds that could be re-habilitated to their natural environments, provided such places are available and free of predators or further habitat destruction.
What we fund
Criteria for support
Projects employing avicultural techniques and expertise as well as habitat restoration measures are to be preferred. The PSUK also works in partnership with other organisations, such as the World Parrot Trust.
However the PS should not accept proposals which involve financially supporting infra-structure for eco-tourism. This is a matter for the businesses involved. The support of such projects should enhance the reputation of the Parrot Society. All supported projects should provide regular feedback reports, preferably with photographic material to be published in the Society’s magazine. We welcome requests to support suitable projects.
Please submit details of the organisation and a brief description of the conservation project to our secretary, Les Rance – les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org – or our chairman, Dave Dickason – chairman@theparrotsocietyuk.org. Include a description of precisely what the funding would be used for, and how much would be required.
related articles
Conservation Projects
The Scarlet Macaw in Costa Rica – Dr Chris Vaughan
The Scarlet Macaw (Ara Macao) in Costa RicaAn Environmental Education Project Scarlet Macaw in flight (PSUK stock image) This project has been part-funded from the PSUK Conservation Fund for several years now, with regular reports received from Dr...
UK Parrot Society sponsored artificial nest boxes for parrots in Australia
Following the success of the 'tree tinning' project, we announced in September 2018 that ongoing financial support from the Parrot Society's Conservation fund has allowed Ray Ackroyd to produce a batch of artificial nest boxes to increase potential cockatoo nesting...
Conservation of Rare Australian Cockatoos
As with many species of birds and animals throughout the world, loss of habitat and competition from other more adaptive species and the general influence of Man on the fine balance of the natural world, is potentially putting them at risk of extinction. We...
related articles
Conservation Articles
Threatened & Endangered Parrots
Links to web sites with information on threatened parrots Bird Life South Africa Lear's Macaw Conservation The Spix's Macaw The Blue Macaws The Kakapo New Zealand`s Ground Dwelling Bird Spix's Macaw Red-fronted Macaws in Bolivia Links to web sites with information on...
Amazon Parrots in Tamaulipas, Mexico
After 20 years, good news about the Amazons of Tamaulipas, Mexico Dr. David Waugh, Director, Loro Parque Fundación (First published in PSUK magazine February 2015) The coastal plain of eastern Tamaulipas State in Mexico supports isolated populations of two...
State of the Ark
This article by American Aviculturist Tony Silva appeared on Facebook in January 2019 Depending on the taxonomic list considered, there are between 358 and 402 parrot species. This vast count difference is based on whether some subspecies are elevated to species...


