On 12th and 13th of March, more than 300 bird breeders attended the 10th AVIORNIS aviculture convention in O Rosal, which is found near to the border of Spain and Portugal. On the first day, we started with a lecture from Miguel Gomez Garza. He talked about Mexican parrot species, especially about its characteristics and habitat. The next speaker was Tony Silva, and as usual, was excellent, speaking of handfeeding, showing the different techniques used, the problems that could arise and their solutions. He also talked about brooders and handling of different species of parrots.
After this excellent lecture, the break was made for a lunch where participants could meet new bird breeders from the world of aviculture and talk about their common passion. The afternoon lectures were started by Iñaki Hernandez, who made a brilliant presentation of pheasant characteristics and habitats. All breeders of this bird group enjoyed it a lot. The next speaker was Rafael Zamora Padrón, and as expected had an excellent lecture. He made an extensive presentation on their expertise in the breeding of small wild birds.
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Daniel Gowland lecturing, Tony Silva translating to Spanish (c) Jonny Alves
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The schedule was finished then by the presentation from Anil Garg, which did not stay behind all the previous lectures at all. He described his experience in cockatoo breeding, talked about their diets for each species and used nests. Interesting was also a part about reducing male aggression in cockatoos, incubation and handfeeding. It was a very good presentation for those bird breeers who are going to start keeping these parrots.
After these excelent presentations, the day was ended with a good and very entertaining dinner. On Sunday, Miguel had a second talk. He spoke about most common parrot diseases, presenting symptoms, possible treatments and prevention which we should follow. The congress was finished by great presentation from Daniel Gowland. Daniel proved to be a great speaker. His lecture was in form of a movie.
Daniel enjoy his stay in Spain a lot. He commented the event as follows:
„The conference was really professionally run. The diversity of presenters were both in their global origins and topics covered. Pheasants to parrots, populations origin and status, design and management through to disease and there prevalence in Aviculture. Importantly, the conference scheduling allowed for plenty of time to discuss the art of Aviculture with the numerous attendees. There was a really nice mix of stimulating presentations, time for one on one discussion and really great food. The Aviculture tour at the end of the conference was the cherry on top.“
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After Daniel’s talk, the aviculture convention was ended by a panel discussion, when several participants raised questions. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers for their generous sharing of their knowledge and Aviornis for the excellent organization of the event. The group “Veciños Loureiros” leave a thank you to Aviornis for this excellent congress and all its speakers, who contributed greatly to increase their knowledge in the aviculture and as Tony Silva said:
“Every day I know less than yesterday, because when I think I understand something, parrots teach me that I know nothing. “
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Mexican vet and aviculturist, started the 10th Aviornis aviculture convention with his presentation on “Loros de México en cautividad y en la naturaleza”. He spoke about importance of Mexican parrots and gave us a detailed description of the most common species and their habitats, also addressing important aspects that observed in field. He also talked about parrot diet, behavior, facilities and nests used by him in his work in Mexico on the recovery centers. In order to stop the trafficking of native species, its breeding and trade was banned there. This contributed to loss of a large number of birds that existed in captivity. He talked about this issue on Sunday morning, “Salud de las psitácidas confiscadas en Mexico”, when he presented the impact of foreign species on native species. Interesting was also part about major diseases that he has dealed with as veterinarian of parrots.
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Anil Garg with Tony Silva (c) Jonny Alves
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After a short break, during which we had a chance to taste some typical local sweets, the convention continued with a lecture from Tony Silva “Cría a mano de psitácidas, últimas innovaciones “. He talked about his extensive experience gained over 40 years as a aviculturist. For each problem of hand rearing, Tony suggested a solution, always presented with a photographic illustration. He also emphasized that when facing a problem we must rely on observations of what happens in the wild to develop new methods. Tony has also addressed amounts of fat in diet of young birds and explained how this influence their development. Another part was about feeding frequency, hygiene requirements and many other aspects. As always, he gave us lot of information on various species of parrots which can help us to prepare for the next breeding season in our facilities.
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Iñaki Hernández, known to many pheasants lovers, spoke on ” Faisanes, un despliegue de color”, which showed the excellent work he has carried out in the last years to promote and maintain the importance of pheasants in Spanish aviculture. He presented several photographs, maps, numerous maintenance data, captive breeding and management and recovery of threatened species. Some of the species that showed us were unknown or had been forgotten by many. His speech was also a reflection of work that must occur to keep captive birds that are beginning to decline alarmingly. On the other hand, also it showed good work that has been done with some species that were once rare, but nowadays, although in the wild remain critically endangered, they recoved. On its website www.faisanesdelmundo.com you can find compilation of the largest bibliographic records about these birds.
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Miguel Gomez Garza (c) Jonny Alves
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Rafael Zamora attends this event regularly and this year he addressed a topic, ” Reproducción de fringílidos silvestres. Salud, adaptación, emparejamiento y protocolos ” Since Rafael was a young boy he has been breeding with the wild Passeriformes. He is involved in several recovery projects of native species of finches including those on the Canary Islands. Within his presentation he shared experience and talked about appropriate design of facilities, hand rearing, adequate diet for these small and delicate birds..
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The Saturday was finished by Anil Garg. He presented his knowledge within a topic ” Cría de cacatúas en cautividad “. His presentation focused on rare species like the Palm Cockatoo but also on very most common ones like the Sulphur-crested cockatoo. He talked about facilty design, nest design and possible solutions to control male aggression. Anil also presented very detailed plans of his facilities. Interesting was also a part about diet.
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Daniel Gowland, aviculturist and curator of Priam Australia, was the last speaker and had a presentation ” Diseño ambiental y manejo de un aviario “. His speech was in form of a video which showed us the breeding center, environmental enrichment of the cages, nest design, natural and artificial rearing of chicks. Daniel also talked about the recovery project Neophema chrysogaster.
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Title photo: (c) Jonny Alves
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