wild fowl trust

8/9/2019 Wild Fowl Trust

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ild Fowl Trust is one of the two trusts in the world. It is the second oldest trust, now

in its 48thyear. The trust is located on Point-a-Pierre. It is an independent, natural,

non-profit, environmental, non-government, volunteer, membership organisation. It

encompasses two laes which are man-made and about !" hectares of land within a ma#orpetrochemical and oil refining comple$, Petrotrin. The %ild Fowl Trust is a wetland habitat.

They are actively involved in the research, breeding and translocation of endangered wetland

%

Wild Fowl TrustKadita Sookdeo

Biology


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birds into e$isting natural wildlife areas in Trinidad and Tobago.

&viculture is the practice of eeping and breeding birds and the culture that forms around it.

&viculture is generally focused on not only the raising and breed of birds, but also on preserving

avian habitants and public awareness campaigns. The %ild Fowl Trusts avicultural re-

introduction programme includes the following species'

(lac bellied Tree )%histling* +ucs )+endrocygna autumnalis* /-0"0...... 4/

birds.

Fulvous %histling +ucs )+endrocygna bicolor* 81-0".........11 birds.

%hite faced %histling +ucs )+endrocygna viduata* 88-8.....0 birds.

%hite cheeed Pintails )&nas bahamensis* 80-0""0......40 birds.

%ild 2uscovy ducs )3airina moschata* 81-0"0.....811 birds.

They also breed (lue and old 2acaws )&ra ararauna*, and 5carlet Ibis )6udocimus ruber*. The

(lue and old 2acaws were released on two separate occasions into the 7ariva wetlands "

more birds were released in 0". 5even fledged birds were born at the %ild Fowl Trust in 0"0.


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The %ild Fowl Trust started breeding 5carlet Ibis in . There were two releases of 5carlet

Ibis one in and the other in 0""/. & total of /8 5carlet Ibis were released. & few pairs bred

and released at the %ild Fowl Trust stayed around for appro$imately 0 years, nested and bred in

the trust9s environment before flying off eventually with their fledged young.

2any in#ured birds are brought to the trust. They have had some successes, woring with vets

with this particular e$pertise and with the wild life orphanage and rehabilitation centre. The

success stories include a 2ased: (lue (ooby, ;spreys, a (rown Pelican, a ray


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Scarlet Ibis birds are born brown in colour but get their red

colour from carotene in crabs. They also eat shrimp and fish.

You can tell the difference between a black billed tree duck by

colour of their beaks. Adults have bright orange beaks.

lue and !old "acaws have one mate their entire lives and

when that mate dies they don#t find another.

You can#t tell the difference between male and female lue

and !old "acaws unless you take blood samples from them

and test it.


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In situ conservation is on site conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plants

or animal species, such as forest genetic in natural populations of tree species. It is the process of

protecting an endangered plant or animal species in its natural, either by protecting or cleaning

up the habitat itself, or by defending the species from predators. The %ild Fowl Trust is an

e$ample of in situ conservation. ;ne benefit of in situ conservation is that it maintains

recovering populations in the surrounding where they have developed their distinctive properties.

&nother is that this strategy helps ensure the on-going processes of evolution and adaptation

within their environments.

%etlands play a vital role in the cycling of water on the planet. %ater evaporated from the seas or

transpired from plants returns as rainfall filling both upland and lowland wetlands. %etland

systems, and their forested counterparts, slowly release their waters either to the atmosphere or to

the sea, playing a ma#or role in governing world climate. %ith the flow of water arrives a steady

input of nutrients from the surrounding land - the organic silts and sediments settle and, warmed


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by the sun, provide ideal conditions for the growth of microscopic plants and animals - the base

of a>uatic food chains. Fact: A well established marsh is estimated to be up to $% times more

productive than grassland and about & times as productive as cultivated land.

The %ater

wild fowl trust

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