Ryan Watson

Web Page: http://awwp.alwabra.com

Profile: Ryan Watson was born in Singapore in 1978 but raised in his home country of Australia where he has been keeping and breeding birds since childhood, starting with the usual “beginners” birds such as Zebra finches and Budgerigars. By his late teens, Ryan had graduated from the easier to keep species and was particularly focused on breeding and hand-rearing Eclectus parrots. It was also around this time that Ryan gained employment at a Western Australian bird dealership, where he was to spend a little over two years. Ryan gained much experience during this time, particularly in the field of hand-rearing parrots for the pet market. The experience gained at Birdworld equipped Ryan with the necessary skills for his next position as a bird-keeper and the Adelaide Zoo. Under the tutelage of well known West Australian avicultural identity, Phil Digney, Ryan was given the opportunity to undergo the steepest learning curve of his career and to get more involved in his emerging passion for wildlife conservation. During his time at the zoo, Ryan initiated and managed the zoo’s successful Blue and gold macaw free-flight display and managed to raise $10,000.00 for Great-green macaw research in Costa Rica and $5000 for Blue-throated macaw research in Bolivia. Ryan also held the Australasian regional studbook for the endangered Swift parrot Lathamus discolor and was a primary person involved in the first time successful incubation and hand-rearing of two of Australia’s most endangered bird species, the Regent honeyeater Xanthomyza phrygia and the Black-eared miner Manorina melanotis. Ryan left the Adelaide after three and a half years after accepting a position with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation as their hand-rearing coordinator on the Echo parakeet Psittacula eques echo recovery programs. This position was seasonal and in between his three seasons working on the program, Ryan spent time working in Hawaii at the Keauhou Bird Breeding Center, a facility run by the San Diego Zoo for endangered Hawaiian birds. Ryan also completed a post graduate degree in Ornithology and was a regular guest speaker at avicultural conventions and club meetings.