Birds on The Line: Scoop the White Pelican

For today’s walk down the line I would like to introduce you to a bird that has a great nickname and seemingly loves to show off during our summer concert series.  This is none other than Scoop the White Pelican, or as he is nicknamed, “Super Scoop”.

Do you feel you’re being watched?  (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Scoop is an American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos.  He was rescued from a pond in West Alton, MO, near Ameren Missouri’s Portage des Sioux Energy Center in October 2004.  Scoop managed to survive for 3 months without the ability to fly.  He had to be rescued when winter weather approached.

Meet Scoop—sporting the distinctive “horn” on top of his bill which only appears during breeding season, and is then shed later in the year. (photo: Gay Schroer)

Upon examining Scoop our veterinarian, Dr. Stacey Schaefer, found the bird’s shoulder had been badly broken, healed improperly, and now required the tip of the wing to be amputated.  Scoop now has his home in one of our outdoor avian exhibits.  He has adapted well to life at World Bird Sanctuary and is a visitor favorite.  If you are lucky enough to see him fully open his bill, you will quickly understand how he got his name.  It takes a lot of fish to fill the pouch below that will!!

Scoop has a very distinct “personality”.  He challenges his trainers, but once you have set up a relationship with him and are a part of his flock he will follow you like a big puppy dog.

Scoop has learned that if he hits his target (the blocks or his stick) he will be rewarded with a tasty treat (photo: Gay Schroer)

Scoop is trained with positive reinforcement to “target” to special perches and a stick with a tennis ball on it.  He will follow that stick anywhere as long as you have some fish for him.  However, when training, you must always pay close attention to Scoop.  If you ignore him, even for a second, he likes to remind you of what you are doing and will whack you with that long bill.  That bill does not look fearsome, but pelicans have sharp edges on the sides of the bill to help them hold onto fish, and the tip of the bill has a hook to it.  So when he whacks you, yes it does hurt.  I do not know how many times that has happened and people always ask “Does that hurt?”  My answer—yes it does.  Think of two razors hitting your arm and you will have some approximation of what it feels like.

Scoop and his friend Mudflap in their breeding colors (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Scoop lives with his friend Mudflap.  He is protective of Mudflap and they can be seen sitting together, swimming together and also vocalizing.  Please stop by and see these amazing birds the next time you visit WBS.

As with all of our resident animals, Scoop is available for adoption in our Adopt A Bird program.  Your adoption fee will help feed, house and care for Scoop in the coming year.  To adopt Scoop Click Here to go to the Adopt A Bird program on our website—or call 636-861-325 and ask for Marion to set up an Adopt A Bird over the phone.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

More About Dorothy.....Condor Training

If you’re not already familiar with Dorothy she is our sub adult Andean Condor, and for the last two months I and a few others have been training her.

Dorothy, our young Andean Condor

We have been training Dorothy in a variety of different behaviors ranging from going to a particular location by verbal command to simpler behaviors like waiting patiently for her food reward.  There are various reasons why we are training with Dorothy but the primary reason is to provide her with an enriching and fun environment.

I have personally been around and known Dorothy for just 3 years now, but in that time she has come to be one of the most special animals I work with at World Bird Sanctuary.  Now if you have never seen Dorothy she is one of our largest birds at WBS, with a wing span of around 10 feet and weighing around 20 pounds. She definitely has a big character to match her massive size as well, and being a condor one of her strongest character traits is her intelligence.

The training has evolved greatly since September, through many training sessions and with instruction from my peers.  The goals have shifted and training style improved to efficiently get the most out of the time we spend with her.  The training technique that we are using is positively reinforcing behaviors with food and verbal praise. 

Dorothy about to receive a food reward 

Currently we are working on getting Dorothy to step to and stay on a scale so we can accurately weigh her. It would appear that this would be a simple goal, but I have learned that what would look to be a simple behavior is not always as simple as it appears.  This one seemingly simple behavior is actually broken down into many small steps and then these steps are combined to result in Dorothy stepping onto the scale and getting an accurate weight. 

We have started to train Dorothy to do this behavior by utilizing some of the behaviors she has already learned.  She will already go to her stump when called to it, so what we have done so far is to place another stump about 5 feet from the first one and placed the scale on it.   It has only been 5 days and we already have the two stumps next to each other and Dorothy is starting to put her toes on the scale to reach the food reward.  We are still far from getting the behavior down completely but every day she is getting closer to our goal of stepping to and staying on the scale.

                  

The last two months have been a learning experience—both for Dorothy and us (the trainers) as well.  At times it can be very frustrating, but as an animal trainer we must learn how to overcome the frustration, and keep looking at what we can do to promote a productive learning environment for Dorothy. 

Overall the time and effort that is exerted day in and day out is all worth it when you get to work with an amazing bird like Dorothy.     

Submitted by Adam Triska, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

A Trainer Always In Training

In order for anyone to run a successful business it is very important to first show all the employees exactly what needs to be done for the business.

 Scoop the Pelican knows that by hitting his mark he will receive a reward

When the employees fully understand what needs to be done, or are fully trained, the business will usually compensate the employee for their time spent training and working for the company.  At WBS this concept is used not only for the staff, interns, and volunteers but also for the birds themselves.

Positive reinforcement is something that is utilized in day-to day life, many times unknowingly, and is a part of behavioral training in almost any possible situation.  It is also the most used method of the World Bird Sanctuary. 

When first becoming an intern, I was trained to clean and feed the correct way and was positively reinforced by being allowed more and more privileges with the birds as I understood more procedures.  Then, once I was a trainer in Boston, in order to train the stars of the show, I first needed to be coached on how to properly guide them to the correct behaviors, with everything revolving around positive reinforcement.

 How do you teach a Seriema to "slam" a rubber snake?....baby steps!

Unfortunately, birds do not understand English so what speaks louder than words?  Food, of course!  Normally people would say, “Actions speak louder than words,” but when it comes to birds of prey (and many people) a sure way to the heart is through the stomach.  So for every behavior that needs to be achieved, a step-by-step (most of the time baby steps) process needs to slowly take place in order for the bird to catch on, or achieve the goal behavior.  Every time the bird completes one of the small steps, it should be immediately positively reinforced with food so that the bird understands that that exact action will get them food.

 This Barn Owl knows there is a tasty morsel waiting on this perch

The immediate and consistent reward is crucial for proper training to make sure that the correct behavior is reinforced.  While training one of the sanctuary’s newer Bald Eagles, Lina, to step to the leather glove that we wear, there is a fine line between stepping to the glove and footing the glove, or grabbing aggressively for food.  So, instead of rewarding her immediately for putting her foot on the glove (whether it be aggressive or not), she must be rewarded for stepping and only stepping on the glove, and not for footing the glove.  By doing this, we can minimize any confusion she might have about what gets her food, and will also help to keep her from accidentally learning that footing the glove is the behavior the trainer wants. 

 This American Kestrel knows there is a tasty morsel waiting for him in the other trainer's glove

Taking small steps to eventually accomplish the goal behavior and being careful to reinforce only the exact action desired are the two main pieces to the puzzle of training.

Submitted by Teresa Aldrich, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer ETC