Man with a plan: The founder of Friends of the National Parks, Bayu Wirayudha.

Tiny as a child'€™s palm, eyes not yet open and still naked of feathers, a pair of Bali Starling chicks are curled together in the bottom of a snug padded basket.

From a species under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the chicks are at the forefront of a new method of increasing the numbers of captive bred Bali Starlings.

Veterinarian and founder of Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF), Bayu Wirayudha has been working to prevent the extinction of Bali Starlings and grow their numbers through community protection programs on Nusa Penida Island off Bali for several years.

With that program successful and the birds safe from poachers, Bayu has launched a '€œloan breeding program'€ at FNPF'€™s new home in Pajeng.

'€œOur aim in this loan captive breeding program is to vastly increase the Bali Starling captive population to remove their current exclusivity factor within the captive bird market. We hope through this program, legal bird prices will come down dramatically and that they will be easy to get. In that way, people can choose the birds they want at a reasonable price, all in a legal way.'€

By increasing availability, Bayu and FNPF believe the market for illegally poached birds will become extinct, while the little white crested birds with their distinctive blue mask will be allowed to thrive across Bali in the future.

Bayu says he looked to local breeders in Pajeng who already bred bird species and showed dedication, skill and a willingness to raise the chicks. '€œBecause this is a new species I give supervision, such as diet and the brooder post hatching equipment that like incubators maintain temperatures.'€

The hatchlings nestled in the basket will be raised by Nyoman Runata of Pajeng village, who as a breeder has raised several of the chicks, which are fed a diet of ant eggs in their newborn days.

'€œThey are kept warm in the brooder and I feed ant eggs that I source in Gianyar or Denpasar. At home I have two Bali Starling chicks that are now six weeks old and eating well,'€ says the burly man with his large hands holding the basket of newly hatched chicks.

Babies in a basket: These chicks are at the forefront of a revolutionary response to Bali Starling poaching.

Community engagement with conservation and reward is the way forward, according to Bayu.

Here in Pajeng, community leader Pak Cok has given over to FNPF more than an acre for this project, which is part of a range of conservation and education programs at the center.

Topping the projects list at the center is the reversing the slide into extinction of local bird species including the Black Winged Starling and the Asian Pied Starling.

'€œThese birds are extinct in Bali due to poaching. When I was still at school these were the cheapest birds in the market. So FNPF is breeding the birds to be released in the Besikalung Wildlife Sanctuary,'€ says Bayu.

Like people in Nusa Penida and other areas in Bali, the local community of Besikalung has agreed to protect wildlife and invite volunteer tourism as away to grow the local economy based on sound environmental protection.

Volunteer tourism is a boon to communities and the natural environment, according to Bayu.

It brings an influx of people seeking to learn about Bali'€™s natural environment and skill share, while also helping to fund programs, such as the holistic FNPF Pajeng center, the Bali Starling breeding program in Nusa Penida and the Besikalung Wildlife Sanctuary.

'€œBali'€™s slogan '€” what we are selling '€” has been called cultural tourism. But we can also do wildlife tourism '€” that has not been promoted. Yes, our landscape, dancing is available, but it'€™s rare to see bird watching tourism for example, so there is a lot to explore,'€ Bayu says.

'€” Photos by JB Djwan