Reality

For years now I have said I was going to downsize my outside birds. As I get older, the chores of hauling water, checking food levels, and shoveling out aviaries have become harder and harder to do. I have a mass of zebra finches that I should never have let get so large. I have button quail in every possible cage and coturnix quail with them. My cape doves are in limbo, my ringneck doves are doing nothing but eating, and my rodent problem is getting worse all the time. The only joy out there is the gouldian finches: they are happy, healthy, and breeding, if slowly.

Spotlight on Dani, an Orange Front Conure

You may have heard the story from some years back when a member of my bird club passed away and we stepped in to find good homes for all her birds. Many were special needs birds, like my African Grays Bo Dangles and Blind Io. And after a while, some people realized the birds they tried to care for needed more attention than they could give.

Keep Birds Safe through Halloween

Everyone and their web page has suggestions on how to keep your parrots safe on a night when humans tend to get a little crazy, and as Halloween falls on a Monday this year, you might get some noise and goings-on from Friday through the actual day. Be prepared, keep your avian vet’s phone number handy, as well as a 24-hour emergency clinic. Chances are you won’t need either, but taking chances with our birds is never wise.

Hen Killers

My first pair of zebra finches were my ideal for beautiful birds: the male was a normal gray, with a beautiful chestnut waist coat and bright orange cheeks; and the female was white and sweet. I called them Don Quixote and Dulcinea. As soon as they got a wicker nest, they went to town laying eggs, and in a couple of weeks, the eggs hatched, and Don Q changed into an overprotective killer, defending his territory.

Changes to Someone Else’s Aviaries

I love to look at my small yard and cages for the birds and think about how I would change it if money were not an object. I would improve my aviary, add a few more, install water systems, and have room for lots of juveniles separate from the breeders. It’s a lot of fun, and once upon a time I would make sketches of the new look during boring meetings.

Remembering the Rainbow Spirits

I feel that when I casually mention in a post that a certain member of my flock has passed away, it’s not the best way to share the sorrow and loss that we feel, so I am going to post perhaps once a quarter a special blog about the wonderful birds I have known and lost. And when no birds cross the Rainbow Bridge between these blogs, I will reflect on those who went before I had this idea.

My Blind African Gray Parrot

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know that I love African Grays and always wanted one to get to know, and the big test of this desire came when I had the chance to rescue two special needs Congo African Grays (CAGs). One, Bo Dangles, has no toes and likes to hang by her beak from time to time; I’ve written a lot about her because she’s the most talkative of my parrots and fun to interact with. The other one was Blind Io, named for a Terry Pratchett character, and yes: he’s blind.

Macaws and Where to Find Them

Too many bird species are finding it hard to cope with habitat destruction, illegal pet trade trapping, and climate change. Macaws are some of the most beautiful parrots in South America, and the easiest to spot in the forests; take a look at how much their original range has changed over the last century or so.

And Baby Makes 56

Wow. I remember when I had only a few zebra finch hens and my population wasn’t growing at all, then some good friends gave me a couple hens, I got a few more from the bird club, and I started having nests full of eggs which usually hatched into sweet babies. Right now, the zebras are in overdrive: clutch after clutch has been fledging, and I’m hearing chicks begging for food from parents who chased them out of the nest to lay more eggs.

Potpourri for Summer 2022

Just a few random notes that won’t make a complete post, so I’m going to throw them all together. Hope you enjoy this; let me know in the comments if you do.