Volcanoes and Birds of the Air

Over the past year, volcanoes have erupted in areas where many species of birds were already endangered. Hawaii is one of the most fragile of ecosystems and Guatemala is full of rainforests. The Big Island has had one of the most awe-inspiring eruptions of modern times. El Fuego devastated a number of small villages on the slopes of its mountain. The two volcanoes have different underlying conditions, making their eruptions different. One is much more deadly.

Ringneck Romance

I blame Facebook for my love of Indian Ringneck parakeets. Seriously, I love the little guy who loves his bunnies and the one who plays peekaboo and the one who likes to put a ball in a cup and carry it around. I can watch those videos over and over, which is good because people who know I love birds send me every bird video out there. Over and over and over.

Dani’s Leg-acy

In my flock, I have a number of special needs birds. There’s the blind African gray, the toeless African gray, the sun conure with odd toes, the lovebird with half a top beak and the green cheek conure with no top beak. I have a cockatiel who has never grown back the neck and head feathers his mate plucked off of him. I have two old canaries that are nearly blind and need their toenails trimmed monthly, which usually indicates a liver problem. And there’s Maynard, a special needs bird all of his own. He’s needy and grumpy and emotionally damaged from being passed around to so many homes.

October Potpourri

Maybe I should save this for February, but I absolutely cannot stop catching my lovebirds forming a perfect heart while sitting on a swing. They have their backs to me and each look over their outside wing to see me when I approach. I will attempt to get a picture of it, but they seem embarrassed to be caught doing that. No wonder they are called lovebirds, between the strong bond between mates and the heart shapes they can make.