Thumper Found A Home

Today Thumper found a home.  Alex came to meet Thumper and it was instantaneously a good match.  Thumper even let Alex preen the pinfeathers on his neck.  They had a terrific rapport.  Alex has experience with birds and has even volunteered at The Gabriel Foundation in Colorado.  He knew how to approach this little bird and the confidence made Thumper feel secure and he willingly cooperated.  I think they'll be good friends for a long time.

Conure Room Is A Riot

Conures certainly know how to have fun.  I can leave their cages open and allow them to come out to the platforms or play areas and they get along swimmingly.  Here is Ben with Kiku in front.  Kiku seems to know that Ben is old and he always takes on a protective stance when I bring out the camera.  Little Thumper, the greencheek that is looking for a home, also enjoys the freedom of the conure room.  He fits right in.  However, I'm still trying to find him a good home. 

Oro and Azul Grab Some Sunshine

 Oro and Azul are visiting from San Francisco.  They enjoy an outdoor cage where they live in The City. They certainly enjoy my outdoor cages here as well. Today is sunny and breezy.  All the macaws are outside getting some fresh air before the weather changes in the next few days.  They found the bamboo branches irresistible and started to shred the leaves.  What fun! 

Old Friends Meet Again

After trying out Marley as a companion for old Ben, I decided that it wasn't meant to be and found Marley a fabulous home where he gets lots of "people attention." 

But yesterday, Kiku came back for some boarding.  And, instantly, they knew each other and were elated to be together again.  Admittedly, Ben is a bit of an old codger and got grouchy after some exuberant preening by Kiku.  But they do that in the wild too.  Here is Mark holding Kiku and Ben hanging out on the platform daring him to offer his hand.  Ben has never learned to accept skritches.  He simply doesn't know that the hand can offer comfort.  If anyone could teach him, Mark could.  Mark has a way with Blue Crown Conures.  He has taught Kiku some wonderful tricks on cue.  I don't think Ben is up to doing "flippies" but perhaps Mark could teach him to lower his head for some loving hands-on preening.     

Indian Summer

These are beautiful days with warm weather and the parrots are loving the great outdoors.  All of them get rotated out to the big flight cages.  Here you can see Odie, the Umbrella, enjoying the chance to hang out in the shade and watch the other parrots.  Pierre, the Yellow Nape Amazon, has found a haven in the greenery of the golden bamboo.  She enjoyed denuding the leaves from the branches.  Both of these birds are "only children" and this summer camp, of sorts, is perfect for them to experience a different scenario. 

Change It Up Foraging

 Joshua is a busy guy.  He is constantly on the move and vocalizing and investigating his cage environment.

In order to change things up for him, I stuffed his foraging cage with vegetables and other "breakfast" goodies.  First I lined the cage with greens.  Then I inserted some chunks of vegetables.  Near the top, to get him interested, I placed some cheese, bird muffin and, his favorite, an almond!

In the bottom photo, you can see him looking at this new rendition with curiosity.  He will tackle it with gusto once he gets used to the new visual. 

It's fun to think up different ways to stuff this cage. 

Marley Found A Home

Finding a good home for a parrot is a challenge.  One has to be careful that the adoptive family understands all the pros and cons of caring for a bird. Ideally, the family should have some bird knowledge.  Lana and Tim have smaller birds.  As well as dogs, turtles, tortoises, koi and more.  They know about the mess, noise, and sometimes demanding aspects of having a bird who rules the roost.  They were instantly taken with Marley's extrovert personality.  He loved the attention and spent a lot of time with both Lana and Tim before the adoption was finalized.  Off he went to start his new life as the star of the party.  Goodbye Marley.  You'll be missed.



Check Up Time

Lucy, my scarlet, just went in for her checkup.  Isn't she gorgeous?  Dr. Speer spent time with me discussing her health and some diet changes etc.  It was a nice chance for me to have a quality visit with one of my own birds.  The drive out there was full of singing and conversation. At home, daily chores and an abundance of parrots keeps me from just sitting and talking to one bird. Such a delightful luxury!  I have to spread myself over a house filled with busy parrots.  They're all quite happy talking with each other and being rotated to various locations.  One-on-one time is a real treat.

Knuckles and Big Bird Play On The Atoms

Knuckles finally joined Big Bird on the Atoms to play!

He has always been suspicious of the giant rope globe!  He preferred to hang out on top of his cage.  I moved the two greenwing cages further away and then placed Big Bird on the Atom.  Sure enough, when I asked Knuckles to step onto a perch, he did so nervously.  Then I taxied him over to the Atom where his beloved partner waited.  He climbed on and soon was being preened and reassured that he was just fine.  They have such an animated way of expressing their delight in being together.  Lots of joyful sounds emitting happily from both of them.  Going back was easy as well.  I placed Big Bird back in her cage and Knuckles watched and knew it was time.  He, too, climbed aboard and was happy to be back inside his cage next to Big Bird.  Another successful step forward with Knuckles!

Boss Found A Home

The beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Boss the sweet goffins cockatoo found a wonderful home. He was not a difficult bird to place.  Such a loving and affectionate bird.  Jay is home much of the time and has bird experience.  Noise won't be a problem as his other two birds are conures.  I know they will have many years of companionship. 

Let There Be Light

Even though the weather is still quite nice, I am preparing for the dreary winter months. I recently had two more solar light collector tubes installed. There is now a 14" solar tube in each of the front bird rooms. These two rooms are saturated in morning light through the windows. However, in the afternoons, they become dim. The installer positioned the light collectors to utilize the afternoon sun. Now these two rooms are cheery and bright throughout the day!

I have two of these in the living room, one in the dark hallway, one in the macaw room, and now one in each of the front bird rooms.

I use Sola Brite out of Pleasanton. Their installer is professional and respects the fact that the birds are sensitive. (I moved them out of the rooms, of course.) There is still a tax rebate on these if you install prior to December. That was my incentive.

I may be imagining things, or wishful thinking, but the house seems quieter now. The birds thoroughly enjoy the cheery atmosphere. So do I!

It's great to have 1000 watts of light without having the PG&E bill go up! These solar tubes don't put a beam of light on the floor, they don't heat up the room, and they don't fade furniture.

Great way to brighten up your parrot's world.

Sierra Update!

Look at this beautiful girl! Her face is blushing in front of the camera. Sierra lived with me for an entire year while her parents were out of the country. She was still a baby and I became totally enamored with her.

So did many others that came here and became friends with her. Well, she's back in Alaska now and thriving.

For Christmas Santa brought her a Jumbo Atom. It makes a great place for an exuberant macaw to expend some of her pent up energy.

I understand that she is used to wearing a harness now and even flies on a leash! That must be so much fun!