Eye

I love a good bird fair

Isn't he cute??

I went to the bird fair today to get the AGP a playstand. I got one from S&S Exotic perches (snsperches@aol.com) for $100. It's awesome.

It's got a hanging nut-log and food & water cups. It's on wheels, so we can set her up in other rooms in the house if we want. There's no toy hooks, but we can add those if it seems like a good idea later.

We were worried that she would be afraid of it, so I got her some pumpkin seeds for bribes. But The Birdfather's been gone all day, so she's sulking and wouldn't come out of her cage this evening. Consequently, we haven't had a chance to see if she'd panic or not.

The little guy in the picture was absolutely the cutest thing I saw all day. He was asleep in his little bassinet when I tried to take his picture, but the focusing assist lamp on my camera woke him up.

The AGP's little parakeet friend, who has never to my certain knowledge mimicked anything, gave us a crow call Thursday morning, and a Carolina Wren yesterday. Yay, Larry Bird!!

It's a lovely day out, here and so we took the AGP and the DOG outdoors with our book and newspaper for a couple hours this evening, early. It's the first day this fall it's been cool enough, and a small fan kept the 'skeeters at bay.

While we were sitting out, two hummingbirds, about a half hour apart, came to investigate the AGP's tail, just in case it turned out to be a big, red, flower full of nectar.

Hm.

Not sure what to make of this, but the AGP has recently taken to climbing down her open cage door to to a point just behind and above my head and saying, "Hello!" in that soft, sweet, sexy voice she learned from her first mama. Then yesterday, out of the blue, she climbed from the door to the back of my chair. She sat there for about 20 minutes, just keeping me company I guess, and enjoying the view from another perspective, then she went back up the door to the top. Later she did it again, only staying a minute or two.

No, we don't spoil 'em or anything. . .

I was talking to somebody the other day about the cages we have in our bird room, and the fact that the cages are so big that two birds has effectively become our limit!

Larry has one of these all to himself:

Caitec Flight Cage

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OW!

". . . surely parrots evolved from velociraptors."

-Rebecca K. O'Connor

I had to laugh. The AGP, obviously, is a prey species, not a hunter, but boy can she bite!

Finding information on parrot bites is tricky. I found a general conversation about bite strength that degenerated into a 'my pit bull is meaner than your pit bull' sort of argument, in which in passing it was mentioned that macaws have a bite pressure of 350 psi. No source listed. Another site, also unsourced, says 500-700 psi.

A Wikipedia article on companion parrots in general states that the larger parrots "have a jaw strength comparable to a large dog." I've never been bitten by a dog, so I have no opinion on that. The AGP, on the other hand, has bitten me any number of times over the past two years, and I can completely identify with the velociraptor analogy.

For a good, if brief, discussion of parrot bite strength, click here.

My parents went on vacation and left me here with a sitter

We went out of town last week, and the regular birdsitter was out of town too. The son of an old friend/neighbor/colleague of mine came to the rescue though. Despite a total lack of experience with fids, he did great. The AGP even learned a cute new whistle, for which the new sitter denies any responsibility.

To add insult to injury, the Birdfather took her for her annual checkup and a nail trim when he went to pick up the dog from the vet, and to salt the wounds he brought the dog back home.

I know the AGP thought, after a dogless week, that we were surely over that phase. She was really giving the dog the stinkeye in the car on the trip back!

Rebecca O'Connor will be on Ask the Bird Experts live in 36 minutes!

Inevitably, given the way the BirdFather saws logs at night, it was bound to happen--the AGP has learned to "snore".

Bath time

I was in the kitchen making my second cuppa when I heard the AGP making an awful racket in her cage--the rattling kind, not the squawking kind of noise. So I eased around the corner to see what was up, and lo and behold she was trying to take a bath in her water dish again.

So I freshened up the pond and showed it to her. No go. I went and got her mister to help her get wet, and she loved it. Usually she runs from it. I guess she just wants to pick and choose when she bathes! She spread her wing and lowered her head and shivered with delight.

So I tried it on Larry. He was having none of it.

The AGP is sitting in her open (cage) doorway, being sociable, and not incidentally trying to grab the dog's tail every time it goes by.

Just Another Day In Parrotdise

In which Larry Bird switches to Harrison's

We've had Larry since May 21^st, 2004, which makes him about 5½ years old. About two years ago, when we first got Riley, the vet said we should switch her to Harrison's. We thought we should switch Larry, too, so we bought them each a bag.

Riley took to it immediately: She ate the first bowl we gave her and never looked back. Larry, however, was having nothing to do with that.

For some reason, on a whim, I decided to try again last week, and lo and behold the boy is eating his Harrison's!

I noticed this weekend that Riley was sitting on the perch nearest her new toy, a rope-net-like thing with lots of wood shapes on it for chewing and climbing. I thought, well good, she's playing with that.

Then when I went to clean her cage, I found piles of wood chips on the bottom: What she was doing was not playing with that toy, but methodically chipping every inch of bark off the perch!

Step up

The AGP was clambering around on her cage this afternoon, when she seemed to be leaning off the gate in the general direction of my chair, like she wanted to come over. She disdains me, so what's up with that?

Nevertheless, I stick my hand out and say, "Step up," and damned if she doesn't! She hung around for a bit and let me stroke her back, and then The Birdfather came home and she lost interest.

But still.

Happy Hatch Day!

Big changes in the AGP's household today: We brought Larry Bird home from the office today. Larry's cage is way too big for the bird room, so it's kind of crowded in here right now. Can't tell yet what the AGP's reaction is going to be. She seems more disturbed by the cage than the parakeet, at this point.

surprise, surprise

In all the time we've had her, I've never seen the AGP attempt to bathe herself. But I hear a lot of noise coming from the general direction of her water dish, so I look around and lo and behold--she's stuffing her head as far down in there as she can get it (which is not very far) and then shaking water all over the place! So I ran and got her "pond" and reactivated it.

She's ignoring it.

Today's Menu

Breakfast
Canteloupe
Scrambled Egg
Raisin Toast
Pumpkin Seeds

Lunch
Harrison's Extra Coarse

Dinner
Tube Steak With Bun
Baked Beans
Salad Greens
Grapes

Unless you want nightmares...

Don't read this book.

. . . in which Ms. Bell adopts a parrot, and despite advice to the contrary, lets it fly free around the garden. With the inevitable result.

Spring!

The AGP and I are looking forward to some serious outdoors time this weekend!

HR 669

There's been all manner of hysteria over a bill to ban importation of animals/plants without a review to make sure the species does not represent a threat to our environment. The bill specifically says,

Animals Owned Lawfully Prior to Prohibition of Importation- This Act and regulations issued under this Act shall not interfere with the ability of any person to possess an individual animal of any species if such individual animal was legally owned by the person before the risk assessment is begun pursuant to subsection (e)(3), even if such species is later prohibited from being imported under the regulations issued under this Act.

Which doesn't stop a lot of folk from claiming that if the law passes your exotic pet will be euthanized. It's also worth noting that the bill includes a list of animals that can not be declared illegal:

D) does not include any cat (Felis catus), cattle or oxen (Bos taurus), chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), dog (Canis lupus familiaris), donkey or ass (Equus asinus), domesticated members of the family Anatidae (geese), duck (domesticated Anas spp.), goat (Capra aegagrus hircus), goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus), horse (Equus caballus), llama (Lama glama), mule or hinny (Equus caballus x E. asinus), pig or hog (Sus scrofa domestica), domesticated varieties of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), or sheep (Ovis aries), or any other species or variety of species that is determined by the Secretary to be common and clearly domesticated. [Emphasis added]

So I think we can all, like, calm down.

The AGP is getting bolder. The other night she climbed off the couch and waddled over to the coat closet. The door was open, and she stood staring at the contents, appearing to be utterly fascinated.

Tonight, she climbed down from the back of the couch to sit next to me and try to remove the keys from my laptop.

Spring fever?

Don't know what's up with this bird, but after nearly two years in our home the AGP's suddenly getting adventurous: Last night she climbed down off the back of the couch onto the floor and went looking for the Birdfather in the kitchen.

It's only taken her about 12 years, but the AGP has finally figured out how to climb down off her table-top perch.

Custody battle

On Inside Edition tonight, there's a story about these two women slugging it out in court over Tequila, the African Grey, lost and renamed Lucky. He got lost, and after about two weeks on his own found a new home. Three years later, his two moms met at a coffee shop, discovered their common love of parrots, and one thing led to another. Woman #1 figures out that woman #2 has her old parrot. Woman #2 won't give him back, so woman #1 sues. And wins. Parrot went home today.

Adopt-a-Macaw

I have heard third-hand that Bird Daddy's in Marietta, GA (USA) has four Scarlet Macaws for adoption. Word is that two are a breeding pair and should be adopted together. Their elderly owner died. They come with cages and all their other stuff from their first home.

I will post more later, after the store opens and I can get first-hand info.

Grey Eats a Grape

Grey Eats a Grape, originally uploaded by wherepineswhisper.

Outside on a pleasant early spring afternoon.

The Owl

I just finished reading Wesley the Owl, by Stacey O'Brien. I know, it's not about a parrot, but it is by a woman who kept a bird for 18 years, and about the incredibly deep and affectionate relationship they had.

O'Brien's a smart, funny writer and she makes this a rollicking good read right up until the last. It is not to be missed.

Odd

I was sitting in the bird room, keeping the AGP company and attending to some paperwork chores yesterday, when the bluebirds arrived.

To clarify, they've been hanging around in the neighborhood for a week or two, but this was the first appearance I've noted at my bluebird box.

The odd part was that Mr. Bluebird brought two ladies to examine the box! I've never seen that before. He went in first, and they hung out on the top and front until he'd done checking it out. When he popped out, the Sister Wives got in a fight about, one presumes, who was going to go in next.

They fought to a standoff and both left.

Today, Mr. B. was back, alone.

Wonder what that was all about?

Her hand in his...

Tail feather

Waiting for Daylight

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: Waiting

I breakfast in the bird room--it's my favorite room in the house. I can put my feet up in here, and wrap myself in my afghan to ward off the pre-dawn chill. The dog has been fed and lies sleeping again by my chair. The AGP is still on her favorite sleeping perch, but occasionally says "hello" softly, quietly. I reply, "Good morning, how are you, did you sleep well?" as I am trying hard to teach her this.

Breakfast is usually a bagel and cream cheese, and always two cups of Peet's Ethiopian. Every light in the house and out is turned off. The Birdfather calls this "sitting in the dark." I call it "enjoying the natural light." I eat, and drink coffee. When I am done eating, I flip open the laptop and boot up. The screen is turned down low. I sip my coffee. I check my office e-mail and bank accounts. I check my personal e-mail and bank accounts. I sip more coffee, and listen to the AGP preening in the dark.

My neighbors are starting to leave for work. One by one, their cars pass, lights briefly breaking up the pre-dawn darkness. A few I recognize by the shapes of the dark spaces between head- and tail-lamps. I visit, in this order, the StatCounter for activity on my blogs (there are two people who have already been there every day by this time: I wonder who they are), Facebook, and my blogger Dashboard to see if any of the folks I follow have anything new up since last night. I finish my coffee. The dog stretches and yawns in the quiet blackness to my left.

This is usually a peaceful time. The house is asleep, the neighborhood barely stirring. I think about my day. Today it's a little stressful, however, as I discover I have a very large, very important bill that won't "go" through the bill-payer thingy because there's not enough money to cover it. So this morning I sit in the dark, waiting for daylight, chewing my lip, worrying at this problem, as if thinking about it will somehow solve it.

There is a dark purple-tinged glow on the horizon, but it will be a long time to daylight today, as the weather has us completely socked in.

The clock chimes seven. I tell the girls, "It is time to get this show on the road."

Part-tay!

Turns out the AGP is a party animal.

We had a couple dozen folks over to celebrate the Birdfather's retirement. We worried that a noisy crowd would upset her, and we considered putting her in her travel cage in the back of the house for the duration. But since that end of the house tends to run colder, we decided to try leaving her. The way the house is laid out, even though it's what they used to call an "open plan", people didn't circulate through the bird room but frequently went to meet and talk to her one or two at a time.

And she ate it up. By the end of the first hour or so, if no one was in there with her, she'd start trying to whistle up some interaction! And she was a big hit with our guests.