Bird Update

Many things have happened since my last post.....the most important one is that school started again and I am back to work until summer. Here are updates on all the members of the Sunroom Flock:

Callie the blue headed Pionus is as sweet as ever. She now has a full set of beautiful wings and a gorgeous tail to go with them. Her balance has improved with the addition of the tail and she no longer falls gracelessly to the floor. She has flown twice but is not confident with her new freedom yet. She has learned to say "Hello!" in a very raspy voice.

Caezar the Indian Ringneck has finally come into his own. No, he is not a tame little cuddle bug as I had hoped he would be. However, he loves his life here. I moved his cage into the kitchen and he sings and vocalizes and TALKS all day long. When I open the door to his cage, he comes right out and goes up to the playtop, where he loves to sit and watch us go about our daily activities. He also loves to fly. He has his favorite routes through the downstairs areas and always returns to his cage when he hears me say "Peanut" and the plunk of one dropping into his bowl.

Gatto the Senegal is as bratty as ever. If you have read the previous post about him, you will know that he was supposed to be MY bird. Well, he has fallen in love with Callie and her owner (my oldest son Jordan). He is as tame as a kitten for Jordan and loves nothing more than to ride around on his shoulder all day. For me, he loves to bite! He will graciously allow me to scratch the back of his neck but if I want to remove him from his cage or get him to step up, I have to use a wooden perch or risk a nasty bite. He also loves to bite me when I change his water bowls. He does greet me with a loud "Good morning!", though, each and every day.

Marley the Quaker remains the most wonderful bird. He is an awesome combination of sweet and fiesty. He can mimic the phone's ring and the dogs' barking. He is also a great watch bird......he screams loudly everytime someone pulls in the driveway or knocks at the door.

Hunter the English Budgie did not make it through the summer. Sadly, he was killed by our Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix and lies buried in the watermelon patch.

Lola and Winston's first clutch of two babies (a boy and a girl) molted and got their adult feathers. They went to live with the custodian from my school. I took out the nest basket for 5 months and then replaced it. Last week, the second clutch of babies fledged and this time there were four!!! Imagine my surprise to discover that one of them is all white! Some research on the Internet says that white coloring in zebra finches is caused by a recessive gene. Regardless of the reason, I plan to keep the white baby when the other three go to their new home with a third grade teacher at my school.

We have also added some new birds to the flock...Oscar, a rescued yellow and green budgie, Monty, a white faced male cockatiel and a cute little turquoise parrotlet baby called Roxy. Hopefully, their stories will follow soon. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!