Birdbrains For Beginners

No wonder people are leaving Broward .. even the birds are getting uglier!

2008-04-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

World's Ugliest Bird found in Broward County, Florida, where some pretty ugly things happen as regular daily occurances and the mood's getting uglier by the day. Oscar is the official mascot of the Humane Society of Broward County.

Now "Oscar," , aka, the "world's ugliest bird," is finally getting some notice after 12 years. Why not? Why shouldn't THE world's ugliest bird living in the nation's county with some of the ugliest attitudes not have its "Ugly Day" under the Florida Sunshine? Click and look: Caution, this might be rough for eyes used to only seeing gorgeous chics in Ft. Lauderdale.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?s=rss&storyid=78445

Okay guys, feeding time!

2008-03-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

I just checked my email late this Easter evening. Church, family dinner, packing our car to take our youngest daughter to Boston this afternoon had to come before blogging. (What a word! Sure sounds like something the Vandals and Visigoths loved to do when they weren't plundering Rome.)

In any event, I came across this email from Nathalie Roberts of Parrotsecrets.com about how and what to feed your parrot. Since Ms. Roberts was kind enough to fill me in, the least I could do is to "link" her info, no, not like sausages, to this blog (oh, please, blog n' sausages, what next, blogsauges?) No thanks, I'll stick to the "electronic" kind of linking.

No doubt Nathalie won't mind if I share n' link this with you, however many millions of you "out there" with hungry birds to feed.

But why is it that my wife's birds keep mistaking my fingers for links, the edible kind?

Happy Easter Season!

New feathery family member!

2008-03-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Being an exotic bird in a jungle can be tough enough for those living in the wild and can handle the stress of such settings of high drama and constant struggles for survival. After all, Macaws and other parrots who might get too close to the ground have to deal with venomous snakes, poachers, and the big cats.

If they're lucky, domesticated parrots, hatched, bred and sold here in the American suburban home jungle, don't have to face nearly as much constant trauma and stress. (Have I slung enough already?) BUT, they do have to deal with fierce, and often as klutzy as they are fierce, American Tabby Tiger cats. Bad characters if they're not fed on time, have too much rest during the day, and nobody's around to watch the metallic new home for our new parakeet, "Mellow Yellow" which Ruth picked up at the Crystal Parrot , where we've bought all our FIDS. The name stays for now, but who knows?

Maybe the bird won't want to stay thanks to an encounter she had with Tigger our Terrible Tom Tiger. He's less than a year old so there's plenty of opportunities for mischief. He took one late this afternoon when he climbed on top of the small wooden cabinet where MY's cage is located. Unfortunately, the cat's getting heavier and the cage is pretty light.

Crash, bam, boom, bang and one tiger scurrying out of harm's way: trouble with Ruth and Meagan. Not a good career move for a young cat. Certainly this dude isn't about to make any brownie points or gray and white stripes with my wife and daughter, even though Meagan found him with her boyfriend on a country road north of here. He was called "Lucky" then. Well, after what he pulled, he's lucky he didn't get more than a stern reprimand (a few yells of exasperation) and MY is indeed lucky she got through all this with nary a scratch or loose feather.

Welcome home Mellow Yellow.

Proposedl Missouri legislation (HB 1847) will hurt birds!

2008-03-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how many noticed in the most recent issue of Bird Talk a short story about a Missouri state rep's proposed legislation that would effectively outlaw owning a parrot, canary, etc. in the Show Me state. In fairness to Beth Low, beth.low@house.mo.gov the youngest elected representative, (a/o 2006, according to a University of Missouri's Legislative Update Newsletter update.), she's young and has a lot to learn. (And I think she will because she otherwise appears to be very bright. None of bat 1.000.) She is the chief sponsor of this bill (along with Republican Senator Tom Dempsey of across-state, St. Charles. (Thankfully the senate's version seems to have stricken the part about owning parrots and other domesticated exotic birds.) tom.dempsey@senate.mo.gov

I've been a political junkie nearly all my life and participated in several campaigns, not to mention covered some as well as a reporter/columnist. And let's face it, I think Low's political gyroscope is way off kilter on this matter. Thankfully, her legislative proposal, House Bill 1847 hasn't even been placed on the House calendar, meaning, it looks like it may not fly at all. (Okay, bad pun, but it's Saturday.) According to Bird Talk, the bill was ostensibly written to help "protect wild animals, such as large cats." In the state Senate, however, things appeared to have gone a little further according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Committee.

I have no problem with that because in setting up stringent guidlines concerning the big cats people import here as pets of all things, protects not only the cats, but people as well. I love the two tigers in my life, but they're Tabbys.
I could be wrong, but isn't any matter dealing with the large cats something that should fall under Federal control?

Bird Talk also says her bill is languishing due to "partisan politics." Could it also be due to letting this turkey of a bill die of a peaceful death for a simpler reason: commonsense? I'm sure there Missouri has its share of parrot and other companion bird owning Democrats who'll be damned before they have to face their family and tell them their beloved birds have to go because of a bill that was passed in their workplace banning private ownership of parrots, and other domesticated exotic birds.

In Massachusetts, where political nitpicking and overregulation are pastimes for some people who can't grasp enough power in their hands, any passage of Low's House Bill 1847 (Sen. Bill 1032)) just might give the wrong people the wrong ideas, resulting in the wrong way of dealing with really wild animals. Before she goes any further with this bill, Low, who sits on the "Appropriations/Health, Mental Health and Social Services; Higher Education; Children and Families; and Elections Committees" would profit greatly by calling on Irene Pepperberg who would undoubtedly give her a wealth of information concerning how much we, especially parents with children struggling with learning disabilities, stand to benefit from companion birds.

Where would the future Alexes then come from? (I forgot: this legislation exempts research facilities. That wouldn't have helped either Alex nor Dr. Pepperberg since their encounter was indeed by chance when she bought him a store that'd effectively be run out of business (at least in Missouri) thanks to Low's proposed law.

Low is a graduate of the University of Missouri/Columbia, and needless to add, a big advocate for public higher education. I'm with her all the way on that and the following: “Training the next generation of professionals in many areas is critical for a positive economic growth pattern and for our national security,” she said. “Without engineers, veterinarians, doctors, and nurses, we not only wouldn’t be economically successful, but we wouldn’t be a safe place to live.” (Source: Univ. of Missouri Government Relations UM Legislative Update Newsletter )

Well! Without pets, and pet stores, private breeders, et al, wouldn’t veternarians find themselves in an “unsafe” occupation and worthy of placing on an endangered occupational species list?

A lot of hearts have been broken throughout history (not to mention lives lost) because people didn't stand up when they had the opportunity -- and moral duty -- to do so. Your birds can't walk the halls of our State Houses and U.S. Capitol. And our birds can't blog or lobby over the phone lines like we can. We have to do their talking (this time) for them.

Let's get working and behind those keyboards and on the phones and urge Missouri to live up to its nickname and show us that commonsense can be reached after all.

Turning out lights helps birds avoid buildings?

2008-03-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Help: I'm fully aware of my inadequate knowledge of aviary facts, etc., but a recent February posting on the Audubon Society's action page has me stumped. I'll let you be the judge. No doubt Audubon knows why, but I'm still at loss to know exactly what they're getting at:

"Go Dark for Birds and Global WarmingEarth Hour, which originated last year in Sydney, Australia, is now a global event. For one hour on Saturday, March 29, everyone is asked to turn off their lights from 8-9PM local time. Audubon is already doing its part through our Lights Out programs. Lights Out encourages building owners to turn off their lights to help birds avoid building collisions during migration, which account for millions of birds deaths each year. Saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas pollution responsible for global warming is icing on the cake."

Had thoughts of asking our flock but being indoor parrots, they had no immediate thoughts to pass along: "Sorry, mon ... we're too busy making sure you don't crash into our bungee toys." They seemed more interested in making the best use of their licenses to chill.

Wise guys.

Loving animals is the easy part, Really loving them with a responsible mindset is what counts!

2008-03-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

(This response was originally posted within the past hour to a general article about pets in Information World.)

Unquestionably people are becoming more reliant upon pets for companionship, entertainment and security. What concerns me greatly is the rising number of people who are not mature or fully capable of undertaking the responsibilities of caring for their pets.

This is particularly true for people who buy exotic birds and all of a sudden "discover" how loud and messy they can be. The inevitable end result of this is the rising number of birds having to be put down because we don't have enough shelters that don't euthanize and those that do are simply overwhelmed.

This poses another danger: since treaties have made it almost impossible to buy an exotic bird such as a macaw from eggs taken directly from its ancestral breeding grounds in Central and South America, the increased number of mismatched bird purchases/adoptions is bound to result in higher numbers of wholly unnecessary euthanizations of these beauties, and the resulting skyrocketing in prices for the even rarer numbers of birds and recently hatched babies available.

We sure love our animals, but let's not love them into early graves or out of affordable price ranges for those who would probably give them loving homes for many years to come.

Human's brain finally meets Alex's brain

2008-03-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

It took me a while and it's late to get into today's or early tomorrow's entry, but let's just say I finally got around to reading about Alex the Grey Senegal . To be honest, I'd been playing chicken. (Okay, bad pun.) Anyway, I was playing chicken because of the emotional aspect of Alex's story and his long partnership with his owner, the famed researcher Irene M. Pepperberg, Ph.D. of Brandeis University. One can only imagine the searing pain felt by Dr. Pepperberg upon finding him dead in his cage one September day last year. We felt a kick in the chest over the loss of our first bird, Skyler, aka "Tweedles," and it wasn't easy; especially for Ruth. I can only guess how painfull it must have been for Irene Pepperberg and her staff.

I'm share this right now because of the natural wariness I'm feeling about jumping in, knowing full well how painful it'll eventually be for either Ruth, myself and/or our birds one day. But that's life. We have to move forward on faith, knowing that while somethings can't be replaced, and perhaps it's a fool's errand to think we can. But that shouldn't stop us from enjoying life and giving others hope that life does indeed go on. To paraphrase Garth Brooks' song The Dance," if we don't risk the risk of pain, we'd never enjoy the dances we have with our birds and so many birds wouldn't have so many loving owners and homes.

Time to rest my wings n' feathers as well.

The excitement hasn't worn off; it's just reality taking hold!

2008-03-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

I was getting a bit worried today about my ability to "stick with it" and push this blog towards success. Now, success is a relative term. BUT, let's face it, getting more people to read it would certainly be encouraging. All blogs take time to get their wings; just like birds. I only wish mine would take off like a 747.

What's really got me worried is the full emotional tug these characters (and parrots are indeed characters) have on us humans. It's hard not to look at them and see their capacity reach us -- even beyond their screeching and biting. And, it's this part that has me worried; not to mention the heartwrenching toll a theft (read: birdknapping) would take on my wife and I. Having just gotten over a long and protracted episode of bipolar depression, the last thing I need is to deal with something like a birdknapping. On the other hand; seeing one of our children badly harmed and psycyhologically damaged for life, never mind taken from us, would also be devastatingly worse. We have to put things and keep them into proper perspective.

Ah, but when I saw the stories about what some of the many birds who've been horribly neglected and abused, right then and there I realized that I had to man up to this. Not just for myself as I'm becoming a REAL Parrothead, but for my wife, our kids and our other Fids as well.

Boy, can these characters grab you!

Sinners, Savers & Saintly Heroes

2008-03-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hawkish for Justice
Heard about the professional golfer in Florida who got a little more peeved than necessary at a migratory red-winged hawk while he was shooting a video? Well, it looks as if the bird is probably having the last screeching laugh along with St. Francis up there while John Henry "Tripp" Isenhour III's walking around here like a chicken sans head following an errant flight over a golf course in Central Florida. Isenhour recently issued a thoroughly sorrowful mea culpa of sorts, but it's only fair to say it was almost four months slow in coming. You don't suppose a recent article in Golf Magazine (the game's equivalent to Bird Talk) had something to do with it, do you? Take a look at the article I've linked. This is damning stuff. Congrats to Golf Magazine for not pulling back from the facts.

This hawk's slaying was no accident. Isenhour had it in for the bird, who I suppose posed a predatory threat to one of humankind's favorite pursuits: dominion in the name of making more bucks. Don't cry for "Tripp" or Big John Henry. This ol' cracker from Georgia's only facing 14 months in the Orange County jug or $1,500. According the PGA, the guy made almost half a mill in 2007. (Anybody for a progressive scale in fines?) A mere speed bump and chump change. On the other hand, considering what Isenhour's blockheaded killing of that bird will cost him with his sponsors and the razzing he'll get on the Tour, he might find jail time more appealing.

Not All's Out-of-Kilter in Florida
Further down the Florida peninsula, in St. Lucie, developer Bobby Ginn faced a bird challenge of a different sort and handled it with class and dignity; especially befitting the occasion since the bird was none other than a Bald Headed Eagle. One day one of our national birds took some interest in Ginn's Tesoro development. Not that he was thinking of buying a condo and playing golf, (not a safe choice for raptors) but the place looked inviting, anyway. Ginn could've easily opted for have the local Audubon Society relocate the bird (and his family) and let the bulldozers and builders have the final say on this portion of his property.

Having graduated from college in Florida, I can recall the immense number of (builders) cranes and constant upheaval caused by over-development. Yes, progress is great and people wanting to retire and live their final years in warmer climes will need places to live. BUT -- there's a line between us and unreasonable ravaging of nature. Pretty soon there won't be anything resembling the Florida most people are flocking down to enjoy because it's been paved and plowed under. Thank God Bobby Ginn wasn't going to join the lemmings in his line of business.

According to AP reporter Brian Skoloff, (for audubonofflorida.org), " ... Ginn saw an opportunity not just to protect the environment in one of his latest multimillion-dollar ventures, but to make the eagles a selling point.
"For me, it's as big an amenity as golf or tennis or a pool," he said. "People want to see and enjoy wildlife and they should be able to do it from home. ... What's good for the eagles has been good for business, Ginn said. The area's natural beauty and wildlife figure into the marketing of the development. "Wildlife doesn't have to suffer. It can coexist with development," he said. "There's got to be a mix, particularly as we're more and more crowding the planet.""

Developers have taken a bad rap from the 4th estate during the past several decades thanks to a combination of overly smug (okay, arrogant) do-gooders who'd stop even superb compromise solutions such as Ginn's over the slightest excuse due to a predisposed prejudical mindset; and very rapacious developers who'd rip the heart out of the very thing they're trying to "package" to get their bank accounts fattened. Thank you both Bobby Ginn and Audubon of Florida.

Dam, We Lost One - Or Did We? Saintly Cause for Scarlet Macaws Sets Example, Changes Lives
Dam! Dam! Dam! Let a woman in your life and you'll invite eternal strife!" So complained Dr. 'enry 'iggins in My Fair Lady. Don't worry, I know how to spell "damn" and it's a word I use quite often. I purposely dropped the "n" in this case because it involves American-born naturalist Sharon Matola's unsuccessful drive to prevent the Canadian dam building company Fortis from building a dam in Belize's Challilo River valley; a dam that would've flooded the valley and destroyed the tiny Central American's nation's only safe refuge for the Scarlet Macaw. Matola's struggle is expertly chronicled by author Bruce Barcott, author of The Flight of the Last Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird.

I could go on for quite a while about this topic, but there was something compelling about this story that did what a decade of exposure to parrots (through Ruth and our kids) hadn't done for me before. Not that I was antagonistic; although the costs had me and our oldest son James, a UMass Isenberg School of Management grad, wringing our hands on occasion. ("Guy thing?") Maybe it was the topic, the beauty of the birds, the plight of any society facing extinction (my ancestors survived the Great Famine!) -- but all of a sudden I found myself transfixed by a copy of the book I pulled off a table in Barnes & Noble. Such nobility, such greed, such plain stupidity; but also such tenacity and gutsyness on Matola's, and the Natural Defense Resources Council in their efforts to stop the damn dam.

It's a great morality play for our times. Pick it up. It'll certainly stir you as it did to me. Our world often seems terribly bereft of hero-figures, and a world without such people who aren't afraid to give themselves selflessly to causes that would seem terribly overwhelming and fruitless, is a world badly in need of a fix. Small wonder so many people, including myself, need anti-depressant medication. My condition is biological, but I can sure as heck identify with the millions of others who often feel as if the good things in life itself are constantly being hacked away from us in pieces by the poweful forces of greed, cynicism and blindness to direct contradiction to what God's gave us to be responsible stewards of, vz. dominators for the sake of domination and exploitation.

Mistreatment of Birds and Other Godly Creatures (Besides Us) Is A Mortal Sin Now
Speaking of saints when it comes to preserving nature, the Vatican recently listed disregard for the environment and inattention to conservancy of nature as sins. It's all in Scripture; yes, while God created earth and man in His image; let's not forget our (particularly feathered) friends whom He carefully and lovingly created before Adam and Eve.

Don't you just love how the dominionists never fail to forget that little detail. Thanks to Bobby Ginn, Sharon Matola, Bruce Barcott, the NRDC and the Holy See among many, many others.

Hope You're Back Soon, Edna!

2008-03-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Our best wishes and prayers go out to Edna Bresnahan, long-time owner of the Crystal Parrot. She recently broke her hip and the doc has her under strict orders not to do any lifting. That even means working with her birds. It's been a tough year so far for Edna as her (and our) much beloved New England Patriots were upset by another team (northern big city team) in the not-so-hot Super Bowl.

(Okay, I'm a sore loser.)

Her recovery is going fine according to Pam, one of her stalwarts at the store, but it must be rough flying for her since she can't be at her store with her feathered (and human) friends.

Get well, soon Edna!

Love Ya -- Wally, Chilly, The "Nitwits," and Cody (the Clown) -- and of course, Ruth, myself and the kids.

The Real Parrot Boss and Her Parrothead

2008-03-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is the Ultimate beginner's blog for exotic bird owners, (or in my case, silent (co-partner, co-owner) or in our kids' eyes, background silent co-conspirator with my wife Ruth of nearly 25 years who's THE real Parrot Boss of the Barrett family.) When it comes to parrots and such, I have to hand it to her. After all, she's been at it for ten years.

When we dated, courted, firmed things up during our engagement all those wonderful ideas, plans and things younger couples do before they get married and rearranged all those plans due to something called life, Ruth told me she was a big animal lover. Well, she owned several horses, went to Meredith Manor Equestrian Academy in West Virginia for a few months, and was very much into that scene then. But I had no idea, not a clue in the world, animal, human or otherwise, how much she loved animals.

Horses were followed by cats, and we've have plenty of those characters--still do in fact, all five of 'em. Horses fell by the way, thanks to costs and an eventual move to a house lacking a barn, which certainly makes things much easier if you have a horse. We've had several dogs, including our oldest daughter, Meagan's, dog. Two of our dogs were Dals, and Ruth never saw eye-to-eye with them. Dumb, she thought. Dumb, I agreed, but thoroughloy loveable. The Forrest Gump of dogs.We also had fish, hermit crabs, guinea pigs and even some bats in our old barn.

Oh, I forgot, we also produced four humans along the way, two and two, but with the girls in the middle. Not a safe mix. James, was followed by Meagan, then Kimberly and finally Andrew, all two years and two months apart. Not on purpose, but by God's good graces.

Back to getting around to our "birdy phase." Just like children, if you like kids and animals you just can't stop at one. Kinda like sex and candy. Only when you get older, well, you're expected to slow the pace a bit. This human's brain had a lot of learning to do when it came to birds; obviously. Was I soon to find out!

Then, one day, she said she wanted to pay the Crystal Parrot in Southampton, MA. owned by Edna Bresnahan, only to come back with not only the human kids, but also Skyler, a handsome sky-blue parakeet, who became our first "fid," (feathery kid.) Unfortunately, Skyler, whom we nicknamed "Tweedles," died last fall.(The underside of being the family woodworker/writer is that I get the "honor" to write obits and build caskets for animals (only animals) and as I get older, well that certainly gets much older, too.) That little guy was indeed handsome.Tweedles was followed by Wally, (Senegal) and Chilly, (African Grey), and then a real feathery clown, Cody, (Yellow Naped Amazon). Ruth, being the animal lover she is couldn't stop there. Along then came two little mini-Codys, whom Ruth calls the "nitwits," and you don't mess with them. I can't say openly for sure, but I've got more than a good insider's tip that somehow Ruth's mind is stirring ... and the Fids and Kids and I know what that means.

She's not the birdbrain beginner. I am. So--this blog is for all of you guys (and gals) who followed into the family-building business via aviary means. We're all in this together. That includes the more experienced house birder.Y'know something? I've got a happy wife and a happy wife helps to make for a happy home for this guy who's first introduction to the world of Parrotheads came through listening to Jimmy Buffett. And with apologies to Jimmy, let me part by saying it's alright to be a little bird crazy; just don't let the real parrots drive you nuts!