Rob's Birds
Bird Notes

These are roughly chronological, and very casual. Cover 2002 to 2004, more or less.

Go to end.

December 17-02
Alex is courting Jasmine again, showing off and sweet-talking to her. She still seems to think he's nuts (of course). He climbed down to the floor yesterday, and discovered the space under Casey's cage. I thought he was looking for a dropped toy and reached under to help look for it, and he hissed at me -- twice. Apparently he thought it might be a good nesting space. Pretty soon he lost interest in it though.

January 4-03
Alex is still courting Jazz, though not quite as ardently, talking to her and displaying for her (he's still a bit nippy when he's in his cage -- he's fine when he's out.) But today, we saw a hawk flying back and forth behind the house -- and instead of giving his alarm call, Alex told him off! "This is my place, and you stay away" in cockatoo. It was pretty funny. He finished up by barking at the hawk, the way he usually barks at crows. (The hawk was not impressed.)

January 5, 2003
I have a new bird -- a 15 year old umbrella cockatoo named Bert. His owner became ill (and died, I believe). Bert was in foster care about three months. When I went to see him, he was very frightened and deeply unhappy. (Parrots grieve, and can get depressed.) It took almost twenty minutes before he'd let me touch him; he hissed and threat-displayed non-stop initially, so we left the room and let him settle down for a while. When we went back in, he hissed a bit but finally let me start touching him. Then after several minutes of talk, neck-scratching, and petting, he suddenly buried his face in my neck and pressed himself tightly against my chest, and started to sob. Not mimicking human sobbing, but the most heart-wrenching sounds -- I'd hesitated about taking him, but after that, how could I not?

(Some people have questioned my description of Bert sobbing. It was the same mechanism as human sobbing -- an uncontrolled cry, a deep quick breath, and repeat.... The girl who was caring for him said she'd never heard him make that noise before. I haven't heard it since. We agree that animals yawn and sneeze, the mechanism is the same as ours, and no one thinks you are anthropomorphizing when you say an animal yawned or sneezed. Bert sobbed.)

I put Bert directly into the room with the other birds, since he had been (basically) in isolation and under stress for three months, and if he harbored any illnesses they would probably have shown up already. I took him to the vet a couple days later. I worried about Bert the first 24 hours, because he didn't want to eat. The girl who'd had him had sent the seed-nut based mix she'd been giving him, but he barely picked at it. I also gave him the nutriberries and roudybush pellets the others eat, and he didn't want those either to start. I offered him some red globe grapes, which he ate, and let him pick want he wanted from the packaged mix -- which was only the sunflowers. By then I was relieved to have him eat anything! So I gave him red globe grapes and shelled sunflowers. Luckily he saw the other birds eating the nutriberries and by the next day decided to try them. (Once he got started eating again, he ate more and more -- though he still avoided most pellets.)

January 8-03 (?)
During his vet visit, the vet said he didn't want to stress Bert by toweling him -- but Bert actually LIKES towels. Bert permitted his wings to be trimmed while he was sitting on my shoulders (on my back really, with my hand ringed around his neck to forestall biting the vet, but Bert never even tried to bite). He was very good with the vet, letting him listen to his heart and lungs, and even look in his mouth. And he obligingly produced a "sample" which the vet took off my shirt. Bert was underweight and had lost muscle mass -- you could see his keel sticking out, and just handling him he felt "bone-y" -- the vet said he'd seen worse (I hate to imagine). Bert had also chewed his body feathers under his wings, you could see quite a bit of his skin.

While we waited for the vet to check the lab work, Bert decided he'd had enough and wanted to hide, so he sat on my shoulder closest to the corner, hiding behind my head. I offered him his towel, and he took it, so I draped it over him, and he stopped shaking. When the vet came back in, I lifted a corner of the towel and asked Bert if he wanted to come out; He peeked at the vet and ducked back under the towel, and stayed there while we talked.

(I had Bert's wings trimmed because they looked like broken picket fence -- and because he had grown new flight feathers at the tips of his wings, where they are more easily broken -- and Bert was weak. A few weeks later I trimmed the next new flight feathers at the ends of his wings -- these he had apparently been trying to grow during the three months he wasn't eating much, and they weren't fully developed.)

January 13-03
Bert's settling in pretty well, has started to groom himself again, and to play with toys, and he has rediscovered his appetite -- thank goodness. He weighs 600 grams, and should weigh 700 (at least -- he's a big boy). He is fascinated by the other birds, and I am so glad they are here -- birds learn from one another, and I am sure Bert has accepted our routines more easily and quickly because he can observe the others. And they have each other for company, which helps. (Initially, Bert was very resistant to going back into his cage when I had him out. Can't blame him, he was out only once or twice a day for short periods while being fostered -- if that. But he soon learned that at my house, birds come out several times a day -- and sometimes they even come out and go back in by themselves!)

Bert is fascinated by Alex, and when Bert is out, he will clamber all over Alex's cage trying to get close to him while Alex tries to keep away (smart bird!). Alex does not get upset by this, though, and settles back into whatever he was doing once Bert stops.

January 14-03
Cockatoos and other parrots can live a long time. The bigger the bird, the longer the lifespan. Bert has a shot at 80 to 90 years, Alex maybe 70. They will (probably) both outlive me -- Bert's about 15 (that we know of), Alex is 6. When the family got together last weekend, I found myself watching the youngest generation and wondering if any of them would be interested in keeping birds in 30 or 40 years...... Casey and Jasmine are in the 25 to 35 year range -- Casey's about 14, Jasmine's only 3.

The good/bad news with Bert is that he's starting to feel more secure here. That's good, because he's much less afraid (-- when my sister came to see him, he hissed and displayed some, but not full force, and stopped when Casey started talking to her, which made her laugh --) He is happily destroying his chewtoys, has figured out how to link and unlink his plastic toddler chain, and seldom yells anymore (which is good, Bert sounds like an air horn when he "honks" and he has matching volume!). The bad part (okay, challenging part) is that he's starting to test the boundaries of behavior, aka "what can I get away with?" and "what's my position in this flock?" Alex didn't get to that stage for months -- but then his history was different. The bad part for me is that the possibility of me getting bit will be higher while he goes through this -- although he has not bit me so far. (Still hasn't!) He will gently take hold of my finger and bring my hand over to his side, since anytime a hand is nearby, it should be petting Bert!

Bert will tolerate -- as in, IGNORE -- being manhandled (like when I am trying to keep him away from Alex while he's climbing on Alex' cage, or when I'm trying to remove him from Alex' cage...Alex now having decided he's curious about Bert and no longer staying out of reach, not a good idea as Bert is literally twice his size and could hurt Alex without meaning to). Bert adores being touched and petted, he's more like a cat than a bird. When he's hissing and displaying, he can be pretty intimidating, but he is the gentlest thing once he accepts you. I trust him (not to bite) far more than Alex.

One day I said in a sing-song voice (with careful ennunciation) "Ber-tie the bir-die" -- and Bert started to cry (bird version, more like whimpering) so we had to cuddle a while. I wish I knew more about his previous owner and life.

I finally realized what's probably causing some of Bert's behavior --- sex! In the wild, breeding season is triggered in part by the change of seasons, and in part by food supply. Bert had been depressed and not eating normally (since October) and lost weight -- now he's eating with gusto, he's exercising, he's obviously feeling a lot better physically and emotionally. Male cockatoos can become "unpredictable" when their hormones start firing up -- but that would explain some of Bert's behavior, like his intense interest in Alex, and trying to chase Alex. (Chasing can be play, but in breeding season it means "get out of my territory!")

So far Alex seems to think breeding season is spring, and to a lesser extent fall/winter. It lasts a few weeks -- unless he also goes into a molt right after, and gets untouchable while his new feathers start.

The bird books warn that living with a cockatoo is like having a perpetual two-year-old child. I think that sounds more like Amazons -- they have temper tantrums. Cockatoos are more like four or five year olds, smart, curious, and generally better behaved.

January 18-03
Bert the cockatoo is settling in well. He started eating more normally but is still "making up for lost time." Bert is the most handle-able bird I've ever met. Though there are times when he's obviously missing his former owner and needs to be cuddled, he has started playing with toys, destroying his chewables, and grooming his feathers better. I've even heard some "happy talk" -- which is great.

February 14-03
Bert's hormones have settled down again, thank goodness. And he's gained 25 grams since he came -- he should gain another 50 to 100 grams over time. He's cut back his eating to more normal rates, and he's exercising -- climbing, and beating his wings. He's obviously feeling more secure, and seems happier most of the time. He said "hello" the other day, his first word since he said "all right" a few days after he got here, so he may turn out to be a talker after all. He's also started regrowing more feathers and making "powder" again, which means he's healthier -- but not so good for my friend who's allergic to cockatoo powder, but adores the birds.

February 17-03
Bert loves to have a paper grocery bag to play in -- he chews holes in it, drags his toys in and out of it, hides and plays peekaboo in it. I swear he's part cat. I had to buy some lumber for Bert to chew up -- he's gone through most of the wood I had around. I got some 1x2s and 2x2s and cut them into 6 to 8 inch lengths, he turns them into toothpicks in short order.

March 03
Bert is great about exercising his wings. I encourage him to stretch out his wings (by demonstration) and then to beat them rapidly. I tell him he's a good boy -- and now Alex will tell him too! and sometimes Casey joins in with the wing flapping, she hangs upside down from the top of her cage and flaps like crazy. Even Alex has started wing flapping again -- sometimes he hangs on to the side of his cage when he's out, sometimes he hangs onto the back of my shirt.

Bert acts as though he has a "school boy" crush on Jasmine. He likes to be held near her cage so he can watch her, but if she notices him, he turns his head away shyly and scrunches down, then peeks back at her to see if she's still looking.

March 14-03
My sister stopped by to see the birds. Bert raised his crest (for most of her visit) but didn't hiss at her, and he moved toward her and made some quiet inquiring noises when she talked to him -- progress! He might remember seeing her before, but at any rate he's getting much better about visitors. Jasmine even came over as close as she could, but didn't want to come out. :-) Alex was talking, and Casey of course "talked" at full volume!

(Another visitor came a few days later, and Bert went into his bag and stayed there as long as she was here. He peeked out fairly often, and clicked quite a bit, but wouldn't come out. Maybe she reminded him of someone.)

Parrot Island having some "bring your bird to class" classes, but all four of mine will need to be vaccinated before any of them could come. I think I'll do it, though -- Bert and Jasmine are such sweethearts and so gentle, I'd love to get them used to "visiting" so they could go to nursing homes or schools or such like. Alex is a ham and loves an audience, but he's more likely to bite, so he could come and perform, but I'm not sure I'd trust him to be petted by strangers -- although he's good with the people at the vet's. That's a long ways off.... I asked MVHS about bringing the birds to visit (one at a time), so they'd see more people and different places, and not associate the car solely with the vet -- but since MVHS takes birds (small ones), my guys should be vaccinated before going there, too.

Alex went to the vet to get his bill trimmed, his lower bill was growing faster on one side than the other. It took both vets, and Alex was pretty unhappy, but once he had a chance to recover, he still let Dr Larry pet him. We go back again next month for a re-check and a bit more shaping -- I hope this won't be something we have to do EVERY month. (Yep, every month it is.)

March 23, 03
A friend, who likes cockatoos but is VERY allergic to them, came to see Bert and Alex yesterday. Bert didn't panic, although he wouldn't let her touch him, but after she'd been here a while, he started to get uneasy. Finally he climbed down the outside of his cage to the far corner to "hide" -- then wouldn't leave that spot til she'd been gone at least ten minutes. His visitors prior to this usually only stay 5 to 15 minutes, she was here almost an hour. I guess I should have known better, but he seemed to be doing okay as long as she didn't get too close. He watched her talking to and scritching Alex, and was talking nicely to her (in cockatoo) and even displaying a little, but I think we went past his tolerance time-limit. He was fine after he'd had some time to recoup.
Alex, who does talk people-talk, was going through his entire repertoire trying to keep my friend paying attention to him instead of Bert -- I heard Alex saying stuff I'd never heard him say before! (One of the things with second-hand birds is that you don't know what-all they learned before coming to you. Keeps things interesting!)

March 30/31-03
Bert impressed me yesterday. I've started putting his seedballs in his small metal dish -- his "treat" dish, which he also thinks is a good toy (he likes anything that makes noise). When I came down to give them breakfast, the metal dish was out of sight (as usual). I opened Bert's cage and set him on top, and told him I needed to find his dish for his seedballs -- and Bert climbed back into his cage, jumped down to the bottom, ducked into his bag, and popped back out with the dish -- and then climbed up to the door opening to give it to me! Pretty cool. This morning, Bert said "yoo-hoo" when I came down -- got me chuckling.

April 7-03
Found out this eve that Bert can say "Alex" -- he said it in that drawn-out "poor pitiful me" way Alex does when he has had my attention but wants more and knows he won't get much, it always makes me laugh and we go back and forth several times, "aaaaaa-lex" "aaaAAAA-lex" with varying pitch and duration (sounding as miserable as possible until one of us cracks up, and it isn't always me!)

April 15, 2003 -- 10:30 pm
Well, about 20 minutes ago, Bert honked twice. I went to the stairs, talked to him and reassured him, briefly. I thought maybe he'd had a bad dream, or? About 5 minutes later, Bert started honking and wouldn't quit, and just talking didn't help, so I went downstairs -- which I don't usually do, since that would reward the honking and re-enforce the behavior -- but he sounded pretty upset. Alex hissed at me (par for the course, he does not like people showing up during his sleeping time). I could see Bert was in threat display, so I turned on the light, and he settled down enough to talk quietly to me. Bert kept looking at the west window and the floor there, so I thought maybe he'd seen a mouse. Then I realized the wind was picking up and the bushes were tapping the house. And then my ears popped and I knew the pressure was dropping. Ah yes, Bert the avian barometer! So we talked a bit more, about storms and thunder and lightning, and that he was safe in the house, and that he could hide in his bag...... and he settled down enough have his head and neck scratched a bit. And of course, I can't talk to one bird without talking at least a little to the others, mainly Alex who was talking a good bit himself. Jazz and Casey plainly just wanted to go back to sleep. So I told them each good night, and came back upstairs -- and all has stayed quiet downstairs, even though the storms have returned.

April -- 2003
Went to a class done by Mary and Dave of Best Pet. Dave said that it takes three years for total feather replacement in parrots, so I shouldn't worry yet about Jasmine (it's only been about 18 months since her too-short wing trim). I'd asked because I've noticed her wing coverts are looking pretty worn, even though she is finally growing back some flight feathers. Dave used that as the start of a talk about paying attention to your bird, learning what's normal for your bird, etc. Dave said that probably Jasmine's too short wing trim was contributing to the excess wear of the coverts. They had a young female umbrella who would toss a ball to Mary -- Bert has her beat! Mary's 'too only threw the ball about 3 times -- Bert will empty his toy box (10 to 12 items), and his aim is MUCH better, when asked to throw to me, he does about 3 out of 4 times.

May 1, 03
Bert is doing great. He's gotten back enough strength and enough wing feathers to fly at least short distances, and he was trying it out a couple days ago -- going from his cage top to everybody else's, keeping me busy removing him and putting him back on his own cage again and again. I couldn't just put him in his cage since I was part-way through cleaning it.
I finally put him in the bathroom, which he is less fond of than he was initially. (He likes the three panel mirror, the sides can fold in and make Bert his own mirror "fun house")

Later that day, I was going to bring him out of his cage -- but first I told him he could not be going to everyone's cage, and he would have to stay with me or stay on his own cage. And surprisingly, HE DID.

The next day, I told him no flying -- so he climbed/jumped down to the floor to get to the other cages. Clever boy! Anyway, he climbed up the side of Casey's cage, and she came running to bite his toes - so I told her not to bite him, and she didn't. Bert was still excited having her close by, so I asked her to go to the other side of her cage - and SHE DID. I've never been too sure how much English Casey understands, but apparently it's quite a bit.

I've gone to a couple of (information) classes lately at Parrot Island, and they were saying to tell your bird what you're going to do, and what you're going to want the bird to do, before you ask the bird to do it. (Kind of like the advice for speakers: tell'em what you're going to tell'em, tell them, then tell'em what you told'em.) Since I've always talked to my pets, I thought that was kind of self-evident -- but since the class I've been more conscious of telling the birds what I'm going to be doing, and what if anything I'd like them to do.

Bert has started trying more things -- like hanging upside down from my arm and swinging back and forth. Alex has been watching Bert do this, so now he's trying it, too, but Alex hangs upside down and beats his wings. The first time Alex tried this, he couldn't swing himself back up so he grabbed the back of my hand and chomped a knuckle for leverage. Yeesh! (No serious damage)

May ?, 03
My friend came down for a visit, and of course visited the birds. I left Bert in his cage this time, so she could play with Alex. Alex decided to court her, and spent his time stroking/grooming her hands. At first, he would still let me touch him too, but after a while.....he chomped my hand when I reached for him, and when I jerked back, I pulled him toward my face, and he nipped my nose too. More surprise then damage. I told my friend to take him back to his cage, he hopped off onto the top, and I shooed him in with the towel. I now understand first-hand why parrot owners say getting bit was their fault, not the bird's. I clearly saw that Alex was courting her, but thought that since he let me pet him initially, I could continue. Silly me.

May 8, 03
Alex goes to the vet again tomorrow to have his lower bill reshaped again. I've stopped giving him his favorite crackers, just in case they're contributing to the problem.

Went to a "bird basics" class taught by Patti from Avian Suites, and she talked about finding an avian vet, suggesting checking the Association of Avian Veterinarians roster. I said the vets I've been taking my birds to aren't on their list, but the birds like them. She said she's known my vets for years, she'd recommend them, and they used to be AAV members -- she said she'll have to ask them why they stopped. (2004 -- Dr Larry Tholl is again an AAV member!) She said in response to a question from another student that umbrella cockatoos are usually about 600 to 650 grams. I said Bert was that now, but really should be a lot more, at least 700 or 750, as he was still quite thin, and you can easily feel his keel. Patti said she used to care for an umbrella who was 850 grams, a very big boy (since moved to California).

May 9, '03
Bert took a peanut today, did not drop it but took it over by his water dish, opened it and ate it! (Bert has continued to eat peanuts.) Before this, he would sometimes open them but just dropped the nuts and did not eat them.

Alex did fine at the vet's. Dr Michelle did his bill this time, and got it shorter than the last time. Alex must be getting used to this, he didn't squawk at all during the procedure, and talked and flirted with everyone before and after. When the tech initially took us to an exam room and wanted him to step up, he stroked her fingers and knocked on them, then regurgitated for/on her. And he didn't want to step up for me (instead of her) -- I told her he was a little hormonal, she said aren't they all (this time of year). Dr Michelle came in and he flirted with her too. She managed to weigh him, 330 grams just like before, just where he should be. Alex got to see Dr Larry on the way out, but didn't get to groom his beard this time.

May 10, 03
Alex was running around on Jasmine's cage top, pulling on all her hanging toys, and Jazz was getting perturbed with him -- so I gave him my arm and took him off her cage, and Jasmine laughed, "Ha.(pause) Ha. (pause) Ha. (pause) Ha. (pause) Ha. " like Alex sometimes does. Maybe she will start to talk, after all.

May 13, 03
Alex wanted to go to bed, and I was still closing the window shades and talking to the other birds.... Alex started saying "Bert, Bert, Bert" in a very grumpy tone, like the delay was all Bert's fault. Nevermind that I'd been talking to Casey and Jasmine -- and himself! -- as well.

Bert decided that he wanted to eat only peanuts, once he finally started eating them. So I told him no more peanuts unless he ate his regular food. He held out only for one mealtime.

May 2003
Terri and Shari of Parrot Island gave an introductory parrot class at the The Raptor Center. Terri had Mateo the hyacinth hanging upside down from his hand -- both feet, one foot, beak only. Bert hangs upside down, one foot, both feet -- but not on cue. He's also pretty comfortable being supported on his back -- so maybe he will learn to lay on his back when asked, or hang upside down on cue.

Casey decided -- a few months after Jasmine came -- to start coming out of her cage. My niece said Casey used to come out while living with her; my sister said she regularly left Casey's door open when feeding her, etc, and Casey showed no inclination to come out. (Of course, my sister had two cats and two active dogs.)

Since Bert came, Casey will go in and out of her cage even when she has to brush by me, or when my hand is still inside her cage.

Mid-May 2003,
Casey has started taking sunflower seed from my fingers while out on top of her cage. I'd been giving her sunflower seed from my fingers while she was still inside the cage (which took a while before she would take them). She is still hand-shy but braver.

05-23-03
Casey has started coming to her cage door and asking (demanding!) to come out, then climbing up on the door, then hollering if I don't notice quickly enough.

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May 23, 2003
Alex yelled while Jasmine was on my shoulder and startled her. Jazz flew about 12 feet, a straight line, still strongly downward, but a great improvement over the "feathered rock" she was when she came.

May 27, 2003
Alex is increasingly hormonal and increasingly nippy. He got me twice today -- this morning, he tried to remove the scab where I had an odd freckle "iced off", I told him no, so he waited a few seconds and zoomed in and grabbed it, leaving me with a bruise as well. At bedtime, he was apparently perturbed that I'd had Bert out first, and whacked me on the mouth, leaving a couple small cuts.

He and Bert have been having yelling sessions whenever one of them is out, leading to enthusiastic displaying -- and with Alex, nipping. Bert still amazes me with how careful he is, even when in full hormonal display, he is very careful with his bill.

Even Jasmine has started displaying a bit -- on her, it looks cute.

June 5, 2003
Bert said "hello" today!

Alex doesn't mind if I let Casey out first in the morning, but he gets grumpy if I let Bert out before him. My sister says it's because Casey's female -- I think it's because Casey intimidates Alex. Even Bert is somewhat taken aback by her.

Casey has become brave enough to "bite" my finger when she's out. This may not sound like "a good thing" at first, but she doesn't REALLY bite, and for her to approach my hand while on her cage top is really significant - this is the bird who is very afraid of hands.

June 8, 03
Casey came over close enough tonight when she was on top of her cage to check out my hair -- she reached over, touched it, bit it, mouthed it a little, stroked it, and then left. Curiosity satisfied, apparently.

Alex' hormones are starting to diminish, hurray! Not Bert's, yet -- he started a couple weeks after Alex, so will probably end later too. He got himself cranked up and took off from my shoulder to the floor beside Jasmine's cage, and she was down on the bottom of her cage. Bert's big feet got tangled in the bars so he couldn't chase her up the side of the cage, and by the time he got his toes sorted out, his hormonal rush was subsiding and I was able to coax him on to my arm.

Every day I am grateful to Bert's first "mom" who did such a good job with him emotionally; he is so careful and so gentle with people, and not aggressive. (I've gotten a couple of accidental nips -- when he lost his balance and grabbed my sleeve, when we both reached for a toy-that-wasn't and I got there first...) Alex, on the other hand, may never be entirely trustworthy. Sometimes I wonder if large and small cockatoos are like large and small dogs -- the little ones tend to be nippy, the big ones are more easy-going. On the other hand, Bert doesn't seem to have been taught basics like "step up" and "down" commands (unless his owner didn't use English) -- we're working on it.

June 19, 03
I found a marracca (sp?) at a garage sale and bought it for Bert. First I set it nearby where he could see it, so he wouldn't be afraid of it -- I needn't have worried. Then I set it on top of his cage, and he could hardly wait to get after it. He was pushing it and grabbing the handle through the bars. Then I let him out, and he was just thrilled with it -- he picked it up, waved it like a baton twirler, pushed it around in circles, banged it against his cage, threw it and retrieved it repeatedly, and generally had a great time.

Bert likes toys that make noise. I've made him a couple out of old birdfood cannisters -- since one end is metal, they make a pretty loud noise when dropped, and even louder with one of Bert's wood pieces inside. I found a baby's rattle that he will play with, but it is not as loud and clearly not as much fun as the marracca. Bert is much stronger than he used to be; his favorite position for picking up and throwing the cannisters is hanging upside down from my arm!

Later Bert flew from the bathroom doorway to the far end of Alex' cage, about 9 feet. Bert's hormones are starting to ebb, he's getting more interested in Alex as competition than in Jasmine as a potential mate.

July 10, 03
Took Alex in for his monthly beak trim, and there was a chihuahua/jackrussel-mix roaming free in the lobby. Since they were both curious about each other, I held Alex' cage about a foot off the ground and let them see each other. Alex checked out this small, white with brown patches, four-legged critter, and announced "Cat." I told him it was a dog, and he gave me a look that clearly said he thought I was nuts. (Alex was raised with a Rottweiller, and then lived with my sister's collies and cats.) When I set Alex' cage back up on the counter, the little dog barked (many times) and Alex grumbled at me and barked once at the dog.

July 14, 03
Bert really does not like storms. He will "honk" when a weather front starts moving in. Today when a fast moving line of storms come through, Bert was very agitated. I let him out of his cage, but he was still unhappy -- so I set his carrying case on top of his cage, and soon Bert went inside it. I took him upstairs with me, but that didn't help much.

August 2003
I noticed that Bert was increasingly sensitive to changes in barometric pressure, and that he was shaking his head and scratching his ears -- so we went to the vet. Bert was a little nervous about being in the car, and was pretty wound up when we got there. In the exam room, it took a while to get him to come out of the traveling cage -- then he wanted to perch on the picture frames! The vet decided to treat Bert for ear parasites. Bert had settled down and had been doing well, until the time came for his medicine.... unfortunately, we had to come back two weeks later, and Bert clearly remembered the nasty tasting stuff. It worked, though.

September 2003
Come mid-September, Bert started fussing about his ears again, so I called for another appointment. Before the appointment day, Bert ran a temp for an evening and a morning. The vet's office called to say they needed to change his appointment, make it a day sooner -- which was good -- but within a couple hours I was calling back to say "We need to come in today." Then, by the time we got there, Bert's temp was down. The vet had a more pressing emergency come in, so he just checked Bert briefly, and we came back the next day for x-rays and blood work. (Bert's doing fine now. How did I know Bert had a fever? By touch -- and he was cranky. Birds are normally quite warm, but Bert was too warm. I once took my cat to a different vet, and told him the cat had a temp of 105. The vet scoffed that you can't tell a cat's temperature by touch, so he took the cat's temperature in the "traditional" manner -- it was 105.)

October 2003
We had a very windy day, and the trees were dropping their leaves by the bucket, so I got to hear Bert's alarm call -- wow! It is far louder than his other calls, and quite distinctive. Now I won't mistake any of his other sounds for alarm calls.

I talked to a girl at a local thrift store where I often find children's toys that are okay as bird toys. She told me she and her boyfriend had bought a cockatoo at a pet store while on a trip, and were nearly thrown out of their motel room that night because the bird screamed -- and so they gave the bird away the next day.....(Please -- don't adopt any pet on impulse!)

November 2003
Over the last few months, all my birds have had exams and had their basic blood work and labs done. (Bert had more, when we were trying to figure out why his ears were bothering him.) Everybody but Casey had seen the vet before. Everybody is doing well; the vet said Alex' weight and musculature are perfect. Casey is very healthy, was wild-caught, and therefore is older than I thought she was. Jasmine is starting her adolesence and has decided she doesn't like Dr Larry anymore (she wasn't thrilled with Dr Michelle either, when we tried that). Bert is doing very much better, he's gotten back most of his muscles, he's growing lots of new feathers and making powder like mad, and he is still very sweet.

I bought a really big cage for Bert, a macaw sized cage -- although I haven't moved him into it yet. The cage become available due to the death of a young man named Kenny. He was stung in the mouth or throat by a bee or hornet -- it was in his pop can at a family picnic. He had a severe reaction and died almost before anyone knew he was in trouble. Kenny had a beautiful blue and gold macaw; his vet agreed to adopt the bird as his office mascot, but didn't need the huge cage since the bird would be out all day and only caged at night for sleeping. Kenny's sister sold me the cage, and her very helpful husband dismantled and loaded it into my car. (Thanks!) Annie said she found it comforting that Kenny's macaw's cage is going to be used by Bert, who was adopted by me following the death of his owner.

December 2003
One day while I had Bert in the "playroom," we heard Jasmine making her alarm call (a short, single pitch whistle, repeated with increasing volume). Bert beat me to her cage and patroled the top of it, displaying to scare off whatever had frightened Jasmine. Pretty soon, Jazz calmed down, and Bert calmed down, and I was able to take him back to the other room. (I am very glad I was with Bert when Jasmine started her alarm calls -- so he knew I was not the cause of her alarm!)

Along with wing flipping at no one in particular, strutting and posing, shredding lots of paper, and occasionally growling at the world in general, gentle little Jasmine further demonstrated her adolescent state by biting my finger. Twice. While her beak is not as sharp as Casey's or Alex' and her bite was not as forceful as theirs, ouch.

I talked to a woman at Walgreen's the other day. She told me about her pet bird, a ring-neck dove that is at least 29 years old! (It was rescued from a dumpster, lived with her relative for 23 years, and she's had it for 6 years.) She said the dove always liked her big dog, and when the dog died a year ago, the dove faced the wall for six months. Birds grieve.

January 2004
Alex had his monthly bill trim; Dr Michelle said he was very good during that, but trying to weigh him took twice as long. Then I brought Bert to have his nails blunted. He was fine in the car, but when we came in, two dogs were barking and Bert panicked. He was beating himself against the travel cage, so I took him out and snuggled him, and one of the techs helped put his towel over him -- which calmed him some. Bert was still clutching my shirt when Dr Larry was ready to do his nails, and when Larry first came near, Bert plainly remembered the nasty tasting medicine Larry had given him last fall. We both assured Bert there would be no medicine this time, and Larry soothed and held him, and we got Bert's nails out of my shirt. After, Larry said Bert did fine and really didn't need to be restrained much as long as he kept the towel over Bert's head so he couldn't see.

February 2004
Alex' mild winter hormonal period is being expressed differently this year. When it started, he was nippy as he usually is with this -- but pretty soon he changed to being affectionate (VERY affectionate) and clingy, wanting to perch on my hand the whole time he's out, and stroke and groom my hands. His new nickname is Loverboy.

Last summer, I went to an open house for the Parrot Adoption and Education Program and met their birds-in-need-of-new-homes. And I admit, I was very tempted by Penny, their 45+ year old scarlet macaw. Penny has arthritis in her feet due to old injuries, and cannot perch -- she needs platforms instead. After I got the larger cage for Bert, and would have his old one available, I found myself thinking about how to create a comfortable living space for Penny. Despite her age and arthritis, Penny is a very nice bird and should be very adoptable. (I'm surprised she's still available. She's only middle-aged for a macaw.) So I decided if I got another bird, it should be a hard-to-place bird -- like a large male cockatoo (the avian rescue equivalent of large black dogs).

So, since I was open to getting one, one appeared -- and now I have Loki, a 10 year old male umbrella cockatoo. He is not as large as Bert (even his feet are only about 2/3 the size of Bert's). He is a feather-chewer/plucker, and sometimes bites.

Feb 24, 04 -- Loki is finally making powder! He's regrown quite a few down feathers. The day I met him and he was snuggling and somersaulting in my lap, he left some powder on my clothes, but nowhere near what I'd have gotten from Bert or even Alex.

Feb 28, 04 -- Loki has started asking for neck scratches (instead of just tolerating them), and then offering to feed me. I think he's getting used to me.

March 2004
Bert is finally moved into his BIG cage, and Loki is in Bert's old cage. So far the only one acting jealous of Loki is Alex, he screeches when I talk to Loki. Bert has been keeping a close watch on Loki, and sometimes trying to impress him by pulling up and tearing the sheets of newspaper on the bottom of his cage.

Lately I've heard Alex saying "bad bird" and "I'm a bad bird."
I have never said this to him. My sister says she may have called him a bad bird when he bit her, but she didn't teach him pronouns! Then he used "bad" by itself, after repeatedly telling a bird outside the window to "come'ere" -- when it didn't, he said "Bad! Come'ere."

"conversation" -- sometimes Alex will come over and "talk" quietly and intently to me, with the cadence and inflection of human speech and some speech sounds, but no clear words. Wish I knew what he's trying to tell me.

April 2004
My vet has given me a couple nice compliments this winter. First, he told me that he was certain Loki would do better with me than he had in his previous environment. (Now, a cynic might say, "Loki could hardly do worse" -- but in fact he could be much worse.) Another time we were talking about Bert, whose nails have been growing VERY well, and he told me that most of the birds he sees are in such poor condition that nails aren't an issue, but my birds are thriving. Since moving into his big new cage, Bert has been using his nail-trimmer perch more often, so we'll see. He's also pretty good about letting me touch his feet, although so far he thinks files are toys. (Bert does not seem to have liver or endocrine issues.)

Summer 2004
Bert spent about three months courting Loki, very obviously hoping Loki was female. Once he finally accepted that Loki is male, Bert was so depressed for nearly a month. Loki has decided that it's fun to groom Bert's forehead feathers -- although sometimes he'll pull one or chew one off.

For current notes on Chester and the rest of the flock, read this page of email correspondence between me and Chester's previous caretaker.