Hide 'N' Seek

Birds Eating the Hand

I was happily lounging on the sofa, when the birds flew in for a visit and settled into the palm of my hand quite comfortably. When Joey started nibbling on my fingers, I couldn't help but wonder - certainly I have heard of birds "eating out the palm of one's hand" but what about birds eating the actual hand?? Yes, these certainly are my pampered little princes.

Wii Want to Play

Whenever Darren is beating me at Big Brain Academy, I call in my special reinforcement team to help me out... Afterall, Wii is for the whole flock -and the Wiimote makes a comfortable perch.

"Tucked" Birds

There is something about "tucked" and napping bird that is simply irresistable... exponentially so when doubled!

Celina with Snuggling Birds

Michelle with the Birds

Affordable Housing

Darren and I would love to purchase our very own home and I even found a quaint little cabin at an affordable price (a very difficult thing to do in Vancouver). Now all we need is some serious advice on downsizing. In the meantime, at least Ernie and Joey are able to enjoy our pint-sized piece of real estate!

My Three Guys

Human Landing Strip

Part of being owned by a bird is being ready to be a "human landing strip". There definately seems to be a correlation between your bird's familiarity with you and how many different parts of your body he will appropriate for his own use! My birds are rarely satisfied with an arm, hand or shoulder and will sometimes get downright creative. In my house, if you bend over, your tush is fair game. Now, having your bird take over your face is not for the faint at heart, or for that matter, anyone with a larger bird either... An Amazon or a Grey would be downright scary.

Yesterday my husband was trying to take a picture of Joey sitting on my forehead when Ernie decided he did not want to be left out!

Monet's Garden

Painted garden, pastel trees
Blue-green pond, pink lilies
Ernie ponders Monet's sunbeams
Images grow into dreams
Where might he fly tonight?
Will Celina see the site?

A Drawer Full of Treasures

It is no secret why parrots are the mascots of pirates - they absolutely adore searching for treasures! In our household, a drawer left open, is a drawer begging to have its contents explored by my pint-sized parrots.

In this particular instance, I left open my cosmetics drawer with all its delightful brushes and little jars filled with colourful contents. Ernie skillfully used his nimble tongue (pictured right) in his quest to the dark depths of the back of the drawer. Of course, even the most enthusiastic drawer raider must stop and shake out his feathers from time to time as seen with Joey (pictured left).

Millet Management

As the self-nominated manager of millet storage, it is Joey's job to oversee the putting away of new millet when it arrives. I am under strict instructions to clip the millet into appropriate sized pieces (not too small!), and tuck them away nicely into the container. Every tasty morsal must be carefully collected and not allowed to go to waste. Most importantly, the official taster must sample every branch to make sure it is of the highest quality. As manager, Joey feels it is his duty to perform this very important task himself.

"Scrap" Birds

While I was working on Charlie's scrapbook (my nephew), Ernie and Joey were having a delightful time playing with all the little paper scraps I had discarded into the crafting waste basket.

Abi with the Birds

Joey and Ernie particularly like Abi and her snazzy white stripes!

Heidi with the Birds

In my continued effort to demonstrate how wonderful and friendly my little birds are... here is a picture of Ernie and Joey visiting with Heidi.

Constant Companions

These days, I find that I spend much of my time in the companionship of my two little birds. Much of what I do seems to be interesting to them, and they will often fly in to investigate. On this particular evening, I was getting ready to accompany Darren to his wrap party. The birds are usually interested in the beautification process (they are birds after all!) - with all the opening and closing of drawers, the makeup brushes, and the little containers with colourful contents. They will sit on the laundry rack and watch, sometimes coming closer and landing on the dresser to investigate the jars and maybe finding a hairtie to chew (my birds LOVE to snap hairties). Often they watch the whole process from my shoulder. Once Joey even landed on my makeup brush as I was applying some eyeshadow. The only thing that seems to scare them away is the hairdryer. On this particular occassion, however, the curlers proved to be irresistable! They sat on my shoulders as they went in, only briefly flying away when hair or curlers would come too close, but coming right back as soon as possible. Once the curlers were in place, and no longer moving around, the birds happily begain to "beak" them. Thankfully their beaks are small and my curlers are made of durable plastic.

While Darren is away....

While Darren is away at work, Joey takes the opportunity to try out "the master's chair". Final analysis, fairly comfortable, but ridiculously over sized!

On Darren's Shoulder

Ernie faithfully keeps his head tucked down while it is getting preened by Joey. When the job is done, both birds settle in for a nap. When resting on humans, Ernie will often flatten himself down, lying on his belly. I am not entirely sure why he does this (maybe because it is warmer?), but it sure is cute!

Incoming!

In our home, one must always be ready for an "incoming" bird. Here Joey is coming to join Ernie.

Footbirds

They came, they conquered, and it tickled! You try soft little feathers and scritchy little toes on the bottom of your foot sometime!

Bathing Birds (Again)

Warm water, and a little bit of sunshine makes for some very happy little birds.

Is a carnation as sweet as a rose?

Answer: Yes. And, all the better for landing on without those pesky thorns.

Where's Ernie?

Unfortunately for Ernie, his plumage is not exactly of the "camouflage" variety!

Apples, Peaches, Brocco-pie!

So far, I have been able to get my birds to eat one vegetable - broccoli. If only carrots and beets were shaped like little trees, perfect for shredding and flinging.

The Early Bird

My hair is often a little wild when I first wake up... that is why my hairstylists, Joey and Ernie, come to the bedroom every morning to put every hair back in its place. They are very good at what they do, and all they require in exchange is millet, broccoli, and grapes.

Appropriately, for this morning shot, I am wearing my "Early Bird" t-shirt from threadless.com.

Birdie See, Birdie Do

While I was selecting some stori

es to read to Julian (since I haven't had a chance to pick up some new books from the Library), the birds came to investigate what I was up to. They quickly figured out they could sit inside this new little "hidey-hole" in my littlest book case behind the sofa. I don't know why, but the birds often become fascinated with new spaces. Two days in a row, one of the first things the birds have done when they have been let out of their cage in the morning is fly over to the book case and check it out.

Puzzle Piece Tag

Joey has introduced a new game into the family.

First, Joey sneaks down and grabs a puzzle piece. This phase can take awhile, because we usually catch him and shoo him away before he can get a piece into his beak.

Second, Joey quickly and adroitly works to seperate the upper "picture" layer of the puzzle piece from the lower "cardboard" layer.

Third, as soon as we notice, we chase Joey around the living room trying to get the puzzle piece back before he can do too much damage. This phase continues until one of us can trick Joey into dropping the puzzle piece - usually on the bottom of his cage once he is cornered inside.

I must say, that although I do not relish the idea of having my puzzle shredded into little bits... it is actually kinda fun chasing Joey around the room, and I usually find myself laughing as I chase my little Bandit Bird.

Hey! Stop Stealing my Balsa!

I was experimenting with the camera when this little squabble over the balsa wood broke out between Ernie and Joey. Lesson learned, never have the camera on B&W when shooting the birds... they look so much better in full colour!

Ernie was being greedy again, grabbing the stick and pulling it away from Joey. Luckily, Joey knows how to asset himself... I love the foot in the air - it's like "HEY! Give that BACK, or I'm gonna take it!"

Balsa Wood Bandits

Darren gave the birds a piece of balsa wood for their chewing enjoyment. Ernie and Joey spent the next 15 minutes happily shredding it all over Darren and the floor. We are considering going into the wood chip business.

Puzzling Birds

Last Night the Evers girls ended up coming to visit. While Darren helped Gracie with her math, Abi decided she wanted to do a puzzle. The birds were soon enraptured with puzzling... turning over the pieces in their beaks, skattering them around, and trying to pull the pieces apart. I soon found myself chasing Joey around the living room trying to get a piece back before he destroyed it. If there is a piece missing when the puzzle is done, I will know who to suspect.

Ernie is trying to decide which piece to munch.

Tactile Toes

Please note how the lovebird (Ernie) wraps his toes around the curtain as he makes his descent head first. Lovebirds have amazing feet. The two toes forward, two toes back design is part of what designates lovebirds as "parrots" and makes them such agile climbers.

Ernie is Stripping Again

Strips on the floor, strips on my desk... who needs to pay for an electric paper shredder when you have an Ernie?

Two Heads Are Better Than One

While Ernie and Joey were chewing a catalogue on my desk, their heads merged together into one fantastic paper shredding machine.

3rd Place Finish!

I am excited to annouce that Joey and I placed third in the ALBS contest! Joey is so cute, it is no surprize!

http://www.africanlovebirdsociety.com/pets/results_2006.html

Cute Photosites

www.cuteoverload.com can always be relied upon to get the oohs and ahs going. Yesterday they took it to a new level with a photo of a little lovebird sleeping in the palm of someone's hand (shot by Roy Berger). The lovebird photo was actually part of a gallery on this website:
http://www.pbase.com/parrothouse/parrots

Birds and Babies

Last year was a year all about birds. This year I would like to expand this blog a bit to talk about some very important babies! Charlie's first birthday is fast approaching in April and then there is baby Spencer (due in May), baby Reddekopp (due in July), and baby Chow (due in July). I am very much looking forward to the births of all these babies, and will be needing to squeeze in some baby holding time in between working away at my Master's.

Winter Morning Haiku

As groggy eyes open

Happiness is found with birds-

New Light greets Plumage.

Ernie in Flight

Darren managed to capture a shot of Ernie in flight. You may notice his face looks a little funny- this is because he still wet from his bath with Joe. Although it is a little bit blurry, I love how the picture captures the "curving" of the wings mid-flap. I realized that flight must be as much about the open/close of the wing curve as it is of the up and down movement of the wings.

More Cute Bathtime Shots of Joey

What can I say? The bird loves water!

Bloedel Conservatory

Over Christmas holidays Wayne, Gloria, Anita, Randy, Charlie and I went to Bloedel Conservatory to visit the birds. Amazingly, I did not take a picture of Charlie (the baby). However, I did get a nice shot of Charlie the Salmon Crested Cockatoo, and a Blue and Gold Macaw.