I stumbled into
birds quite accidentally in 2002 while visiting a pet shop in
Christchurch due to a late morning reporting time for a show. As
we walked in the door, there were two little lovebirds sitting, looking
quite dejected, in a cage at the entrance. They were advertised
for sale at $100 for the lot - birds and cage - I bought them, more
because I felt sorry for them than anything else. We went to the
show, and crammed them in the car for the five hour trip home.
Since then my
bird familia has grown. I love reading about birds, and absorbing
as much as I can about them. My bird book library is getting quite
extensive! Each bird is very special to me, each bird has their
own wicked personality. I love them all!
My dear Ralphie
came home with me in 2005. Being looked after by a dog friend, he
had been neglected in a previous home and was not hand-tame. This
completely untrusting boy looked at me with his fierce eyes. Nonetheless,
I brought him home. I would religiously attempt to handle him each
day, and each day he was not interested. One night I came home, I
attempted to handle him and he bit me. I flung him back in his
cage, and told him "I will never let you out again" (and cried!).
I came home the next day, still sporting a bruised hand (and ego!) and
this little boy looked at me with a different set of eyes. I put
my hand in, and he jumped on. From then on, we have bonded and he
has developed a lovely (but very wicked!) personality. He is very
cold and guarded towards everyone else, but to me he is different and he
is my "favourite Ralphie". He can talk, his vocabulary extends to
"whatcha doin, good boy", or "do it" (courtesy of me), he can laugh, and
he can cry like a puppy.
10 year old Arnie Bird ("my little po-po") came to me in October of 2006 from John and Jenny
Jarvis of Zanduke Boxers. I had decided for quite some time that a
Cockatoo would be a great fit for me, and had written to John and Jenny
to talk about their Cockatoo.
Arnie had a
couple of accidents when he was younger, and can be quite nervy and slow
to trust. He is a feather picker. I love Arnie dearly,
although he has never really been "that into me". He loves
everyone but me!
Arnie is a
quiet and complex boy. I have never heard him scream like the
average Cockatoo. If Arnie could, he would sit outside in his
Eucalyptus tree all day every day, watching the world pass by. He
loves it! He loves visiting, and he loves visitors. He
definitely has his favourites, but most of all he loves my brother (a
lot!).
After a year of
Arnie rejecting me, I added Cinnamon to my bird familia. It had a
really great side affect - Arnie became a lot more social towards me.
Prior to Cinnamon's arrival, the only time that Arnie actually seemed
like he enjoyed doing things with me, was when I would take him into the
shower. Since Cinnamon arrived, Arnie has "loosened up" a little
bit and speaks to me every day and loves it when I pat him.
Of my birds, I
love photographing Arnie the most. He really is a beautiful
Cockatoo, and I find something quite secretly magical about him.
Fate brought my
dear Cinnamon (previously called Cindy-Lou) to me. After pining
that Arnie just didn't love me as much as I loved him, I had my heart
set on a baby Cockatoo to call my own. As luck would have it,
Cinnamon was advertised on Trade Me during a weekend when we were up in
Christchurch in November, 2007. We went out and visited her and
made a connection. I had really wanted a baby, but Cinnamon
(although technically still a baby at ten years of age) was something
special. Somewhat reluctant that I thought she could turn out to
hate me like Arnie, I decided to take a chance as there was something
about her. We skipped the third dog show and brought her straight
home! Cinnamon is strongly bonded to me, calling me when I leave
the room and heading straight for me as soon as I get home.
She is a
beautifully social bird and has a wonderful cheeky nature. She
will often vocalise for about half an hour, carrying on with her "japanese
gobbledygook", screaming or yelling CUDDLE CUDDLE!. This is usually finished
off with the whistle that she usually gives when asking for something,
or sometimes even a loud "hello"! If I sit on the sofa, she will
climb off her cage, come storming towards me, crawl up on to my knee and
give me a very posh "hello". She sits on my knee for as long as I
let her, she is a very smoochy little girl.
Lolli is mum's
girl, and she is the baby of the family. Already developing a quick
vocabulary, Lollipop can say "hello", "how are you?" and "yum yums".
She can laugh as well, and quite often when I laugh, she does too!
All Rainbow Lorikeets that I have met have been quite the character, and
Lollipop is no exception. I have been teaching her "you want the
bash?" to ask my brother, and she knows I am trying to teach her
something naughty, as when I ask her, she spits at me! One night
she asked ME if I wanted the bash, and then laughed! Lolli just loves her baths and when the
Cockatoos get something to eat, she lines up for some too - she is very
clever. Lolli likes to spend the day out in the aviary, calling
for her love Ralphie whom she absolutely adores.
Where it all
started! Clarence and Claudia live out in the aviary, they love to
scowl at Ralphie when he starts talking! When I go out there,
Claudia comes to the front of the aviary and chirps away to me, she is
very sweet. Clarence is more reserved, whereas Claudia is the
mother hen! They live in a partition of their own, complete with a
snuggle sleeve that they sleep in every night without fail, rising
around 8am or so!!! Sometimes when I go out there they are still
tucked up! I think if Clarence had his way, he would stay in there
all day, he loves it.
