Backyard (and frontyard) suburban wildlife

My wildlife sightings are nowhere near as interesting as Shannon's, but they still make me happy. Especially the squirrels. I love watching those guys! They seem to be enjoying life.

Though it's not very clear in the photograph, this guy is a bit lighter than the rest of the squirrels. Hopefully he'll stick around this summer since he's the only one I can tell apart!This is a different, fatter, one:
I looked out my patio yesterday and there were dozens of birds in the tree! I'm not quite sure what kind they were; I really need to buy a good bird identification book.
And, a surprise sighting of ducks. I was backing out of my driveway when I noticed a slight movement in the street:Luckily there was no traffic on my street, and I had my camera with me, so I could take a picture. My neighbors have this hose coming out of their house that emits hundreds of gallons of water into the street every day. It is just mind-boggling. It creates a huge ice pond in front of my driveway every winter. I do not understand how so much water can get pumped out of one house! I'm hoping these guys were just stopping over and not planning on nesting since it will be tricky for them to get their babies to water. Still, it was a nice start to my morning since I love ducks!

Grey starvation

Last night, I got home after Thomas, since I was up at the rescue. I always end up leaving much later than planned! The birds seem to know when I'm trying to leave and start doing super cute things that I want to reinforce -- which doesn't happen when I put them back in their cages!

As always, I was very happy to return to my own flock. Thomas was cooking dinner, and had several slices of cheese out to snack on while dinner cooked. And I know some of you made the instant connection. Unattended cheese? That must mean a Max photo. Yes, Max's cheese magnet was once again in effect:She was not happy about it, but Thomas got the cheese away from her right after taking the picture.

He'd also cooked up a vegetable and orzo dish for the parrots. As it was cooling, the greys decided to help themselves to some early:I suspect Max was just eating the corn kernels:
After Thomas took Max in the kitchen, Stella hopped up to take her place:I really think that so much of Stella's quick transformation from scared, mutilating grey to happy, confident grey is due to her watching and imitating Max. She is such a sponge when it comes to grey behavior!

I absolutely cannot believe that another week has passed. Where does the time go? We have so many things planned for this weekend -- farmers' market, brewing, running, finishing I, Claudius, watching Ne le dis a personne, hiking, yoga, etc. -- that I know these next few days will fly by as well. Hope everyone reading this has a great weekend as well!

Thursday at the shelter

The past few Thursdays I've been going up to the shelter where I volunteer. It sometimes makes me a bit sad that there are so many wonderful birds looking for homes, and it's always hard not to take some of them to my home, but it's good for them to get exposure to different people, plus there are a few who really like me and get excited when I show up.

Here is one of them:A severe macaw. On MY lap? Without attacking me? Not all severes have bad taste, like Rocky! (I do tell him about all of the severes who have liked me, but this has not changed his opinion of me!) It is a lot of fun to play with this guy. He is so playful and funny -- like Rocky. He is pulling out all of the stops to be adopted by me; sadly for him, we are full at our house. Full! Another severe macaw is being surrendered to the shelter next Wednesday.

I also had some toys to bring up. Unfortunately, I got a bit busy last week and didn't have time to do any assembly at home. Luckily, I had some extra time at work, so I brought the raw materials to my desk:And wound up with a bunch of toys for the shelter birds:
And what a pleasant experience I had bringing the components in! A man ran from behind me to open up two doors as what I was carrying was rather unwieldy. I kind of wanted to explain to him why I was carrying a bunch of wood pieces and other strange things into an office building, but didn't want to seem too weird! (It may be too late for that...)

In any case, if you're wondering how you can help out a local rescue if you don't have time to volunteer, are uncomfortable about just donating money, or live too far away for anything but infrequent visits, one way is by making toys. The birds always need more and that way you know your donation is making a direct, positive impact on the birds' lives! You may even be able to work something out with the rescue where they save old, used-up toy components, and you repurpose them by adding new parts, thus saving landfill space.

Now I need Thomas to cut and drill some more wood -- some of those cockatoos and large macaws chip up those toys as if their lives depended on it!

Caique drama

Yesterday, I had the caiques out as I was cooking dinner. They were making aggressive postures towards each other, which I was attempting to capture. Here you can see they are on separate stands, but neither is calm!
Close-ups. Here's Calypso, in a begging pose. What does he want? To attack Beeps!And here's Beeps. His feathers are slightly raised, including his wings from his body, he's standing with his feet apart, and his eyes are starting to flash red. In other words, watch out!A few seconds later, I was taking another picture of posturing, but got a picture of a fight instead:No one was injured, and of course I separated them in less than a second. I would not have stood around taking pictures of a fight -- this happened instantaneously -- they were about a foot away from each other when I started taking the picture.

By the way, that's Beeps on top. I suspect he was the aggressor, but with all of the body language flashing back and forth, it's entirely possible Calypso egged him on in silent caique-speak. No one is innocent in this melee!

Surprisingly, after this interaction, we still had a calm evening.

Random bits of parrotness

Why would she choose to perch on my clearly unstable shoe, when there are stable shoes, not to mention, parrot perches, in our house?************************
Yesterday, Andreas's face was peeling in such a way that he looked like a uromastyx Groucho Marx. Unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out at all. But the skin under his nostrils was peeling, as was the skin above his eyes -- result: giant lizard mustache and eyebrows. I peeled them off, he sulked in his hide for a few minutes, and then all was forgotten.

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Daphne, my darling 1/2 English, 1/2 American budgie, has joined some of the others in hormonal experiences. She usually comes out of it pretty quickly, at least! She was acting strangely, so I had Thomas take her out for a once-over and determine whether we needed to take her to the vet. Then I realized she acts this way every time she gets hormonal. No need for panic!

Last night, after her once-over, she climbed up to my shoulder and proceeded to preen my cheek. She hit a very ticklish spot as I could not stop laughing. I have to remember to do this with her more often. Since she is undemanding, especially compared to the other parrots, I sometimes have to make an effort to spend quality time with her.

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I decided this morning was a good time for some one-on-one time with Calypso (another undemanding parrot who can easily be overlooked). He was the only bird who showered with me, and the only one to share my second breakfast. Here he is, eating a strawberry.
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Earlier this morning, when I was eating my first breakfast, Thomas and I had the greys out. They seem to not need as much dark/quiet/sleep time as the rest of the parrots, so they usually come out earlier than everyone else.

Thomas had the hardest time leaving for work this morning! Every time he'd try to open the door, both greys would fly over, one landing on his head and another on his shoulder. (This didn't pose any safety risk for them since he was entering our attached garage and the garage door was closed). He'd give them kisses, toss them onto stands, and the process repeated itself.

I think it makes him happy to see their outward demonstration of affection for him!

Famous friends

How excited was I yesterday as, while reading the paper, I came across a glowing review for Wendy's latest book?I told Thomas, "I kind of know her!" He thought I was making this up, but no. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Wendy in person, but we've exchanged blog comments and e-mails. And I've knitted hats from a pattern in her first book.

My knitting is so rudimentary (scarves and hats only, even 3+ years later!) I wasn't planning on getting this book yet, but I think I will, if only to serve as inspiration for me to branch out a bit.

Hiking

With the wonderful weather of late, we've been able to get out a bit more in nature, which has been wonderful. Yesterday we packed up a picnic lunch and headed to a nice park on the lake.The park was pretty empty; we saw only 2 other couples out.
Though nowhere near on par with Elizabeth's pictures, I was pretty happy I got this cardinal so clearly:He was singing and chirping in the trees behind us for several minutes.

Earlier that morning, we saw our most exciting wildlife sighting of the year so far. We were running near a river when something caught Thomas's eye, so we stopped. It was a muskrat! While we watched, he swam around a bit, and then disappeared.

Spring hormones still going strong

Rocky continues to seek out dark, enclosed spaces to hang out. Sadly, he's not been doing so under his cage, which is one of the cutest things ever, in my opinion. Instead, he's been hanging out under, and on the bottom shelf of, the parrots' food cart. He also covers himself up with newspapers and towels and walks around the house.

He has a bit more clearance on the food cart (than under his cage), which allows him to bring towels in there, for even more nesting fun.He's also discovered my bag of extra balls, which bring him much pleasure. He loves these balls, and they are not always easy to find, so when I find some, I stock up. I bought over 100 last time, which should last us a while.

He usually treats these balls so gently; we call them his babies. He will sometimes sing to them, talk in his mumbled macaw way, gently carry them around the living room, move them around his cage, etc. I think he was a bit frustrated here that he couldn't get to the balls, since they were in a plastic bag, but then he went off to find loose balls, which are easy to find, and he was happy again.
Later on, he was constantly looking outside, even though Thomas was in the kitchen. This makes me a bit nervous, as I don't want him to take a chunk out of our new patio door! As soon as I'd remove him, he'd go back. Thomas was finally able to distract him, though I no longer remember how.
Switching birds, but still on the topic of hormones, Calypso has completely calmed down, but that's not the case with Beeps. He's been trying to attack Thomas on an almost daily basis. Thus far, Thomas has been able to avoid the attacks -- Beeps is a loud flyer. He is being extra solicitous of me, however. We are being careful so as not to reinforce this -- we don't want him to turn into a one-person bird; however, he is so adorable (with me) right now that it can be hard to not give in to him and give him all of the attention he wants!

Rocky blinders

I mentioned yesterday that Thomas often has Rocky blinders on when it comes to his severe macaw. I think that he's partly joking, but I'm not entirely sure!

For example, this is a typical conversation:

Me: Did you see that Rocky took a bite out of the fish tank (opened all of the cupboard drawers, unfolded the laundry, threw all of my chapsticks on the ground, etc.)?

Thomas: That must have been the greys.

Me: The greys don't go over there. Plus, I saw Rocky do it.

Thomas: I still think it was the greys.

(He blames the greys for everything).

Or, if I'm in the shower and don't take a stick in with me, when I'm done, Rocky's in the bathroom threatening me. I'm stuck in the tub. (I could use a towel, but this causes Rocky undue stress, so I try to get Thomas to remove him).

Me: Could you remove Rocky?

Thomas: Oh, he's OK. He just missed you and wanted to say hi. He won't attack. Trust me.

Me: Yeah. You really need to come and get him.

Thomas: I'm serious! Just come out on your own! He's not raising his wings to threaten you; he wants to hug you!

Me: If you don't come and get him, I will have to use the towel.

Thomas: I'll be right there.

Last night, Thomas was home before me. This doesn't happen very often, and if it does, Thomas is usually running (or sleeping if post-call), so the parrots are in their cages. We'd run together yesterday morning, so Thomas was home alone with the parrots for about an hour before I got there. Rocky must have been in heaven. As soon as I walked in the door, Rocky flew over to me and wanted to attack.

Me: Do you have a stick?

Thomas: Why?

Me: Rocky.

Thomas: Oh, he just wanted to say hi. He's so excited you're home!

Me: Or he's trying to get me for interrupting his dream life of you being the only human in the house.

Thomas: I really don't think so (as Rocky continues to threaten me.)

So there you have it. According to my husband, Rocky is perfect and all chaos is caused by the greys. What planet is he from?

Happy Rocky

Last night, Rocky set something in motion that allowed two of his favorite things to come together -- this blue blanket and the hallway.Thomas and I were on the couch, eating dinner. Actually, since Thomas apparently has an asbestos mouth and therefore eats his dinner when mine is still cooling off, I was the only one eating dinner.

Rocky climbed into Thomas's lap, and then started making begging noises and motions towards me, indicating he wanted some of my lentil dish. I had a feeling he was up to no good, but Thomas had his Rocky blinders on. (Examples: You just make up those stories about him! He wouldn't ever try to bite anyone! You ascribe ill intentions to him unfairly! Right.)

I offered Rocky the spoon, making sure to keep my hand far away from his beak. And for cause, as Rocky, at the last minute, changed his intended trajectory from the part of the spoon where the lentils were to the part where my hand was! He gave the spoon a big shake, and lentils went everywhere, including Rocky's favorite blanket.

I wish I would have had this on video! After he did this, Rocky started laughing, which made Thomas and me laugh, too. Not good, as laughing only reinforces this type of behavior!

These events led to Rocky's favorite blanket being placed in the hall, near the top of the basement stairs, so it can be washed. However, Rocky discovered said blanket before it made its way downstairs. Severe macaw heaven! (And he may have even gotten to eat some lentils.)
Leave me and my blanket in peace!