And so we begin...

My Ricki-bird (Blue Pacific Parrotlet) and I

I want to take you on a journey with me, a journey that began seven years ago when a tiny orange-red bird came to live with my partner and I. Over the course of my life I have had many pets: cats and dogs, fish, and very early on, a little parakeet named Blue Boy. I was only four years old in 1979 when Blue Boy came into our house, but apparently, he made a big impression. Knowing what I know now, I wish I could go back and change what his short little life was like because, now, we know SO much more about birds than we did then. Blue Boy lived in a tiny cage by himself suspended form the ceiling in front of a window in our den. He was only ever fed seeds and water with a cuttle bone attached to his cage. We paid him little attention once the newness wore off, but then again I was only a four year old boy, and birds were happy to live in cages receiving only passing glances as far as I knew.
Blue Boy only lived for two lonely years in his cage which is to be expected with what he was fed and how he was cared for. After that, we moved on from our bird to fish and then to dogs and cats. I grew up and thought little more about birds for many years.
Then when I was in college I stumbled upon the work of Irene Pepperberg and her research subject, Alex. They idea of inter-species communication and intelligence in the animal realm had always interested me and Alex blew my mind. What extraordinary things he was able to demonstrate with the help of Dr. Pepperberg. Exploring the journey of life alongside a companion from such a distant branch of life's tree that I could also communicate with seemed like a fascinating endeavor and it was, at that moment, that I first entertained the notion of once again owning a bird, an African grey specifically.
So I began to read. The Internet was still in its infancy then. So, I went off to book stores to see what I could find. I read greedily, and the funny thing was, once I was done reading, I was certain that I couldn't have a pet bird, because each publication that I read raised all kinds of red flags about owning a bird. For example:

• Birds are too demanding of attention
• They are difficult to care for
• They are not good pets
• They have grave mental problems when in captivity.

Pito (Red Factor Canary), after a bath

Well, my gosh! I admired these animals I didn't want to torture them and it sounded so difficult, I had doubts about anyone's ability to do right by these animals. Regardless of the publication, they all agreed: "Don't by on an impulse." So I waited. I waited and waited. Years would go by. I met my life partner, settled into my career, wrote music. We bought a house and got on with life and then It happened. Jorge, who is from Venezuela, was raised with birds. His family always kept Canaries and parakeets. Now that we had a house, he wanted to buy a canary to, "Fill the house with happiness."
Initially, I was hesitant. I hadn't had pets in a long time and was convinced that it would be burdensome. And besides, Birds were supposedly such bad pets. I insisted at the time, that if we did, Jorge would be the one responsible for it. So, in December of 2006, at a weekend birdmart/fair near our home, after saving our pennies, we bought a red factor canary and a cage. I quickly fell in love with our little "pito" as Jorge called him and was thrilled by his singing. Turns out, he wasn't hard to care for.
After a few months, I began to ponder the idea of owning a parrot again. Pito proved no burden at all, and I was fascinated by the little creature. A parrot might be incredible after all. But, still there was all that bad juju that I had read about, and they did say not to impulse buy.
Suddenly, I realized that ten years had gone by since I first pondered the idea of owning a pet parrot. Ten years!! By any definition, ten years does not equal impulsive. And so I resolved to get a pet parrot. More research ensued and I learned about all kinds of parrots and their needs and decided that a small/medium bird would probably work best for me. I looked around and read and found a bird store in north Houston and went to visit and there I met her for the first time. She was just a chick, still being hand fed and covered in pin feathers, a little Sun Conure. I held her for half an hour and asked lots of questions. I decided to visit again in a few days.

Maxi (Sun Conure), on the day she called when I arrived

A few days went by, and I was back at the bird store, and when that little sweet-heart was brought out to me, she was eager to interact. I put a deposit down began planning for her arrival. I would go back to visit every four or five days and I will never forget the time, not long before I took her home, when I came into the store that she saw me and began calling excitedly. She recognized me and was ready to have some fun with me.

Beaker  (Blue & Gold Macaw) with Jorge

We spent an hour together just being with each other and then it was back in the cage and I was off again. A couple of weeks later I picked up her cage and bought some toys and essentials, drove back and got her new home all set up. The following day she came home to be with her daddies. That was six years ago and they have been six extraordinary years. She did demand attention but not more than I could give. She wasn't difficult to care for. She is a great pet and is very well adjusted to our lifestyle and schedule. She's not raving mad and plucking out her feathers.

Spero (Gold Capped Conure), Maxi, & Jorge

My only regret is not doing it sooner. The cautionary tales are too strong. Granted, owning a bird is very different from a dog or a cat, yes. But, if one takes the time to understand them and learn the "birding-way," they make extraordinary pets. So extraordinary, in fact, that I now count five birds among our flock. Each one is unique and wonderful and I look forward to sharing my experiences of them with you and what I've learned along the way.

Posted with Blogsy