The Wisdom of Birds

A must see for bird lovers - "Wisdom of Birds" author Tim Birkhead tours a trove of old birdwatcher lore (dug up in old field journals) , and talks about the role it plays in ornithology today. Birds, a perennial human fascination, entertained medieval homes long before science took them for serious study. Very entertaining.
http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_birkhead_the_wisdom_of_birds.html

Wren rescue!

A little wren who found its way into the covered area where Leo & Wilson (dogs) sleep. It was so tame and sweet, when I held it in my hand it was so light I could hardly feel it. It was happy to be released into the open sky.

Kokola enjoys the scenery

Kokola enjoying a relaxing view. I took this photo before she flew away the final time. From where I sat inside the house I could look out at her. Her cage was always open, she was free to wander in and out.

Where is Kokola

I miss Kokola. Everytime the Corellas land nearby or fly overhead in their raucous camaraderie, I call out "Kokola!" in the hope that she'll at least call back to me like she used to, just to let me know she's OK.

Kokola has flown away again!

Yesterday when I moved Kokola to a patch of sunlight, something scared her and she flew off again. This time I walked over a big distance on the neighbouring farmer's land where I saw her fly to, and called her over and over again, but there was no reply. It was a cold, overcast day. I tried again today, still no reply. I hope that she will find a way to contact me soon.

Kokola returns

(click on pic to see the bigger image.)

Kokola spent the last 24 hrs in a tree. She was happily sitting on the top her cage when the first truckload of garden mulch was delivered. She took fright and flew away, unnoticed by me. When I noticed the empty cage, I went looking for her, climbing over barbed wire fences (stupid things) and finally finding her in a tall pine tree at the bottom of our neighbour's land. Thank god! But she wouldn't come down, because she hasn't got her mind around this concept of "flying". All she knows is that when something scares her, she suddenly finds herself sitting in a tree. How she got there is a blur.

So cashew nut treats or not, she couldn't figure out how to come down. I had to visit her several times yesterday, and she'd greet me with a hello, and yell when I had to leave. I hoped that she'd get hungry enough to overcome her fear of "flying" but no, she wasn't budging.

This morning, I heard her calling, so I went out again. This time she'd managed to find a lower branch. So I threw a pinecone at her branch and she took fright and flew down to the next farmer's property. Fantastic. Another barbed wire fence to climb over. A rusty, rickety barbed wire fence which caused me to fall, ripping my legs, arms and a chunk of fabric off my favourite top. Thanks, Kokola. By which time I was dripping blood from a reopened wound where I'd deeply cut my left little finger slicing tomatoes, so when I picked Kokola up from the ground, she got blood over her pristine white feathers. And finally we made the trek home with me placing Kokola on the top of fences while I climbed over and then picking her up, carrying her home.

May I have this dance?

Life has been so full and busy, and I've had my heart broken so often by rescued birds dying on me. Recently it was Cloud, the baby magpie, who raised our hopes then faded away.

On a lighter note, check out this cool dancing Cockatoo and here's another one of Snowball bopping away.

Gary the Wood Duckling

Cute & fluffy little Gary came to live with us for a couple of weeks (back in Nov 2003) when our friends James & family went on holiday. Gary's a wild wood duckling James found lost and stranded on their property. Gary was an affectionate cutie - he loved to climb up your legs, across your chest and snuggle into your neck, making gorgeous little squeaks. On the floor he ran after us wherever we went. looking like he might topple over at any moment. We always had to watch out when stepping back, as he'd always be hovering around our heels.

Chojo the budgie talks

Here's Chojo chattering away... if you listen carefully you can hear him say "Mummy go to bed" in his imitation of Kurt's voice, and later he says "I love you", "Chojo!" "Special baby!" "Excuse me" "Who's my little baby?" "Little brat! little brat!" "What're you doing!!", "Wilson, Come here!" "Come and kiss me" "Kokola!" and more.. This is an old video (May 2003) - Chojo left us last year, God bless & keep his adorable feathered soul. He was ill & dying back in 2002, and I sat in the vet's office crying for 2 hours, unable to give the go ahead for him to be put down. So I brought him back to our new house in the countryside, and he miraculously rallied to perfect health. He lived another 2+ healthy happy years, full of cheerful vigour.

Kookaburra peekaboo

Peekaboo! I had to be real sneaky to get this shot. The Kookaburras often stand on this post on our upstairs balcony near the Meditation Room, because it gives them a vantage point to check when their mouse lunch is served (by Kurt). I have a video of this one keeping vigil, looking down, left & right, surveying his domain. He didn't know I was in the Meditation room, so I had to sneakily edge around to get this pic without frightening him away.

Kookaburra waits for mouse lunch

This dignified Kookaburra is waiting for his mouse lunch, but it's unusual for him to sit on the ground. Usually they're so cautious that it takes them awhile to fly down from the tree to collect their food. We had a mouse plague a few months ago, and the Kookaburras learnt to drop by to pick up the dead trapped mice that Kurt would throw to them. At least the mice weren't wasted!

Little birdie visitors

These two little ones came to visit Kokola the Corella because they heard that Kokola generously throws his seed on the floor! They couldn't find their way out of the porch after the snack, flitting against the sides, so we gave them a helping hand. We had to catch them first to let them out. So tiny & light, and such bright eyes!

Corella Flying Party!

A huge flock of long-billed Corellas flying around then landing to enjoy the grain the farmer had laid out on the pasture for the cows. They had a noisy tea party!

Peaceful Dove

This beautiful dove came to stay with us for a few days. It had flown into a glass window, and Zina had brought it to us for recuperation. It was so quiet in its box, didn't touch his food or water, so on the third day we fed it some water with a dropper -- it gratefully swallowed every drop. It hardly made any sound, except when we picked it up and it'd coo in panic. Such a lovely, soft cooing. Otherwise it stayed quiet and calm. It seemed to be flying OK in the house, and as it hadn't eaten, we released it so it could feed itself in the wild. It didn't want to fly away at first, sitting in my hand quietly. Finally when it did fly over to the next paddock, a couple of magpies set upon it so we had to run over, yelling to frighten the magpies away. As I was climbing the fence to get to it, I looked down for a moment, and when I next looked up, it had flown away. I think of it often, praying it's safe and sound.

Pyjamas and Birds

Warm sunny day in winter, and I brought Kokola the Corella in to get warm in front of the fire and to enjoy the sunshine. Tutti the Cockatiel joined us. Here we all are, with me in my pyjamas still...

this parrot can REALLY talk

The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.

He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do.

N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy, feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine.

N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human language in the animal world.

About 100 words are needed for half of all reading in English, so if N'kisi could read he would be able to cope with a wide range of material.

He uses words in context, with past, present and future tenses, and is often inventive.

One N'kisi-ism was "flied" for "flew", and another "pretty smell medicine" to describe the aromatherapy oils used by his owner, an artist based in New York.

When he first met Dr Jane Goodall, the renowned chimpanzee expert, after seeing her in a picture with apes, N'kisi said: "Got a chimp?"

He appears to fancy himself as a humourist. When another parrot hung upside down from its perch, he commented: "You got to put this bird on the camera."

Dr Goodall says N'kisi's verbal fireworks are an "outstanding example of interspecies communication".

In an experiment, the bird and his owner were put in separate rooms and filmed as the artist opened random envelopes containing picture cards.

Analysis showed the parrot had used appropriate keywords three times more often than would be likely by chance.

This was despite the researchers discounting responses like "What ya doing on the phone?" when N'kisi saw a card of a man with a telephone, and "Can I give you a hug?" with one of a couple embracing.

Professor Donald Broom, of the University of Cambridge's School of Veterinary Medicine, said: "The more we look at the cognitive abilities of animals, the more advanced they appear, and the biggest leap of all has been with parrots."

Alison Hales, of the World Parrot Trust, told BBC News Online: "N'kisi's amazing vocabulary and sense of humour should make everyone who has a pet parrot consider whether they are meeting its needs.

"They may not be able to ask directly, but parrots are long-lived, and a bit of research now could mean an improved quality of life for years."

article source: http://www.varsity.co.nz/news/articles.asp?id=5420

Heath the wren's own video

Heath the heartbreaker wren looking pensively out the window and then hopping around looking for food. So cute! And so missed by us...

Heath

Heath the little wren who captured my heart!

Heath the Wren (picture)

Heath the little wren. Always remembered in a special spot in my heart!

Cute as a scrub wren!

Kurt found a little bird sitting in the middle of the road as he was driving out onto the Newstead road. It hopped onto his finger and came into the car with him. When I woke up this morning I was greeted with this little cutie hopping around looking for food in our living room. Its right wing looked injured and it couldn't fly, but it was perky and very tame!

I went into mummy mode, fretting about what to feed it. An unlucky fly perched outside our window was the first delicacy which the little bird pounced upon gratefully and swallowed in a couple of gulps. For the first time I wished we had lots of flies but none else were to be found as it was a cool windy day. I tried some dead insects I found around the house (for once I didn't whinge about the continual drift of dead insects decorating our window sills) but uh huh, the little one only likes fresh insects.Before long the bird was hopping around scavenging for its own food from spider webs (again for the first time I was grateful for the everpresent spider webs). Cute as a button, and so tiny, it was very happy and at home, letting me pick up its almost weightless self in my hand.

I rang Ron & June our local animal shelter friends, to ask what I should feed it and we packed our new little feathered friend into the car with us & took it to visit Ron & June. There we were shown how to mix up Wombaroo and were given a little special cage in which it could recuperate and heal its wing (for 2 weeks, recommended Ron). Ron identified it as a little scrub wren, straightaway. Thank god for that, as I can't tell a wren from a sparrow. Looking in the Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds under Scrub Wrens, I still had difficulty identifying the particular species, as there's dozens of species. I think it's Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. I think I shall call it Heath. It's so tiny, with a plump round body, stumpy wings and bright little eyes. All day Kurt hears me muttering blissfully, "so cute... so cute..." I'm in love...

Back home again, little Heath was not so happy about being caged, so whilst I cleaned and furnished his little cage he came out to play. I lined the cage floor with a towel, put his food mix and water in 2 little matching ceramic dishes, and rearranged the borrowed nest (June's contribution). Little Heath was happy to go back in and seemed to love walking on the towelled floor, hoeing straight into his food. When we came back from our Photoshop class a few hours later, he'd somehow emptied his water dish & was absorbed in his new food. I can't believe how tame he is - happily hopping onto my hand & playing happily by himself. He's snug in bed now, his cage right next to Tutti the cockatiel's.

Baby sparrow reunites with mummy

A couple of days ago, Kurt found a baby sparrow, fully feathered, fluttering helplessly around near the bench at the outdoor tap. He put the little thing into a cage with some water to keep it safe. Mummy sparrow came the next day to feed her baby a few times, but we weren't sure if we should let baby out yet. Anxious to supplement baby's diet as mummy couldn't visit often enough, we gave it a fly or two, but it wasn't keen on the flies offered.. It looked at me mutely and solemnly, as if asking What's this? Yesterday we let baby out to test its flying skills because mummy sparrow had been flitting back and forth outside the porch waiting for her baby. When baby flew out, Mummy met it straightaway with a tasty morsel in her mouth which it gratefully took. Then off they flew together!

Shake & Dance

Now Kokola the Corella can shake & dance. I say Shake Shake Shake, and he shakes his body side to side, I say Turn Around, and he turns around, I say Shake Shake Shake and he shakes his body side to side, and I say Turn Around, he turns around again, and Shake Shake Shake - it's a pretty good rendition of a dance!

Tutti's back to his chirpy self

Tutti has recovered his happy chirpy self. He is back to cheeping loudly to greet us in the mornings (a bit more restrained than the uncontrolled cheeping of the past - maybe he's maturing)and he cheeps to greet us when we come into the room or enter the house or leave the room. He's affectionate again, and flies to the shoulder when called. When I say "head rub?" he moves from my shoulder to stand on my chest to get his favourite head rub.

Kokola's latest trick

Kokola has a new trick. When I say Angel Wings, he stretches out his beautiful white wings as wide as possible.

It's funny to watch him going through his repertoire in a shotgun method, trying to earn his cashew nut -- he waves by clenching & unclenching his foot, he does the shake-shake-shake, and does his Angel Wings simultaneously and almost loses his balance.

Shake shake shake!

Kokola has not only mastered his stepping up on my arm, he now lets me move him around on my arm - wow, this is such a major step for him. In fact he can't wait to step on my arm each time - what a positive result from "positive reinforcement" techniques. I now reward him for the next step in his wave; he lifts his foot up and clenches/unclenches his claw and says Hello. So cute. And a couple of days ago, he learn to Shake Shake Shake. I just crack up when I see him do that on command. He shakes his head & body from side to side when I ask him to shake. He looks like he's doing a frenetic dance. He's learning so fast, I haven't caught up with finding new lessons for him!

Moody Tutti

Tutti has subsided in his mating calls, and is now rather quiet. Recent mornings have been quiet for us, no more shrill cheeps emanating from under the cage blanket too early in the mornings. It was usual for him to cheep madly whenever he heard the slightest footfall. The silence now is unnerving. I have to rush downstairs to check if he's OK, but he is. Just moody. He likes to sit in his favourite corner of his cage and just stare moodily out the window. I've checked the vital signs - he's eating OK, poo-ing OK, flying about OK, but he seems a little depressed. Poor little thing. And when in the past he couldn't wait to get out of his cage, now when I open the door of his cage he sometimes snaps at me with his growly chirp.

Mr Video the cockatoo

A few days ago, we were in Castlemaine when Kurt pointed out a man who was walking on the street with a cockatoo on his shoulder. A few people had gathered around him and I asked Kurt to turn the car around! Kurt sighed indulgently and did so.

I got out excitedly from the car and went up to the man with the cockatoo now on his arm, admired by a few people gathered around. The cockatoo whose name is Mr Video was very relaxed about being patted. He was so gorgeous, totally at ease with the strangers touching and stroking him. When I gently stroked him, he turned shyly to look at me while he snuggled close against his owner's arm, like a shy child.

His owner told me that they'd owned a video store in town and Mr Video had been the resident bird. Mr Video has been with him 17 years, and loves riding on the motorbike. That's true, as I saw for myself later, when we stopped at the traffic light and next to us was Mr Video on his owner's shoulder, on the bike. When the bike took off, Mr Video ducked his head to the front of his owner's chest and hung on, looking like he was enjoying himself immensely!

Tutti's spring fever

Tutti the cockatiel is temporarily unavailable to us as he goes through spring fever. He calls out non-stop to some imaginary mate of his, cheep cheep cheep all day. It's loud & shrill, and there's nothing we can do to quieten him. He's hyperactive, flitting from the top of one door to another, calling, calling to someone who never seems to respond.

Breakthrough for Kokola

Miracle of miracles! What I've been trying for ages to get Kokola to do but he was too scared to, he's just achieved in minutes when I used positive reinforcement. He's always been too nervous to step up on my forearm, ever since he flew away by accident and learnt to fear the unknown (a couple of years ago now). Every time I'd tried to get him to step up, he just ran away.

This time, he was being reinforced for saying "Hello Kokola" and waving, and just when he put his foot on my forearm, I decided to extend the positive reinforcement I'd learnt and gave him his cashew nut reward. It wasn't long before he was putting one foot on my arm, then both feet on my arm, and soon he'd let me lift him off the cage (his security blanket), as long as I stayed close to the cage. I was amazed! He'd never have stepped on my arm before, let along stay on it. I realised I'd been building him up to it the last 6 months - when the only past occasions he'd step onto my arm was to hitch a ride from his cage to my chair beside it. At all other times he'd avoid my arm. But now, he's learnt to climb on at almost any time!

It's probably a first for me too - patience has not been my strength in bird training. Now I can see it pays off!

Chojo in the office

Remembering Chojo

I found by chance an old email I wrote to my sister on 10th Sep 2001 (1 day before Sep 11)! It was a bittersweet letter about Chojo our beloved budgie who's left us.

"Hi Pauline,
Glad to hear you're safely home & well. I've forwarded you a budgie email re training. Oh, and guess what, we have a new baby budgie!

We picked up a new little baby budgie yesterday. We had planned to get one in a couple of weeks, but when we met this little one, it won our hearts. We had started our research yesterday, and our first stop was a pet shop we know well: I asked to hold a particular baby budgie - a grey/blue one with yellowish feathers on his head, and when the shopowner put him in my hands, the little budgie promptly found the opening of my sleeve and crawled all the way to my elbow and stayed there, happy to snuggle. It was a very young one, the beak was still black. He's incredibly sweet and tame. He prefers snuggling to perching, and right now is asleep with his head on his "chin" in a pile of birdseed, within the folds of a blanket. We've named him ChoJo. He's so heartbreakingly soft & trusting.

In the car whilst driving back from the pet shop, ChoJo was happily snuggled up in my jacket. He can't get enough of snuggling. We should have named him Snuggles! He's not afraid of anything. We can stroke him anywhere and he happily continues eating; he doesn't startle easily, he's just so tame. The only thing he doesn't like is being picked up bodily, he'll struggle. But if you hold him against your body and he can snuggle against your hand, then he settles down. You can pet his head, stroke his wings, his feet, tickle his chin, scratch his head -- it's all the same to him - no need to worry. Very relaxed.

Will send you pics soon.

Isn't it always strange when we return from hols overseas? I feel really different this time, a little sad, a little optimistic about my future, and a faint longing for M'sia. (and a painful feeling in the vicinity of the bank account!) Hope you're settling in well."

another Corella party

Check out the Corella party in this tree! We see this scene often around our area but have never been able to capture in photos, until I came across this gorgeous picture when looking for bird toys for Kokola our Corella at http://www.budgieworld.net/ParrotShack-Largebirdtoys.htm
The new toy arrived today - a ring of chewable native seed heads & nuts - but Kokola is not having a bar of it today, though he wasn't freaked out when I placed an eucalyptus branch on top of his cage yesterday. And yes, he's now accepted his new water bowl and will drink from it, but will freak out & yell at it occasionally.

Weeding bonanza for Kokola

The last 2 days have been weeding days in the front garden - pulling out the weeds and the grasses which are growing where they shouldn't. Kokola loves chewing on the grass stems at the juicy roots, preferably with soil attached. The last 2 days have been a bonanza (overwhelming) for him - the bottom of his cage is piled high with clumps of grass. He's often more fascinated by my rubber gloves than the bunches of grass I hand him!

His continuing passion for cashew nuts has increased his repertoire - when I ask him "Who's my darling?" he replies, "Kokola". He's almost perfect now in mimicking my random sequences of "Hello Kokola" & "Go to Bed" and in his over eagerness to earn the cashew nut, he overshoots me and continues talking when I've stopped. He has the cutest way of waving & saying Hello. And in his enthusiasm, he says "Come!Come!Come!" as he hurries to the door to greet me.

kissing Tutti - position 2

kissing Tutti - position 1

Kissing Tutti

I can scoop Tutti the cockatiel up in my cupped hands and kiss him over & over again on his back and he doesn't resist. After all that, he emerges from my hands, fluffed up, nonchalant as anything, and goes about his business like normal.

Kokola freaks out at new toys

Kokola the Corella had chewed his plastic seed bowl to pieces whilst we were away on holiday. Funny, he'd had the seedbowl for more than 2 years, but chose to chew it only in the last weeks. Also in the recent weeks, he'd also developed a new habit of throwing his water bowl to the floor, so his cage floor had puddles. I think our absence during our hols must have caused him some anxiety, though he had a caring sitter.

Yesterday I bought him a new seed dispenser, a new water container, and a new chewing toy. The seed dispenser was OK, as I introduced it to him gradually by playing with it in front of him. The toy I let him chew on it through the cage bars before I hung it up, and he'd make the occasional foray to chew on it then run back to the other side of his cage. But the water container which is a shocking magenta colour, he yelled & freaked out, and wouldn't go into his cage. When he finally did go in his cage, he gave the water container a wide berth, and showed signs of nervous anxiety, chewing spasmodically on his cage bars, and hanging on to his security bell.

This morning, it was obvious that the seed dispenser had been christened - seed was scattered all over the floor. The parrot-proof toy had had bits chewed off & thrown to the floor. But I still don't know if he's touched his water yet. Poor thing, he might be a very thirsty bird!

Galahs' highwire act

About a week ago, when the weather was cold, rainy and windy, Kurt called me over to look at 4 Galahs performing a synchronised high wire act. They were sitting in a row on the high wire, wings outspread in the rain, and with each gust of wind all four would let their bodies fall in a 360 degree twirl around the wire in unison. What gorgeous clowns!

Yesterday morning when Kurt went out to the enclosed porch, Kokola the Corella had landed on the floor. He can't get back into his cage without our help. Normally he'd walk around anxiously until someone puts him back in the cage. But yesterday, he'd snuggled right up to Leo's furry white body for protection.

Tutti's clingy

Tutti the cockatiel never wants to leave our company now. It's hard to leave the house, Tutti keeps flying to our shoulder just as we are approaching the door. And if I'm in another room, Tutti will fly there looking for me. Right now he's sitting contentedly, occasionally cheeping, on my shoulder, looking so cute. When I eat something, Tutti walks down my arm and looks meaningfully at me, like "Can I have what you're having?" Sometimes he cheeps non-stop for a long time, and I suspect he's still calling out for the absent Pepi. So sad.

He's back to cheeping his head off in the mornings when he hears the slightest movement from us upstairs. "Let me out, let me out!" he seems to scream from his cage. Once he's out, he flies upstairs to our shoulder and then to stand on the shower screen while we do our morning rituals. When I leave a room, he flies after me.

corella parties galore

Flocks of 200-300 Corellas have been partying in the area. It's quite a sight, seeing all these white birds on the grass, with a few pink Galahs like groupies amongst them. Other times it's a large flock of Galahs, with a few Corellas amongst them. It's funny to see them fly & eat together, the Galahs & Corellas, like they can't see they look different from each other. If only humans were so accomodating amongst themselves.

Corellas at play in the rain

A few days ago, I spied via binoculars on a flock of about 40 to 50 Corellas grazing on the grass in our paddock. I've never seen them in our paddock before, although they've often swarmed in our trees nearby. I never tire of seeing so many of them having a picnic.

I thought I'd be able to tell Kokola from the wild Corellas, but they all have the same goofy expressions and cute waddles. Put Kokola amongst them and I wouldn't be able to tell them apart, except when Kokola calls out or when he sports his nervous look - goggle-eyed and frozen still.

That day, the Corella picnickers were having fun. The heavy downpour hardly registered on the picnic at first, but soon most of them had settled on top of a nearby tree, and had their wings spread in the classic shower pose that Kokola sports when we spray him with the spray bottle. These party fiends were busy hanging upside down, sideways & any which way with wings outstretched to catch the rain, like they were ensuring the water got to their armpits. It was quite a sight - 40 or so white Corellas dotted round the tree hanging in all directions, wings outstretched, flapping in gleeful play.

Tutti alone

Since we lost Pepi, Tutti our cockatiel has been very clingy. He flies to my shoulder all the time, and won't leave or be left behind. Today I put him on his cage & walked to the door to go out, and Tutti was on my shoulder in a flash. Put him back again, and back he came. I had to do this 4 times, and managed to run to the door before he found my shoulder again.

He always flies to my shoulder when called, and likes to tuck his beak against my cheek or lower his head for a rub. When he's eating, he likes me to be around, and will cheep frantically if I move away. Today I went next door for a massage, and when I came back, Tutti had tucked himself in bed in his favourite corner of the cage. It was grumpy time - little irritated chirrups and hisses and lunging if my shadow so much as fell on his cage. He's always like this at his bedtime.

Pepi showing off his French-kissing skills to Bluey

Pepi during his first days with us - having to be handfed because he refused to eat.

Pepi as a baby sharing lunch with Bluey

Pepi the baby hiding in my jacket

Pepi is gone

Pepi our budgie left us on Monday morning 2 days ago June 13 (Queen's Birthday Monday), when we were away from home. Our friend Milos, whom Pepi loves, was looking after our menagerie at the time. Pepi had been very friendly and active Monday morning, and ran back and forth wanting to be let out of his cage as was the custom. But an hour later he was dead. It was so sudden and unexpected, I was left wondering what happened. He has been with us for almost 6 years. He came to us in November 1999. My sadness is that we weren't there to wish him goodbye.

I had noticed a few months ago when his cage was hanging in the enclosed porch where Kokola the Corella lives, that Pepi was quieter than usual. I had brought him into the house to be with Tutti the Cockatiel, so that he could be warm and monitored more closely. Once in the house, he seemed to perk up, and seemed his usual self, although I noticed he seemed pickier than usual with his food - often preferring to eat Tutti's food than his own. When I gave him millet sprays and other treats, he would pounce on them with gusto, so I didn't seriously consider he might be ill. He seemed to be not as strong when flying about. This was a bird who could fly powerfully well, wings clipped or not. I thought it was just because he was a bit out of practice, as we hadn't let him out of the cage much since Chojo died September last year.

The last few weeks he had been especially affectionate and tame, willing to spend time with us, when in the past he'd been a bit nervous & flighty with us. He had always been very close to my parents who adopted him for a few years, and I think he missed them. He'd learnt to say Hallelujah Praise the Lord and whistle hymns when he lived with them. When he came back to us almost 2 years ago, he fell in love with Chojo our budgie who, after snubbing him initially, came to accept and love him equally. Pepi learnt to speak Chojo-speak, saying "Hello Chojo". Then he learnt "Whatcha doing?" from me in just 2 days. When Chojo died last year, Pepi looked forlorn and alone, and never learnt to accept Tutti as a substitute, though he did learn to do Tutti-speak and could cheep like a cockatiel. Poor Tutti loved Pepi as a fellow cockatiel, never realising that Pepi looked different.

Now Pepi has reunited with Chojo, we imagine him all perky and happy again in birdy heaven. We buried his body today, with his favourite mirror and a little toy, and some birdseed for his journey, beside Chojo's grave, at the foot of the olive tree. I feel sad & hollow, missing him, and Tutti is wondering where he is.

It makes me realise that when something or someone you love has left this world, the things that make it OK to be without them is knowing that you loved them to the best of your ability. The deepest sadness is often associated with regret for not loving them enough or spending enough time with them. With Pepi, I'm glad that during his last few weeks, I'd brought his cage back indoors so he was warmed by the sun and the wood fire, he could talk to Tutti in the next cage, he could fly about again and enjoy an open-door cage, I gave him lots of food treats which he enjoyed thoroughly, and I paid him a lot of attention and talked with him and kissed him, which he liked. I just regret that I hadn't had more time with him during his softer and tamer personality phase recently, not as he was in the early days, so nervous and flighty. But it's enough to know that he was happy, cared for, well fed, not lonely, and now he's missed by us all, and will always be in our hearts.

Tutti and Pepi together again

Pepi the budgie has been brought back into the house from the porch, as the winter's arrived, and he looked cold. Tutti is happy to have Pepi around again - Tutti won't believe that he's a cockatiel, he thinks he's a budgie like Pepi.

We've had Tutti now for 15 months. I noticed a difference in his behaviour towards us after a year with us. He's a feisty thing, and values his space. He lunged & hissed when we came near, if he wasn't feeling sociable (but never bit). Recently I noticed he's stopped lunging & hissing, becoming softer and more loving. Now, having Pepi indoors with him has brought his hissy fits back. He doesn't miss us as much now that Pepi's here. He doesn't fly into the office to be with us anymore. He doesn't cheep his head off in the mornings when he hears us waking up. sob -how easily replaced we are! But one thing hasn't changed - he flies to my shoulder most times when I call, he loves kissing, and he loves his head scritches (he knows them as head rubs)... and he knows who to talk to when he's hungry!

the real McCaws?

Macaws at Singapore's Jurong Birdpark

Our "resident" Kookaburra

Merry merry king of the bush

I was lying in bed a couple of mornings ago, and watching a Kookaburra at play in the branches of the tree outside our balcony door. It flew from the branch to a tree stump nearby, alternating between the two in its own private game. ( I got a photo of him - will post it soon). I later noticed many kookaburras around, and I don't see them so often. Not as often as I see the Corellas.

I like to think a Kookaburra helped me find Kokola our Corella when he flew away and got lost. I had asked Kokola's guardian angel to bring him back safely, when I noticed the Kookaburra sitting on our boundary fence nearby. I mentally asked him to find Kokola & show him the way back. Early the next morning, I woke up thinking I heard Kokola call. You might wonder how I could distinguish Kokola's Corella call from the hundreds (thousands?) of Corellas out there. I just know his voice... proven by the many times I found him when he was lost in the wild.

I went out in my pyjamas, calling "Kokola!" I heard him answer me from far away. I called again, trying to pinpoint his direction. Kurt and I and the dogs set off to the next paddock and found him sitting on the fence at the far end of the property, trembling and happy to come home with us. He hadn't been there the day before, because I'd scoured every inch of our property and our neighbours', calling for him repeatedly. Somehow, he'd found his way back. As we carried him back to the house, I looked up to see the Kookaburra sitting on the fence looking gravely at us before it flew off. Thank you, I mentally called out.

Corella party on the road

I was driving to Castlemaine for a dental appointment this afternoon, along a beautiful country lane, soaking up the autumn sunshine, and listening to Eckhart Tolle on my car radio via my ipod (had to throw that in, didn't I), when I spotted a flock of Corellas by the roadside, the crowd spilling over to the road. It's common to see them on the pastures, snacking on the grasses, but on the road? I slowed down as I approached them, thinking they'd fly away, but they stayed. I drove right up to them, and stopped the car. I'd have to run them over if I kept driving.

So gorgeous! They just looked at me and I looked at them. Maybe they could sense my Corella-lover energy; maybe our Kokola the Corella at home had told them about us (well, there's all that squawking and yelling at dusk from Kokola to his Corella friends). My delight was shortlived, as a car soon came from the opposite direction and interrupted our mutual gazing; the other car had to come to a stop too, and then the Corellas flew off, in a flutter of white. But they didn't go far, stopping on the other side of the road this time.

Tutti actually talked to me today - not in words. He saw me bring in Kokola's seed container to refill in the pantry, and he cheeped and cheeped in his gorgeous trilling cheep. I thought he wanted to be taken to visit Pepi. He looked at me & climbed up to his seed container, took a seed & dropped it back, then looked at me. Ah! Sorry Tutti, I have not yet refreshed your seeds today. I took the container & went into the pantry, and Tutti flew to my shoulder to supervise. Once I'd put the seed container and water container back into the cage, Tutti promptly climbed up to his food & started eating, eating, eating hungrily. I was suprised, he'd never so directly communicated to me before! I then went upstairs to bring the vacuum cleaner down, and he cheeped and cheeped anxiously at me, as if to ask me not to go away while he was eating. He stopped cheeping when I came downstairs again with the vacuum cleaner, and didn't mind at all that I started vacuuming round his cage, as he was too busy enjoying his food.

playtime with Kokola

It's past midnight now. Played with Kokola for awhile just now - when I sit on the chair beside his cage, he comes out & says "Hello Kokola", "Go to bed!" many times until I give him a cashew nut. He climbs onto my arm then steps onto the arm of the chair. He waves to me, saying Hello in his imitation of my voice. Climbs onto my lap, then onto the other arm of the chair. Then back onto my lap, begs for another cashew. Back & forth, from the left arm of the chair to the other arm of the chair, using my lap as the bridge.

He's a little scared of the little new bell. I tied the bell onto an elastic string. Kokola is having none of it now - just ululating and shrieking jumbled words, and making me laugh. He's such a comic. Leo & Wilson slept through the racket.

Kokola with a muddy beak and looking coy (photo)

Tutti helps to bake; Kokola's bell

A bit haphazardly I started to bake a sticky fruit pudding today. I kept thinking of Anthony Bourdain's emphasising the concept of mise en place - having one's head together, all organised, all ingredients ready, stocked.. you get the drift. I demonstrated the opposite - last minute rushes trying to find ingredients, dropping the blender on the floor, realising I didn't have any nutmeg although i was sure it was there last time. Anyway the lovely aroma emanating from the oven now makes it all OK.

Tutti flew to the kitchen bench to check out my chopping the dates, raisins and figs. He was very polite as usual, just hovering around hopefully but never presuming to step onto the chopping board and help himself. I gave him a little piece of date and he gratefully ate it. Finished, he looked up, asking with his eyes if he could have more. He got a little piece of fig. Loved it too.

I've figured how to get Tutti to fly to my shoulder every time I call. He doesn't respond to Come here Tutti. But soon as I say "Want to see Pepi?" - instantly he flies to my shoulder. Pepi the budgie is outside the front door in the porch enclosure. I don't take Tutti to go see Pepi everytime he flies to my shoulder, but I do it often enough to keep him responsive!

Kokola was hysterical today. I gave him a little round bell which I stuck to the inside of his cage. He loved playing with it, but he made short work of the fixture each time & the bell would fall to the floor of the cage. So I left the bell on top of his cage. Kurt came along & played with the bell and Kokola got real excited, screeching, hanging upside down and all his words rolled into one long muddled sound - kokola-kokola-hello-go-to-bed-go-to-bed.., throwing the bell off the cage top to Kurt, then Kurt throwing it back to the cage top, and Kokola screeching & throwing the bell off. It was hilarious to watch. I'd never heard him at this decibel!

tutti likes his lamps salty! 

tutti stands tall (photo)

pepi is snug and safe (photo)

me and bluey (photo)

wild life rescue

Our friends in the local area, Ron and June, run a voluntary wild life shelter. June seems to be always nursing some baby kangaroo, having to feed every 4 hours (yes it means very little sleep!) They own several little dogs too, and look after emus, wallabies, kangaroos, corellas, cockatiels, cockatoos, and any other animal who needs fostering! And June has another job she works at, making up the lovely natural potions and lotions at Lavandula the Lavender Farm. Not only that, her home is always absolutely spotless, and Ron's enclosures and paddocks are incredibly well kept. At the moment, little Pixie the baby kangaroo lives indoors with them. She has the most gorgeous eyes and the cutest face, and she hops around following June everywhere.

Last weekend, when we were away exhibiting in Sydney for the Yoga Expo, Ron came to feed the feathered menagerie for us. He's amazing with birds. His latest project is a Corella (so sweet!) who broke its leg in a car accident, and Gorgeous the Cockatoo who was very ill, rundown and dirty when Ron found it. Seemed so tame that we all thought it must have escaped from a domestic situation, but gave Ron a nasty bite when it was being bathed. All was forgiven, as Gorgeous must have been so scared.. never had a bath in his life!

living in nature

We live in beautiful nature. At dawn and dusk, flocks of white Corellas and Cockatoos and pink Galahs (aka rose breasted cockatoos) frolic in the trees, and graze on the paddocks. You can see a sea of white all over the paddocks and in the trees.

We enjoyed a "sea change" (more likely a "mountain change") a couple of years ago, moving from Melbourne to the Central Highlands' mineral springs area. We found a 10 acre block surrounded mostly by farmland and close to Hepburn Springs and Daylesford, favourite tourist retreats for day spas, art galleries, cafes and nature, and built a mudbrick home from which we enjoy our menagerie and our business www.pinksalt.com and our views.

Sometimes we're lucky to spot flocks of black cockatoos, rare sightings and so dramatic in appearance. I see them as special messengers of awe and great things to come. Other times, little birds find their way into the enclosure where Kokola the Corella & Pepi the budgie and Leo & Wilson sleep. They are easily caught in the hand, so light they weigh almost nothing, and off they flit into the sky when released. Sometimes they're not so lucky, these little birds fly into our large glass window panes.

One day, I heard a thud on the window. I thought Kurt outside had rapped hard on the window. I looked around but saw no one, and realised it might be a bird. I ran to the window, looked down on the ground, and this little colourful lorikeet was just picking itself up from the ground, rolling to its feet groggily. It just stood there, stunned. I crept outside with my gloves and a towel, in case it needed rescue. I crept right up to the little bird, and knelt next to it silently. It saw me but didn't move. It jumped when a fly flew past. 10 minutes passed, and still it stood silently knowing I was beside it. Finally he flitted off to the nearest large tree, and its friends greeted it effusively. A few flew down towards the front garden where I stood, as if to chat to me about their friend.

meet the bird family

Kokola is the loudest. He's from the cockatoo family, called a Corella. aka bare-eyed cockatoo, and specifically he's a slender-billed corella (with a long upper bill). He's all white, with orange undersides to his feathers around the head. his bare skin around the eyes are blue. In spite of his long beak & racuous voice, he's the gentlest coward. Loves hugs & cuddles, and will say Hello Kokola! Go to Bed! in any combination just to get his favourite treat, cashew nuts. He can do a "high five" or shake hands or wave. He's from the wild. My husband found him with a broken wing when he was a young bird, and the vet said he'd never fly again. Well he's proved the vet wrong a few times, when he flew off in a fright about something, and got lost in the wild for days. Each time we found him again, hungry and thirsty, happy to be found. Now he lives in an enclosed space with the dogs and Pepi.

Pepi is the little green budgie. He's a sweetie, and I originally gave him to my mum & dad, but mum realised she was allergic to the feather dust after a couple of years, so he came back to us. You can tell what household he came from - he says Praise the Lord, and Hallelujah. Since he joined us, he's started to say "Whatcha doing!?" and he learnt lots of new phrases from Chojo our other budgie who died a few months ago, and is always missed --considering that the vet was going to put Chojo down 2 years ago, and he recovered to live another 2 happy healthy years is a great blessing to us already.

Chojo could say:

hello chojo
how's my little baby?
Chojo Boy
Come and kiss me
Cutie pie
mmm Gorgeous
special baby
What're you doing
Chojo loves mummy
mummy loves Chojo
(variation on above - mummy loves mummy; chojo loves chojo)
Naughty Leo [our Italian sheepdog]
Leo's a naughty boy
Wilson! Come here! [our other Italian sheepdog]
I love you- do you love me ?
Kokola
little brat !
mummy go to bed
mummy slow down
I love you Kurtie daddy
yummy yummy
excuse me, what did you say?

Tutti is our lutino cockatiel, very feisty yet very sweet and tame. He is the latest addition to the family. He joined us about March 2004 as a little baby. For some reason he doesn't talk, unlike our other birds. Maybe he bonded with the budgies early on and never really bonded with us humans, though he spends lots of time with us. He showers with my husband, meditates with me, reads with me, works in the office with me, and always wants to eat with us. He's all yellow, with 2 round orange spots on his "cheeks", looking like he didn't blend his blusher properly.

Fifi, Lulu, Mimi, Tutu are the 4 geese. There were 5, but when Leo our Italian sheepdog was recuperating from a knee operation and not doing his watchdog duties, the fox got one of the geese. It was very sad because it was the tamest one of the geese who always wanted human company.

Leo & Wilson are not birds, but they know their birds. They are Italian sheepdogs called Maremmas, and are white and long-furred and big. But size doesn't prevent them being scared of Kokola's wildly unbalanced flights around the enclosure, and when Kokola does occasionally take fright & fly, the dogs are ready to take flight too, because Kokola is known to land on one of them and dig its claws in for security! When Chojo the budgie was alive, he used to like sitting on Leo, as he knew Leo from when Leo was a tiny puppy. But Leo is scared of Tutti the cockatiel. He flees when Tutti comes near. So much for Leo's 50kg size against Tutti's 88g! Wilson, the other Maremma dog, is neutral about the birds.