We're Grandparents!

     Everytime I remember the day I said those two words to my mother two years ago I can't help but laugh. Mom's reaction was priceless. Even though she had visited us just a couple of days earlier and had clearly seen that there was no way our young daughter was pregnant, Mom just said "Is there something you forgot to tell me?" She said it in a perfectly calm voice. It took me a moment to realize that she wasn't aware that I was talking about us being grandparents to baby birds.
     Birdman and I think of our flock as family members. I know, we're weird that way. Some of our Zebra
Finches had chicks that had just hatched. Birdman discovered this while I was on the phone talking to Mom. So of course when he told me I was extremely excited. These were the first babies any of our flock had had. In my excitement I just blurted out the first words that came to my mind. These words were "We're grandparents!"

     Since then several of our other birds have made us "grandparents" also. Birdman and I have been teased quite a bit for carrying pictures of the baby birds in our wallets the way other people carry pictures of their grandchildren. We don't mind. We are quite content to only have bird grandchildren for quite awhile yet.

Angel Wings

     This afternoon Birdman and I were sad to discover that one of our lovebirds passed away. Even though we have such a large flock, it is always hard to lose one of them. It was a peachfaced lovebird that we have had for several years.

     As I was walking over to the aviary to help Birdman with removing the body, Angel Wings came running up to me.  Angel Wings is one of the female ducks that has adopted us. Since the beginning she has been shy and timid around us.  Just this past week though, she has been coming to the front of the group at feeding time.  She likes to jump in the air and spread her wings when I feed her. That is why I call her Angel Wings. Well, today she ran right up to me and stopped within a foot of me.  She tilted her head as if to say she was sorry about the lovebird's passing. What she did next totally shocked me.  Angel Wings allowed me to pet her! What a wonderful gift she gave me at a time that I really needed it.
     When I continued over to the aviary, she followed me. Birdman tried to pet her but she ran away. After we took care of cleaning the one aviary Birdman began feeding our flock. All the ducks came over towards him but wouldn't take the seeds from his hand. Which really isn't surprising since we have never tried to have them eat from our hands before. I decided to see if I would have better luck. Birdman put the seeds into my palm, I called to Angel Wings and she raced over. She looked at the seeds, looked at me and then began eating from my hand. I was totally amazed and pleased. When she finished I did our hand motion letting her know that there was no more food. She looked at me, and then came up and put her beak up against the back of my hand as if kissing it. Then she continued on with her normal duck day.

The Sextuplets Arrived!

     I received such a wonderful surprise today. Tonight when I left to pick our daughter up from the train station I thought it was just an ordinary school night. We made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home so that she would have all the supplies she needed to make some cookies for a dear friend that just got out of the hospital. So instead of coming in our front door like we normally do, we entered the house through the garage. In response to our called out greeting to Birdman, we heard "Damn. You ruined the surprise."
Puzzled I went from the kitchen into the livingroom. Sitting just inside the front door was a new birdcage containing six zebra finches. Birdman had placed it so that I would spot the cage as I entered the house if I had come in through the front door. 
     It seems that these six beauties are actually a rescue of a rescue. One of our neighbors had rescued them from an aquaintance of his about a month ago. While he enjoys them, they are a little more then his wife wanted to have around the house since they have two toddlers under two years old. Our neighbor often visits our backyard and has even given tours of it to his family and friends.  He knew that we would gladly welcome these birds into our flock.  Plus he was positive that he would have visitation rights.
     These finches are absolutely beautiful!  It took less then a moment for them to steal my heart.  They are all very comfortable around people and cameras.  I grabbed my camera and took a few quick shots.  I swear two of the birds posed for me.

Darling's Story

Darling was our very first cockatiel and the reason there is a Birdman of Boca's Backyard today.  He and Barney were the very first birds we rescued. 
     One of Birdman of Boca's co-workers mentioned over lunch one day that his father had two of the meanest cockatiels on the planet.  While telling Birdman of Boca about how they would always attack people, the co-worker mentioned that his father was planning on just opening the cage to let them go that night.  The idea of birds raised as pets just being turned loose didn't feel right to the Birdman of Boca.  So he told his co-worker that we would take both birds.  When he got home and told me that we were going to be the proud owners of two cockatiels I thought he was joking.  I mean, I was afraid of birds so why would I want two cockatiels?  Then when he explained the situation I agreed that we would take the birds in while he looked for another home for them.
     That night we drove over to his friend's father's house.  The birds were throwing such a tantrum that you could hear them two houses down.  I started having second thoughts about even letting them into our home for one night. We walked into the sunroom where their cage was and the cockatiels immediately tried to attack us through the cage bars.  Seeing the terror on my face, Birdman of Boca's friend told us that he would understand if we didn't want to take them and that he would just set them free. Even though I wanted to be as far away from these two nasty cockatiels, we still agreed that we couldn't let that happen so we took them.
     The ride home was torture for both the birds and me.  They did not like being in the car so they screamed nonstop.  I had to sit in the back holding the cage with these two insane birds so they didn't get hurt.  I had a full blown migraine at the end of the 4 mile drive home.  When we arrived home, Birdman of Boca went to fill their food dish.  Barney decided that he wanted to sample Birdman of Boca...so he did.  Barney obviously liked how Birdman of Boca tasted because after that Barney would try to bite him whenever he was anywhere near the cage.  Barney never tried to bite me, though.  He realized that if he hissed at me I would be so terrified that I would leave him alone. 
     One of the first things we did was to seperate Barney and Darling.  That seemed to calm things down a bit.  The next day we were able to find a home for Barney.  I think that some of his anger issues had to do with being named after a purple dinosaur.  Birdman of Boca disagrees with that theory.  His new owners renamed him and soon were able to rehabilate Barney. 

     Darling was another matter.  As hard as we tried to find him a new home, we couldn't.  Darling had managed to escape the cage that first day and we could not get him back in it.  So while he stayed with his cage, he lived on the outside of his cage.  Darling would hiss and snap at anyone that went remotely near his cage. Darling also whistled nonstop.  From the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep.  His favorite whistle sounded like a car turning over.  It drove us nuts.  I finally had enough one day so I decided to try to whistle back at him.  That shocked Darling so much that he stopped whistling.  After a few moments, he started again. So I whistled again and he stopped.  Then he decided to come over to me and check things out.  I was terrified! I mean here a mean cockatiel has flown over and landed on my shoulder and is staring at me.  I didn't know if he would bite or what.  But Darling just got very comfortable and stayed sitting on my shoulder quietly.  From that day on I was Darling's human. That's how we refered to Darling's and my relationship.  Darling was never my bird but I was always his human. If I was anywhere in the house, he had to be with me.  The moment I left his sight, Darling would start calling for me. Darling could sense my presence so well that the moment I stepped foot on our property, he knew and would start calling to me. Suffice it to say I had no choice but to get over my fear of birds.

     Darling was also very jealous.  Now he would allow Birdman of Boca to feed him without attacking.  However, if he tried to kiss me Darling would throw a tantrum.  Darling was quite the chaperone.  When Birdman of Boca and I sat on the couch, Darling would always be on my shoulder between us.

     Birdman of Boca and I discovered that many people believe that it is ok to turn their pet bird loose when they tire of it.  It is not.  Plus with rehabilating Darling, we discovered that alot of love and patience can turn the meanest bird into the sweetest bird.  As we shared Darling's story with others, we became known as the "Bird Rescuers".  Friends of friends would know someone about to "set free" a pet bird and they would let us know.  And so our flock began to grow.

Welcome To Birdman of Boca's Backyard

We are so glad that you have decided to visit and spend some time with us here in the Birdman of Boca's Backyard.  Sit back and enjoy the birdsongs as we share our birds' stories with you.  Each one has an interesting tale and some even more then one. As large and fascinating as our flock is, they are not the only thing that Birdman of Boca's Backyard has going for it.  It has gone from a boring backyard to a beautiful retreat for both us and the animals.  We will share with you our ongoing process of trying to qualify as a National Wildlife Habitat and the varied wildlife that visits as a result.