STILL the birdhaus . . . .

Our conure, Dede, has developed a taste for cheese puffs. It's a trip to watch her eat them:

 

 

Don't worry---these are organic cheese puffs we give her!

Still the birdhaus

Birds will be birds, and Boomer, who is our oldest bird at 22, doesn't take kindly to Dede, the more recent conure interloper, trying to get above him on Davey's cage. While he expresses his displeasure, she appears nonplussed. 

After a few seconds of angry chatter, Boomer flew back to the top of his cage, which is taller than Davey's. Thus ends the territorial skirmish. 

Things are never dull at the birdhaus . . . . 

New Camera!

We got a new camera---a Canon Rebel T3. It's a step up from our last one, and takes some pretty awesome pictures. Here are some test shots I took today:

Dede ruffles her feathers.

Boomer always looks a bit pissed.

A sunny day. 

This particular rose is called paradise.

Some visitors to one of our Day Lilies.

Definitely can get some good close ups with this camera!

Still the birdhaus . . . .

Just because every day is bird day here at the birdhaus:

DeDe the conure strikes a pose.

Boomer the cockatiel plays the jailbird in lockup.

Still the birdhaus!

I can't believe I have let so long go by without a bird post. Let me rectify this situation right now!

Boomer looking stately as he enjoys the sun.

Dede looking spiky from new feathers coming in.

These birds are really awesome, and are such a big part of our lives. But they will bite the hand that feeds them . . . .

Still the birdhaus . . . .

It's been a while since I've posted some bird pics, so here ya go:

That's Davey, in classic jailbird pose . . . .

Gimpy curious and cute . . . .

Dede clinging to the outside of her cage . . . .

And Boomer, catching some rays on the first day of Spring.

It's been quite a trip how Dede the conure and our newest bird, has integrated herself into the pecking order here at the birdhaus (pun definitely intended.) She is not at all shy, and she and Boomer, my guy and the top bird here, have a bit of a rivalry going on. In this picture it plays itself out quite visibly, with Boomer claiming the top spot on the outside of Davey's cage (Davey is barely visible behind the bars), while Dede acts nonplussed.

Birds are really not too different from people. There are social structures which play out in conflicts and then quiet into truces. It's a nonstop show.

We're still the birdhaus!

I don't post our birds as often as I should, so here's a rundown of the avian population at the birdhaus:

Gimpy is the youngest, who we inherited from my wife's daughter. He broke his leg as a very young bird, and was almost euthanized, but my step daughter rescued him. He's quite a character, and due to his injury seems to be dancing a lot of the time.

Davey is a bird we got from a friend of my wife's. He was originally called "Daisy", but then it was discovered (by people who know more about sexing cockatiels than I do) that he is of the masculine gender. Gimpy sings to him frequently, though Davey seems nonplussed by the attention.

Dede is a conure who was given to us by another friend. The purplish tint on her beak in this picture is juice from a blackberry I gave her, which she literally tore into. She can be very feisty if she isn'y into being handled---meaning she bites.

And this is my guy, Boomer. He likes to lick his mirrors, which makes viewing his favorite cockatiel (himself) a bit difficult. But his reflection must taste good! He's somewhere between seventeen and eighteen years old, but still is as spry as ever.

Still the birdhaus

Our conure, Dede, loves her some greens. She went wild over some fresh parsley my wife put on the "porch" outside her front door.

Of course, after eating such a healthy meal, she wasn't going to deny herself a little bit of junk food . . . .

Mmmmm . . . corn chips . . . .

We're still the birdhaus!

I don't think I've ever posted all of our birds in a single post, but I got shots of all of them today, so here goes:

Here's Dede giving her "Ain't I sweet?" look . . .

. . . and Gimpy, typically looking a bit scruffy . . .

. . . Boomer, doing an impression of Sean Penn taking on some paparazzi . . .

. . . and Davey, getting a good close look at his bell in his cage. I'm not sure why, but several of the birds exhibit this behavior. It never fails to amuse me.

That's all of 'em. We are so happy to have our little aviary, and we do miss Sunny and Woody, who passed on over the last couple of years. Animals are such a wonderful blessing in our lives.

Still the birdhaus

We still live in the birdhaus, and here are some of the latest shots of some of the members of our aviary:

Dede is obviously the supermodel of the group, always ready for a portrait.

Gimpy (outside) and Davey (inside) are the least photographed of the crew, as they are out least often. We have been opening Gimpy's cage every morning for a while, and he has been started to visit with Davey, who he seems to really like. He often serenades him with some 'tiel tunes from the outside of the cage. Davey is sort of nonplussed.

Gimpy has a perpetual look of surprise on his face. He definitely keeps an eye on me when I'm doing photos of him.

This IS still the birdhaus

Our conure, Dede, is a big fan of smoothies. When I had one today, she practically crawled into my glass to help herself to the fruity treat.

She is the newest member of our aviary, but she is a real sweetie, and will squawk loudly if she is left in her cage when something is going on.

Cute, huh?

Of course, if she really wants to be annoying, she will do what we call her jungle shreik, which can liquify your brain if it goes on long enough. But, MOSTLY, she's pretty sweet.

A sunny day for being out of your cage:

Yesterday was a bright and sunny day, just perfect for Boomer to do a little ladder climbing on top of Gimpy's cage:

That's Dede in the background. Boomer's definitely keeping an eye on her, though he seems fairly tolerant in this picture.

For the birds:

There has been a bit of tension in the birdhaus lately, as Dede was introduced a few months back to mixed reviews from the birds already here, in particular Boomer.

He's not real happy with the state of affairs, and has attacked me a few times in what I guess is a jealous rage.

He's mad . . . .but we'll see what happens.

Still the birdhaus

This is still the birdhaus, so here are some rather sweet pictures of our newest addition, Dede.
She's quite a honey, though she will nail your finger if she's not in the mood for perching.

Our birds---because this is the birdhaus!

It has been a while since I've posted our birds, so here are (some) of them:

Our newest edition, Dede, checks me out through the window.

Here's Dede inside the house, outside of her cage.

Wide-eyed Gimpy, always ready for fun . . . . 

Woody looks ready for a nap!