Dinky Doo and Lucky Lou

Dinky is the one on the left, Lucky Lou is his best buddy. Dinky was wild-caught many years ago as a young bird and that was when both his wings were broken along with one leg. Though 80% of wild-caught parrots perish during the capture and shipping to Canada, Dinky hung on to life! Only to be confined to a pet-parrot breeding facility for the next several decades. Dinky is now totally blind and I don't know when or how that happened. Most parrots in captivity are suffering from some (often subtle) form of malnutrition as we just don't have the same food for them as they would eat in the wild. Maybe it was related to that?

When Dinky was "used up" as a breeder, he ended up at the refuge where Wendy Huntbatch had to make the difficult choice whether to keep the little guy caged the rest of his life "for his own good" or let him regain some freedom during his declining years. She opted for freedom. Dinky knows every nook and cranny in the small elevated table and climbing branches where he hangs out with a few good buddies. Still he will occasionally take a nasty tumble to the concrete floor below and have to be treated for shock. This happens from time to time with all the flight-disabled birds. As well as not having flight, these birds also have balance issues due to the lack of healthy wings. But they still have instincts that say climb higher for safety and when necessary, jump and fly!

Despite all this, Dinky is doing fine. He gladly takes the spoon-feeding the refuge offers each evening as a way of ensuring birds like Dinky are well fed. He is bold and confident in his little world, despite his problems. I can only admire and honour the strength of spirit and courage contained within this frail little body.

Like so many parrots at the refuge, Dinky Doo is my favorite!

Ready to Roll...

Procrastinate no more! I finally got out to the airport to install the long-awaited nose-wheel upgrade. The airplane was ably protected by our trained attack bunny. By quite a few actually. They're all over the Nanaimo airport.
France got to work while I took care of the important task of visiting with the many local, very friendly pilots.
Peter owns this yellow beauty in the background. It is a combo of a CH601 forward fuselage, an RV4 tail end an under the hood you'll find a Czech LOM 120 hp aviation engine. Peter says he's cruising at 130 knots! That's impressive. He's done a fine job.
My next job will be getting the bird droppings cleaned off, the annual inspection completed, and then it'll be time to fly! Again. At last.

I Pet "Mad Mike"

And I still have all my fingers!! "Mikey" is a Goffin's Cockatoo (see generic image) and he flies freely around the refuge. He's a little wild and is known to attack people's feet and sometimes attack other birds. Whenever someone is making up the seed and nut trays he'll come close and likes to be given a sunflower seed. But watch out! He'll ignore the seed and stab the end of your finger if he gets a chance. And yet he likes to take seeds by hand when the room has dozens of trays he could feed at. It seems to be a desire for attention and bonding. So...This evening another volunteer was in to spoon feed some of the special needs birds. Mikey was attacking this fellow's heels, and I was afraid the volunteer might trip, get bitten or step on Mikey (he's just a bit larger than a Robin). So I went closer and played "rodeo clown" and got Mikey chasing my tattered old running shoes. Sometimes he'd catch me and that's fine when he bites into the rubber edges, but when he manages to get some toe in that beak - ouch!!

At one point while his beak was full of dirty old running shoe rubber and he was gnawing and chewing away on my shoe, I knelt down and gingerly reached over to gently pet along his back. And he liked it! He visible relaxed and stopped munching so hard. I pet him like that for several minutes. Once or twice he'd let go of the shoe and reach around towards my finger and I'd snatch it back. But then he'd go back to my shoe and 'allow' me to pet him.

This broke up when something else happened, and I went back to what I was doing, while he flew off to the top corner where he hangs out with his non-flying girl-friend. But later he came back and landed at my feet and waited for me to pet him without munching on my shoes at all. He still reached back for my finger a few times. And I'm still not going to trust him not to stab/bite, so I pull my finger back when he does that. But then he turns away and puts his head down a touch to indicate "you can pet me now - see - it's safe - I can't bite you now..." What a little rascal.

RIP Joey

She held a special place in the hearts of all the staff and volunteers. Her life was a long and mostly tragic example of why parrots were never intended to be 'pets' or 'companions.' She passed away early this morning (just after midnight), May 11, 2007, while being held and loved unto the end.

A Tribute Song for Joey ("Somewhere over the Rainbow" sung by Eva Cassidy (songbird):


Below is Joey's story as copied from the website
of her final home, The World Parrot Refuge.

Jan 2006 – Joey – A Greater Sulfur Crested Cockatoo

When she was caught in the wild, approximately 40 years ago, Joey became a caged household bird. In those days, it was perfectly normal to keep a bird in a cage that you spoke to now and then, and treated like a piece of furniture that moved from home to home with you. In Joey's case, moving house included moving from country to country.

Joey was never allowed out of the cage, because her owner was afraid she would fly away and die. Joey didn't have toys - no one in their right mind gave toys to birds in those days - after all, she was just a bird. Joey's diet consisted of sunflower seeds, but the loving lady shared her daily toast and tea with Joey, so she would be happy.

Thirty years passed and Joey had a stroke. She lost the use of her legs, but was able to pull herself around the cage using her beak. Her wing muscles had atrophied long ago, so she could not use them to move herself. Needless to say, she had no body feathers.

Her elderly caregiver suddenly realized after the stroke that Joey could no longer fly away. She opened the cage and started to take Joey out on long walks in a baby carriage. Joey enjoyed the attention and the desperately needed natural light.

The years passed until finally her caregiver was too ill herself to look after Joey. The family thought it would be kinder to euthanize Joey since no-one had the time to dedicate to her, or allergies would be a big problem. The veterinarian telephoned us and asked if we would be prepared to provide the care that Joey needed. After a discussion with the family, it was decided that Joey would be transported here.

On her arrival, we checked Joey for abilities and possible problems. Poor Joey had apparently spent her time hanging from the bars of her cage to hold herself upright. The local vet had made sure that her beak was trimmed regularly as it was growing abnormally due to the manner in which she used it to hold her body weight. Her feet were totally crippled and the heels were badly infected from standing for periods of time in her own very acidic feces. Joey has a gastro-intestinal bacterial infection for which she is now receiving antibiotics. She also received vitamin shots, because her previous diet had not provided much.

In only 5 days, the difference in Joey is startling. A regular volunteer, who was a registered nurse before retiring, has dedicated several hours each day to massaging and exercising Joey's legs in warm water. Joey can now move both legs. The use of her right leg was apparent in only 2 days, but today she moved her left leg totally unaided, both in and out of water. She does not live in a cage but in a three foot square aquarium resting on a big stand. The bottom of the aquarium is covered in thick blankets and sheets and we built a perimeter of rolled towels to support her body. She can see everywhere. She has teddy bears as supports for the sides of her body so that she does not roll over, although she can now hold her right side up very well with the power of her right leg. She has discovered the joy of walnuts, and yesterday she ate cheese and grapes after much tempting. Joey is chatting away in English and her own special language, which I am sure you will be able to decipher as time goes by.

Needless to say, Joey's vet bills are already large and we know that this will continue as she is a very "special needs" bird. She is one of many already here and, goodness knows, of how many more to come.

Please click on the "Donate Now" button below if you wish to contribute to Joey's support. Every dollar helps, and is tax deductible.

Meet Frodo

Frodo was new at the World Parrot Refuge about the same week I started working as a volunteer. Apparently the first day or two after his arrival he hid inside his travel cage and wouldn't come out at all. A couple of days later I was browsing the new arrivals area when he saw me and immediately 'told' me I was accepted as part of his flock. He moved toward me and put his head down - indicating he wanted to be groomed on the back of his neck. After just a few moments of this his foot came up indicating he wanted 'aboard' and I offered him my arm.

I stayed with him just grooming and petting and talking to him for about an hour. When the time came to set him back on his perch I told him and he responded by gripping my hand more tightly and putting his head down so I couldn't put anything in front of his feet to make him 'step down.' I realized just how lonely the little guy was so I went and sat down with him for another hour.

During this time, Esther joined us. In a while Frodo gained enough confidence to move down from my arm to my knee, then the arm of the chair. He still demanded more grooming attention, and later when he sat on the back of the chair he returned the favor and 'groomed' my hair. His technique is very rough which probably explains the terrible condition of his own back, belly and tail feathers. They've been shredded by over-grooming and chewing - sure signs of stress.

Most likely Frodo began life as a hand-fed, weaned-too-early, bird at some local breeder around Calgary. From there he most likely went to a pet store, then to a new home where he was 'king of the roost' -- for a while.

But the emotional insecurities inflicted on baby birds stays with them forever (as with humans). And when the day came that his "owner" found him to be too demanding, too loud, too much of a commitment (Life Happens - people move on... etc.), Frodo most likely became 'last years toy' and was forgotten on the shelf or abandoned in a cage. And that's probably when the feather-picking and over-grooming began. I don't know how many times Frodo was passed on to yet another "good home" before he ended up at the refuge.

(This may not be Frodo's exact story, but it's a good approximation of the life of most "companion" birds.)

On Frodo's third or forth day at the refuge, another bird flew onto his cage and got into a fight with him. Not all birds turn into 'sweeties' after they've been captured and abused (again, much like humans). So for a couple of days, for his safety, Frodo was kept inside his cage. Whatever had sparked the problems with "Mad Max" the wild little Goffin Cockatoo that roams the special needs area, it seems to have passed.

Frodo has slowly become more and more comfortable with his new home since then. In fact, or perhaps due to Max's hostility, Frodo moved himself over to the hospital area where life is a little more calm and there are fewer visitors (both human and avian). Greys can be more solitary than other kinds of parrots, and after living as a single bird in a quiet room somewhere, maybe this feels more like home to Frodo - at least for now.

On the weekend a fifteen-year-old young man also visits Frodo and apparently they also get along famously. Slowly Frodo is letting his belly feathers re-grow and he seems more and more content to make his way at the new home.

I still spend lots of time with him, both one-on-one or while also cuddling others. I'll keep you posted regarding his progress.

Hero of the Day...

I am in awe of people like Wendy Huntbatch at the World Parrot Refuge, and the woman in this video I just found. They just get on with cleaning up the messes we humans are creating.

Church worship practice

On Wednesday evenings we have a devotional time for those involved in the Sunday worship celebration. Afterward the musicians and technical folk who are on duty the upcoming Sunday have a rehearsal.

Here's Holly Firth who does a wonderful job creating slides and announcements and graphics for events as well as running the "Power Point" presentations. She's also produced a great poster and ticket set for our upcoming in-home concert with Michael Hart. I'll post those as soon as they're finalized.

Here's the group on stage practicing:

Fickle Finger of France

France was spending some time with a 70-year-old Amazon Parrot at the refuge last Friday. The bird's a real sweetie, but she's almost blind and has severe arthritis in her feet. I suppose much of this could be from a life in captivity with improper light and diet, and always sitting on the same perch...).

Anyway, when it was time to put the little-ole 'gal' back onto her perch, she had a lot of difficulty stepping back, and got frightened and grabbed France's finger with her beak for security. Of course she 'bit' quite hard and cut the skin, and France couldn't remove her finger for fear the bird would lose her balance and fall. So France bled and needed some band-aid and 'superglue' therapy. According to the refuge owner, Wendy Huntbatch, the original superglue is best for re-attaching skin (instantly) and leaving no scars. (Today France says it seems to be working).

Meanwhile I was busy 'almost killing' a beautiful little umbrella cockatoo. Snowy grabbed my coat and climbed onto me when I wasn't ready to handle her because I was still holding Ester. Snowy's only got one wing and practically no feathers on that. As I was moving with her she got nervous and climbed up to my shoulder, then something spooked her and as her instincts 'command' when she's scared, she leapt... and plummeted six feet to the floor like a rock.

I was really concerned that she may have been injured. So I got her back up onto her cage and called for Lacey, one of the staff who knows what's-what. She saw right away that the bird was going into shock and took her into the 'warm room' (i.e. Bird I.C.U.), and called for Wendy. They treated Snowy for shock, and thankfully she recovered.

Needless to say I was praying very hard. That's all I'd need - "So what did you do today?" "Oh, just went to the refuge and killed a bird..." D'OH!!!

Wendy and Lacey assured me that sometimes these accidents happen with the disabled birds. I'll be careful in the future to be more aware of their needs. Live and learn (with emphasis on the 'live' part.)