Backyard Buzzards

The "buzzards" may conjure up images in one's mind of a large birds circling high up waiting to attack it's prey, or the feathered frenzy of beaks and preay in chaos. Well, please allow me to introduce you to our buzzards. These are the unique duck-like birds that hang out in small clusters in our backyard. They sit in a partially shaded area, relaxed and comfortable, minding their own business. They seem friendly. When I begin talking with these birds, they get up and take a few steps closer and seem quite interested in what I have to say, which is mostly "hello" and "how are you today," etc. If I get too close to them, they start to slowly stroll a few feet away. They fly around the lake, take a swim now and then, and dine out. The only time we see them get a little flustered is when another buzzard that is not part of their pack comes over. That's when the dominant ones will do what they need to to scare it off. I haven't figured out what's going on yet, but will keep studying them. They will peck at it, and wings flare open, squawking starts, and they all start running. They might even take the squabble in to the lake and swim a circle around their territory. I kind of figure that is between buzzard and buzzard to work out. As far as our backyard, they are welcome.

What have we learned? A friend may look like a foe. Who would think that a buzzard would be awelcome guest !

Very Special Neighbors: Burrowing Owls..."Hoot a Thought"

A family of burrowing owls has recently settled in a few streets away in our community. They are very special, so I want to share our delight in them. In late afternoon, you can hear them start hooting in a low, almost dove-like coo. Then you can catch a glimpse of one or two of them sitting on a high post or fence near the little quiet park. That's just about when the park empties out and the owls begin their watch. This wonderful photograph of burrowing owls was posted on our community's website by a neighbor. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_Owl these owls are a protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Thank heavens because these little critters made their nest right in the front lawn of a corner house. They dug a long wide tunnel which could possible have been mistaken for a mole hole or something like that. There are a lot of interesting facts about them.

What have we learned? Burrowing owls live in the ground and have a wide habitat area. So be careful next time you see what you think is a mole or prairie dog hole. Burrowing owls population is on the decline due to loss of habitat.

Air & Sea: Birds and Dolphins in Harmony

What a surprise to find these pretty birds at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida (also called home of Flipper the TV dolphin). When I entered the gates, who was I greeted by but a pair of Macaws. The human representative with them assisted as a translator in talking with the birds .... introductions, sharing kisses, and photo ops, etc. On the other side of the park, tucked away in a little corner are these regal, friendly, and well behaved tropoical birds. Only a bird lover would go to a seaquarium to swim with the dolphins, and come home with more photos and memories of the birds than of the dolphins. (The dolphins are were great too. So smart and playful. Smooth silky skin.)

But back to the birds now. Having a home for the birds in the park offers a great contrast of living creatures to see and think about. There were the wonderful water creatures, many of which were large to gigantic in size (dolphins, manatees, orca whales), and of dark or muted colors, with smooth or shiny skin, and oh-so-quiet. In contrast, there were the light, feathery, air creatures in all the glory of their intense colors...our bird friends...and oh-so-noisy they can be. Visitors were delighted to stroll through the bird habitat and absorb the fun and sensational colors, listen to the raucous sounds, and watch them cooing over each other. The birds were not in cages, and were free to move about. However, most of them were content to just sit on a high perch with his or her partner and show off.

The Miami Seaquarium was a nice way to spend an afternoon. Don't miss the Topdeck Dolphin show. The swim with the dolphin experience wasn't too shabby either.

Bring a camera.

What have we learned? Surprises are everywhere...keep looking for them.

Good Bird Medicine (Yum)

As a child and I was frightened of needles. Injections of any sort brought out my wild side...kicking and screaming all the way. Well, as a bird owner, I have that same thing to contend with when medicating Mr. Spock, our cherry head conure/parrot.

Today is day 18 of giving Mr. Spock his 21-days of medication. The stress poor Spock goes through while getting his medication using the vet's method should probably warrant a sedative for him (and for us). What a commotion! Spock is a very independent minded bird and doesn't do what Spock doesn't want to do. He tries to bite and claw his way out of getting dosed. He's also a biter when he feels threatened (the vet techs approach the little guy like he's a vulture).

If it wasn't so serious a matter, I would call it comical. Two human adults chasing a small green and red bird around the house with a hand towel. Slapstick. Spock sees the towel and dives to the floor, then starts a wild run and hop all around (his wings are clipped). Are you a bird owner who knows what I am describing? When we finally get hold of him, it breaks our hearts to see him in that stiff mummy pose. Then...it takes two of us to keep his beak open enough to slide in the tip of a syringe filled with medicine (a needle-free syringe). The first few times, Spock actually tricked us. He concealed the liquid meds somewhere in his beak, then"spit" it all out. Can you imagine? So we learned how to overcome Spock's trickery and get the meds down twice per day...and...make it a pleasure to do.

After about 10 days of the 'stalk/capture/medicate method', we really thought that he would become more accustomed to it and trained to accept the medicine routine. A delusion, I guess. So we switched over to the the 'sneak in to the beak' method. It all came to me while eating a yummy treat from Mercier's Apple Orchard in Georgia. We mix the two medications with about 6 cc's (very little) of sweet, smooth, delicious old fashioned apple butter. I hand feed it to him and whisper sweet nothings at him the whole time. He loves it! Tastes good, he's happy, and he doesn't hate us. We love it too. (Of course, we called the vet's office and got the method approved...which leads me to wonder why in the world they don't give you a little hint like at the start.)

What have we learned? A negative becomes a positive for bird and mankind. By sweetening things up a little when giving our bird medicine, we turned it in to a treat and bonding process with Mr. Spock, instead of one that seemed more of a discipline exercise which controlled him with fear and force.

A Bird in a Bag is Worth Two in the Bush

You never know when a bird will do something that seems so ordinary to him, but becomes so memorable for you. Today our cherry-head conure, Mr. Spock, couldn't have done it better than if he were performing on stage. We brought the little guy in to the kitchen and put him on the countertop so he would have our company instead of screaming for us. He nonchalantly stepped over to a paper bag we just emptied and walked in to it, turned around, and made himself right at home. Of course, I grabbed the camera clicked away. He could not have known how cute he looked.

Maybe the bag represents a camping trip for him, like a little tent. After all, it is made from trees. Why did he want to be in the bag? He was so content to be there, centered, quiet, no sounds or "talking" at all. Just looking like he was trying to say "why haven't you brought me here before now?"

He then had to endure our big faces staring at him and telling him how cute he is, trying to get him to pay attention to the camera, then snapping pictures. Our little star.

What have we learned? An simple, inexpensive and quiet way to entertain the bird, while he in turn, entertains us. Symbiosis.