Two years… 730 Days… 17,520 hours… Countless Miles… No matter how you look at it, two years on the road is a long time!  Especially when you travel the country by truck and RV… correction; make that two trucks, and two RV’s, a flock of birds, magic props, motorcycle, and a house cat.  Driving separately from Jamie can be painstaking, but it does give me some time to reflect.  Not only on shows and future plans, but on training, and what I can do to become a better trainer.

Image Copyright Feld Entertainment 2010

I’m one of those people who is constantly in the pursuit of perfection.  Always trying to learn more, and always trying to become a better person and professional.  At many times, it’s to a fault.  These past two years have really given me the chance to realize how important it is to live in the moment.  It has also given me phycological insight on how to get my birds to reach perfection on and off stage.  After all, I’m hired to perform a 1st-class production with professionally trained parrots – and likewise, my birds are expected to be “1st Class Performers” as well. It would be hard to be “the best” if my birds would land in the rafters, or fly out the backdoor and disappear into the Vegas desert, only to be found a week later by strangers.  In my industry, there’s no room for errors.  Sometimes that can translate to a lot of pressure for my birds, after all they didn’t sign the contract, I did.  So I always do my best to reward their every moment.

October 30, 2011 finally arrived, and we performed our last show in Wilkes Barre, PA.  I had performed for five different Ringling Shows over that two year tour, and it was all coming to an end.  Aside from a huge sense of accomplishment, there was a strange calmness that suddenly overwhelmed me backstage shortly after performing Catapoultry with Bondi.  I looked around and realized… 5,000 people in an arena, sold out shows, TV, Radio, Print… it was all coming to an end in 73 minutes from that exact moment.  Surrounded by black curtains and 7-sets of birdie eyes staring at me through the dimly lit backstage, as if they could tell I was finally processing it all; I took each bird out, kissed them on the head, held them for a moment and thanked them out-loud for being there for me for the entire tour. The ups and downs, the tornados and snow storms, 20 degrees to 120 degrees – it didn’t matter, they had achieved perfection in nearly every show, night after night, mile after mile, audience after audience.

Fiji’s Last Show – Photo Mishelle Statford

It was when I picked up Bondi, who had been looking at me concerned the whole time, that a single tear made it’s way past my right eye, and was now slowly passing my lips.   I kissed her on the head, thanked her for giving her all, even on days that she wasn’t feeling well.  It was as if she and I connected more than ever.  She mirrored my mood through every phase of the tour, from being a rock star on stage, to the tender moments offstage that an audience and cameras never see.  When we lost Fiji, she completely shut down with me, as if she was mourning her loss through me.  And on October 30, 2011 she once again  understood my feelings and that this was her last show, and we could both go home and relax until our next journey begins.

Bondi Performing Catapoultry

I learned many things on this tour about life & training.  From the highest highs to the lowest lows, and yet one lesson stands out miles ahead of anything else I could ever possibly write.  A lesson that we should all live by, a lesson that keeps you moving when your down and constantly elevates you while you’re up.

“Always love your birds like it’s the last day you’ll see them, for they provide more to us than could ever be transcribed into any human language.”

I’m so grateful for everything they’ve given me.  Those of you who can truly relate know the exact feeling I’m conjuring when I say these words.  And those of you who are just now paving that path with your birds will soon understand the feelings that are impossible to put onto paper.

Photo of bare eyed cockatoo by Anna Sloan

Thanksgiving will be here in a few days. I am sure you are all running around like crazy trying to prepare. I just want to take a minute to remind you to practice caution with your parrots on this holiday.

Thanksgiving is an exciting day for both the family and the flock. There is a lot of activity and excitement and with that we may not necessarily be on our game where the parrots are concerned. This holday is centered around the kitchen where there will be hot burners and cooking foods, perhaps open flame.

As much as you might like to let your parrot be involved in the family festivities, the kitchen on Thanksgiving is not the best place for a parrot. There are too many distractions for you to be fully aware of your parrot’s safety and, therefore, too many opportunities for disaster.

I can’t remember a Thanksgiving that did not result in an accident with somebody’s parrot – usually involving an escape as people come or go from the house. Please use “better safe than sorry” thinking this year.

Camelot macaw

I also want to remind you that not all foods that we serve on Thanksgiving are great choices for birds, or more precisely, the preparation of these foods makes them less than ideal. If it is your intention to share your meal with the birds, please try to keep it as healthy for them as possible.

Most traditional Thanksgiving menus contain foods that are very healthy – until we add the butter and the sour cream and the cream cheese and the sugars…  However, as we are cooking we can set aside some potato, yams and vegetables for the birds before we add all our human accoutrements that make them so deliciously unhealthy.

We can make special birdy stuffing from cubed whole grain breads and add thyme or sage, nuts, raisins and dried cranberries all softened with boiling water. Your parrot might want to indulge in a bit of turkey breast, which would be fine in moderation.

Since I don’t know any of my birds’ hatch dates, I celebrate their “birthdays” collectively on Thanksgiving for the obvious reason: I am very grateful for their presence in my life. I have been known to over-indulge them on this day. There certainly isn’t any shortage of food with which to do so.

Linus in NM. Photo by Anna Sloan

Q: What is loud, destructive, high maintenance and totally missed?

 - Patty J., Orlando, FL

A: Linus the umbrella cockatoo.

People have been asking how Linus is doing in New Mexico. It’s hard for me to write about it because I think the only way I get through this is by not thinking about it – or trying not to. I am grateful to so completely trust the person taking care of Linus that I never have to worry for his physical well being. That fact is comforting enough that I am able to push him from my thoughts when I start to get teary eyed. I am simply unaccustomed to life without him.

For those of you unaware, Linus is staying at the home of a friend whom I have known for several years. With the return of Jamie and Dave and their flock, we decided that it would be best for Linus to be elsewhere while we worked on some projects. Linus has shown himself to be somewhat uncooperative around the Womachs, perhaps because of a past history they share to which he has taken exception for reasons only a cockatoo understands.

Linus is a temperamental bird – “edgy” describes him well. He is assertive about his rights. He doesn’t like to feel disrespected or disregarded. He will make his opinions known. He is also very fair and very patient, but there is a point where he draws the line, and he needs to be handled by someone experienced who will recognize those signs. When he is handled properly, he is a terrific bird.

He particularly enjoys manipulating anyone who shows themselves to be nervous or uncertain around him.So, of course, when he arrived in New Mexico, his first order of business was to test the mettle of his temporary caregiver to see what he could get away with. He did this by refusing to step up for her and held on to cage bars with an unbreakable grip. My clever friend, knowing how to appeal to the vanity of a cockatoo, sweet talked him into cooperation before he even knew what was happening. She knows that the trick to success with an uncooperative cockatoo is in making them feel that everything was THEIR idea.

It didn’t take long for Linus to realize that her game was as good as his and he gave up testing her at every turn. With this out of the way, they are able to move on with things and really get to know each other.

He is currently being housed in a room with several other large cockatoos whose company he seems to enjoy. It would appear that when gathered together, male cockatoos enjoy competing to see who can scream the loudest. I’m betting Linus has won a match or two.

I talked to my friend today. She said everything is going just fine. Linus has been friendly and cooperative with her and the volunteers at her rescue. And she seemed to be able to hear me during the conversation. That is a very good sign.

Rosebreasted cockatoo

These questions pertaining to a bird’s senses have come up in recent weeks. Since they are all related, in a way, I decided to tackle them all in a single post…

Q: My husband loves it when I wear perfume but I don’t know if the smell is too strong for my birds. Should I keep away from the birds when I wear it?
 - Jennifer K., Auburn Hills, MI

A: I would imagine that, as a rule, most animals would prefer to smell your natural scent. It gives up a lot of information about you – including exactly what your frame of mind is at any given time. An animal with a particularly keen sense of smell, such as a dog, can tell just by sniffing the air if you are afraid or if your have aggressive intentions. You can see where this would be helpful to them.
Parrots, however, do not have a very advanced sense of smell. It is just slightly better than our own. I typically choose not to wear perfumes around my birds, but I have noticed no change in them when I do. Unless you notice that your bird doesn’t like being around you when you are wearing your favorite fragrance, I don’t see any reason you should avoid it.

Camelot and blue throated macaws

Q: Are jalapeno peppers too hot for my parrot to eat?
 - Karl W, Augusta, GA

A: There is an chemical in peppers called capsaicin that gives hot peppers their heat. It creates a pleasant eating experience for some humans and a painful one for others.  Birds, however, are unable to detect the capsaicin in peppers and are oblivious to the temperatures of even habanero peppers which are known to be the hottest.
Birds love hot peppers and they are healthy for them. I serve them all the time.

Cockatiel

Q: We live near the airport and planes fly over our house all day long. It isn’t too loud for us but I am afraid it is for my cockatiels because their hearing is so sensitive. Should I be worried?
 - Jess & Jason V., San Antonio, TX

A: A parrot’s hearing is not so much more sensitive than ours as it is more detailed. They hear things differently than we do. For instance, where we might only perceive a single tone of sound, they will hear several.
Sound volume that is too loud for you would also be a problem for your cockatiels. But more often overlooked are the sounds that are unnerving to our birds because they can’t identify them or are upsetting to them in ways we can’t fathom because we hear them differently.
Always watch your bird’s reactions to the things that go on around him, whether they are heard, seen or felt. If you see signs that something is upsetting in the environment, you should look into making appropriate changes.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Inside the RV
With: Rose breasted cockatoo “Bondi”

While watching over Bondi while she is sick she’s been living in the RV with me. When I do the dishes, which have to be done by hand, I put them in the left sink to dry. They were sitting there clean and I was enjoying the fact that I didn’t have to rush to put them away before bringing her out of her carrier because with Rocko I had to do that, otherwise he’d poop all over them!

Well Bondi sat on the counter and went over to the clean dishes with her soggy pellets and started breaking them into pieces over the clean dishes. At first I said, “Aw man, Bondi…” and then as she looked up at me I thought… I should just be grateful she’s here and alive, and not acting like she’s on her death bed and the fact that I’m able to enjoy her right now. The here, the now.

I stopped myself from freaking out about some newly cleaned dishes that were getting dirtied again by Bondi, my cockatoo, and just appreciated the fact that she was there to do it.

It made me realize how often we all, as humans, flip out about the small things and sometimes most of us don’t learn how to just let it go. Let your bird dirty the dishes – avoid yelling at it and taking things away or moving it – circumstances it won’t understand and that really do no one any real harm. Sure, it cost me some more time to rewash the dishes later but it was nice to just let it go and enjoy the moments.

Enjoy the quirks parrots have to offer to our every day life.

Blue throated macaw

The Womachs are coming back today. I am very excited to see them and the flock again. I can’t believe it’s been two years since I moved from Austin to Orlando, and they left for their Ringling tour. Where has the time gone?
Before I left Austin, I wrote a list of things I wanted to accomplish in these two years. I’m guessing I got through perhaps half of the things on that list. I can look to see…I found it this morning in an empty box while packing up my things. I have to shake my head in dusgust when I realize what DIDN’T get done.

As I continued packing, I tried to come up with excuses to make myself feel like less of a loser: I ran through all the obvious ones: too busy, too tired, too________(fill in the blank). But I know that in the end, there are no excuses, only results, and I don’t see nearly enough of those.

The failure in my system is obvious. I compiled a list of goals that were important enough for me to take the time to write them down. Then, instead of keeping the list available as a constant reminder, I set it aside thinking that the act of writing it would remain motivating enough for me that I would carry out it’s objective. Yeah…no.

Congo african grey

When we really want something, we shouldn’t rely only on our desire to reach that goal. Sometimes our momentum stalls and we need to re-inspire ourselves to keep on track and moving forward. Someone explained to me the influencial power she found in using a goal board.

A goal board is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a board on which you write your goals. It is as simple as it sounds.The thing that makes a goal board work is that in investing your time in making it, you become psychologically committed to achieving that goal. It’s like making a promise to yourself.

To enhance the likelihood of success, your goal board is designed in such a way, and is put in such a place that it catches your eye every day reminding you of your intentions and keeps you focused on them. When you are faltering, and feeling without ambition, a look at your goal board should remind you of what is important and redirect your energies.

Some people use pictures, others only words. Some find the use of certain colors inspiring. It doesn’t have to be huge, but it should be moving to you and draw your attention everytime you walk past it.

Toco toucan Pretty excited to meet this little guy!

Think how valuable this could be with our birds. At one point or another we have all said something like: “I think I will harness train the birds this year.” or “The birds will have their outdoor aviary by next summer for sure!”. How often is it that you look back at that statement months later realizing you are no closer to reaching the goal than you were on the day you said it?

Let’s make a committment to commit! Let’s make a promise to ourselves to achieve just one goal for our birds in the next six months. Maybe it will be an improvement in diet, or maybe a new trained behavior. And let’s try using a goal board in achieving it. I have trusted friends who have used them successfully for years and who swear by their effectiveness. Let’s not let another year pass us by. Believe me, time can slip away from you. I just had two years whiz by in the blink of an eye!