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Ripping up the road
Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
- Joined
- 4/15/10
- Messages
- 50,087
- Real Name
- Matthew
Our "Mayor of the Avenue" award is presented to a member who exhibits the qualities that distinguish them to be an upstanding credit to the Avenue, a loving, informed, conscientious and caring bird parront and an all around good neighbor.
I am happy to announce that Zara is April's Mayor of the Month.
I enjoyed reading your interview, and am sure that everyone else will as well!
1. What kind of birds do you have (age, species and names)?
I have seven Agapornis Roseicollis (Peach-faced lovebirds)
Sydney,6,likely male. Jaime,5,male. Aldora, unknown age, been with me 3 years,female. Lapis Lazuli, 1.5, female. Nube, 1.5, male, Adélie, 1, female, somewhat special needs. Gísli, 2m, Unknown gender.
2. What got you interested in birds?
All my life I enjoyed feeding wild birds, as a kid at the WWT, and when I moved to Spain I loved visiting the Dove park to feed the birds and chickens. When I met my partner, he introduced me to his uncle, who had 13-14 Roseicollis lovebirds. They were beautiful. I learned so much from him, he had been keeping lovebirds for 15 years and had bred some of them. One day, my partner asked If I would like my own lovebird, something I had never even thought of before. Soon after, we brought home Sydney.
3. What have your birds brought to your life?
Joy and love.
4. What have you learned from sharing your life with your birds?
I have learned to block out the noise I have learned so much about lovebird behaviour, just by being with them and obseving them. They are such fascinating creatures, you have to spend time with them to learn truly.
5. What's one birdie memory that will stay with you forever?
There are a few. Finding Aldora is a very interesting memory. Raising Adélie is certainly not something I will forget in my lifetime. But another big memory would have to be nursing the little dove back to health after his surgery and watching him fly free.
6. Where is your birds main living area?
In my living room. I have a couple of floor cages, and a couple of cages on the TV stand instead of a TV.
7. Did you change things in your home to accommodate your birds and if so what kinds of things did you change?
Not much. We don´t leave any paper stuffs out anymore as Peach-faced lovebirds are notorious for shredding paper into strips. And I have to clean a lot more frequently.
8. Are you involved in any kind of bird related group or activities?
Mainly AA. I did join a toy making group on facebook but I rarely look at it. I am in a group for lost/found birds. I also keep an eye on a Pigeon rescue, a couple of hours away, on social media, they usually post petitions etc to help pigeons and doves in various areas. And I always keep an eye out on any news surrounding the monk parakeets here, signing all petitions. I visit my local park frequently, taking veggies and seeds with me for all the birds; chickens, doves, parakeets, swans, ducks.
9. What is the one luxury item you would love to have for your bird(s)?
I would love a huge aviary filled with trees, branches, natural foliage so they could fly around and enjoy a more natural experience. One day...
10. Is there any bird that you dream of owning and if so why?
A normal green Personatus lovebird. There is something about that beautiful red beak and their vibrant coloured plumage.
I also would love a POW and a couple zebra finches.
11. Describe a typical day with you at home with your birds.
My days can vary. I try not to keep a tight schedule or it leads to a lot of noise when they don´t get what they expect right at the minute they expect it. I wake up, uncover all the birds. If my partner makes coffee I drink it before making breakfast. If I make coffee, I chop the veggies while I´m in the kitchen. I keep a bird tub in the fridge, and any cuts or pieces I have saved from dinner the night before go in there, I found it helps cut down waste as I have little birds that eat little amounts. The birds get their veggies in their cages. Once they have all abandoned their plates, I open the cages for some flight time. I usually fly Jaime, Aldora, Lapis and Nube together, and then Sydney and Adelie together. I try to remember to rotate turns. Gisli is still trying to find where s/he fits in. Sometimes I´m home all day, other times I have to go out to work. So sometimes there´s a longer flight time, and other days it´s shorter. Even if I am home, they are all caged for their afternoon nap. Late afternoon, I go round and clean cages, allowing more flight time while I do so. My birds are on a 12/12 schedule here. Sometimes I have to work odd hours so the flight time is just whenever it fits in.
12. What have you learned about owning birds that you would like to share?
I have learned so much. I do my best to share any information and tips wherever I can on AA to hopefully help others with their birds.
13. If you knew then what you know now about birds, what would you do differently?
Buy a good cage from the get go. I have had lots of cages, and I would have saved time and money just diving in and buying a better cage from day one.
I would also have tried to introduce pellets sooner, and introducing the playstand/park sooner.
Another thing is I would have put the tablecloth on the wall behind the cages sooner, it works a charm to clean.
14. What other hobbies do you have?
I collect feathers. Also, I make my own bird toys for my flock. Importing toys is extremely expensive for me and locally I can´t find good quality safe toys, so I make my own.
Non bird related, I enjoy taking photographs, learning new makeup techniques, and most of all gardening - I have a balcony, so I do the best I can, propagating, replanting and growing.
15. Anything else you would like to share?
I am so happy to have joined Avian Avenue, and to be a part of this community of people, who I consider friends.
I am humbled and honored to have been chosed to be Major this month
I am happy to announce that Zara is April's Mayor of the Month.
I enjoyed reading your interview, and am sure that everyone else will as well!
1. What kind of birds do you have (age, species and names)?
I have seven Agapornis Roseicollis (Peach-faced lovebirds)
Sydney,6,likely male. Jaime,5,male. Aldora, unknown age, been with me 3 years,female. Lapis Lazuli, 1.5, female. Nube, 1.5, male, Adélie, 1, female, somewhat special needs. Gísli, 2m, Unknown gender.
2. What got you interested in birds?
All my life I enjoyed feeding wild birds, as a kid at the WWT, and when I moved to Spain I loved visiting the Dove park to feed the birds and chickens. When I met my partner, he introduced me to his uncle, who had 13-14 Roseicollis lovebirds. They were beautiful. I learned so much from him, he had been keeping lovebirds for 15 years and had bred some of them. One day, my partner asked If I would like my own lovebird, something I had never even thought of before. Soon after, we brought home Sydney.
3. What have your birds brought to your life?
Joy and love.
4. What have you learned from sharing your life with your birds?
I have learned to block out the noise I have learned so much about lovebird behaviour, just by being with them and obseving them. They are such fascinating creatures, you have to spend time with them to learn truly.
5. What's one birdie memory that will stay with you forever?
There are a few. Finding Aldora is a very interesting memory. Raising Adélie is certainly not something I will forget in my lifetime. But another big memory would have to be nursing the little dove back to health after his surgery and watching him fly free.
6. Where is your birds main living area?
In my living room. I have a couple of floor cages, and a couple of cages on the TV stand instead of a TV.
7. Did you change things in your home to accommodate your birds and if so what kinds of things did you change?
Not much. We don´t leave any paper stuffs out anymore as Peach-faced lovebirds are notorious for shredding paper into strips. And I have to clean a lot more frequently.
8. Are you involved in any kind of bird related group or activities?
Mainly AA. I did join a toy making group on facebook but I rarely look at it. I am in a group for lost/found birds. I also keep an eye on a Pigeon rescue, a couple of hours away, on social media, they usually post petitions etc to help pigeons and doves in various areas. And I always keep an eye out on any news surrounding the monk parakeets here, signing all petitions. I visit my local park frequently, taking veggies and seeds with me for all the birds; chickens, doves, parakeets, swans, ducks.
9. What is the one luxury item you would love to have for your bird(s)?
I would love a huge aviary filled with trees, branches, natural foliage so they could fly around and enjoy a more natural experience. One day...
10. Is there any bird that you dream of owning and if so why?
A normal green Personatus lovebird. There is something about that beautiful red beak and their vibrant coloured plumage.
I also would love a POW and a couple zebra finches.
11. Describe a typical day with you at home with your birds.
My days can vary. I try not to keep a tight schedule or it leads to a lot of noise when they don´t get what they expect right at the minute they expect it. I wake up, uncover all the birds. If my partner makes coffee I drink it before making breakfast. If I make coffee, I chop the veggies while I´m in the kitchen. I keep a bird tub in the fridge, and any cuts or pieces I have saved from dinner the night before go in there, I found it helps cut down waste as I have little birds that eat little amounts. The birds get their veggies in their cages. Once they have all abandoned their plates, I open the cages for some flight time. I usually fly Jaime, Aldora, Lapis and Nube together, and then Sydney and Adelie together. I try to remember to rotate turns. Gisli is still trying to find where s/he fits in. Sometimes I´m home all day, other times I have to go out to work. So sometimes there´s a longer flight time, and other days it´s shorter. Even if I am home, they are all caged for their afternoon nap. Late afternoon, I go round and clean cages, allowing more flight time while I do so. My birds are on a 12/12 schedule here. Sometimes I have to work odd hours so the flight time is just whenever it fits in.
12. What have you learned about owning birds that you would like to share?
I have learned so much. I do my best to share any information and tips wherever I can on AA to hopefully help others with their birds.
13. If you knew then what you know now about birds, what would you do differently?
Buy a good cage from the get go. I have had lots of cages, and I would have saved time and money just diving in and buying a better cage from day one.
I would also have tried to introduce pellets sooner, and introducing the playstand/park sooner.
Another thing is I would have put the tablecloth on the wall behind the cages sooner, it works a charm to clean.
14. What other hobbies do you have?
I collect feathers. Also, I make my own bird toys for my flock. Importing toys is extremely expensive for me and locally I can´t find good quality safe toys, so I make my own.
Non bird related, I enjoy taking photographs, learning new makeup techniques, and most of all gardening - I have a balcony, so I do the best I can, propagating, replanting and growing.
15. Anything else you would like to share?
I am so happy to have joined Avian Avenue, and to be a part of this community of people, who I consider friends.
I am humbled and honored to have been chosed to be Major this month