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'm pleased to announce Coco (Lotus15) as October's "Mayor of the Avenue"
She is truly an asset to our community, please join me in welcoming her
I loved reading your interview and learning more about you
1. What kind of birds do you have, age, species and names.
I have an English Budgie named Charles who is a little over a year old now, and a Cape Parrot named Lola who is nearly six months old.
2. What got you interested in birds?
My mother has always been a big bird lover. When I was very very young, we had a cockatiel named Fallon, and when I was in college my mother adopted a beautiful Hahn's Macaw named Karat. Karat, with all her whimsical traits and her absolute snuggle-monster personality, sucked me into the wonderful world of parrots. I missed her so much when I moved out, and eventually after much thought decided to get Charles to fill the void in my life
3. What have your birds brought to your life?
My birds have really brought a sense of true responsibility to my life. I am not only more responsible in my daily life and actions: waking up with the sun for the birds, adhering to a strict feeding schedule, always keeping at least 5-6 healthy vegetables and tropical fruits on hand, etcetera, but also in my pursuit of knowledge and my decision-making. What I mean by being more responsible in my pursuit of knowledge is that I take great pride in learning, researching, and knowing things-- not listening to just anything that anybody on a forum, pet store, or veterinary office tells me, but making the effort to do the research myself: to look up articles, scientific studies, and research to make my own educated decision. I take my birds' safety and health so seriously (yes, I know, often to the point of paranoia) and being responsible about my own database of knowledge is a large part of that.
4. What have you learned from sharing your life with your birds?
Well, I know one heck of a lot more about the importation of natural goods, that's for sure! In all seriousness, though, I think I've learned the most about myself. I never realized quite how exacting, anal, and paranoid I can be about things until I truly had something of *my own*, whose welfare I was solely responsible for. For this reason I am now afraid to have children in the future because I will probably never sleep!!
My birds have also taught me much about humility. In the field of avian research especially, it is incredible how much we do not know and how much there is to learn. As much as an "expert" as anybody claims to be, the truth is that we are still in the dark about these fascinating and wild creatures. I consider it my personal responsibility to continue my own research every single day.
5. What's one birdie memory that will stay with you forever?
Unfortunately it is a wistful one: the day that Charles met Theodore, my late budgie. Introducing two birds is, to me, one of the most nerve-wracking experiences ever. Wondering whether or not they will get along, if they don't get along will it be bickering or will it be violent, if they do get along but one day will stop, if one of them will go so far as to pluck the other, if they will get territorial, if they will share their food, if they will preen each other, if one loves the other but the other doesn't return his love, etc.-- my head was spinning. But the two of them were truly in love at first sight. I still remember how Theodore, just a baby at approximately 9 weeks, sidled up to Charles and with his big, doe eyes began preening Charles's very itchy pin-feathered head. It made my heart melt. Charles and I miss Theodore everyday.
6. Where is your birds main living area?
They're in my bird room! Which is really my bedroom. Which isn't really a bedroom but rather a big bird room with a small bed in the corner. They kicked out my desk and decided a Wingdow Stand would look better there
7. Did you change things in your home to accommodate your birds and if so what kinds of things did you change?
Absolutely. Aside from my sacrificed bedroom, well, everything in my home has been bird-proofed or approved. There are screens on every window and door, there is not a single air freshener or Febreze product, absolutely nothing non-stick is even allowed in the front door, absolutely all of my household cleaning appliances are made to handle heavy duty birdie-cleaning needs and all my cleaners are non-toxic, etc. We are a bird-friendly home!!
8. Are you involved in any kind of bird related group or activities?
I was much more so in New York before I moved down to Virginia, but here I have recently attended my first Phoenix Landing event and hope to continue doing so. My schedule does not at the moment allow for me to continue volunteering at a local rescue or shelter, but I hope to in the future!
9. What is the one luxury item you would love to have for your bird(s)?
I would love to own an aviary!! Or rather, own my own home with an aviary. I simply don't have the space for it right now, or else I would. Some day! My #2 luxury would be… pals for both of them I'm working on the pal for Charles, but a pal for Lola is a way's away.
10. Is there any bird that you dream of owning and if so why?
EMMA!!!
Unfortunately I'm still working out how to smuggle her across the Canadian/American border. More realistically… I dream of partnering up both my birds. A male English-budgie friend for Charles, and another Cape for Lola I have a few "dream" species (Queen of Bavaria Conure, Fiery-Shouldered Conure, Maxi Pi) but I'm not sure that they are actually good fits for me, nor can I imagine owning any more than 3 or 4 birds, so once I partner up my current flock, I think I will be maxed out.
11.Describe a typical day with you at home with your birds.
Wake up at 5:45 and sneak into the kitchen to prepare two bowls of fresh breakfast, clumsily carry those two bowls along with four water bowls and skewered veggies back to the birds and awaken them with our good morning song (this typically takes at least 2 and sometimes as many as 5 trips… I'm clumsy). Get scowled at by Charles for being awoken (no matter the time of day), get clobbered by Lola with smooches. Try to persuade Lola that food is more interesting than my nose while Charles pigs out. Hang out and eat my breakfast with the birds, let them have some flying time, clean their cages, get ready for work etc. Replace their food with dry food and fill up Lola's foot toy bucket with lots and lots of homemade toys, leave for work.
Get home: clobbered by Lola once more with smooches and snuggles. Jaw drops when I see every toy in the cage freshly replaced in the morning reduced to wood chips… sometimes even a perch as well!! Get a funny look like "Oh, you again?" from Charles. Flight time and games to help them work up an appetite while I make their mashie, gobble gobble gobble, clean clean clean, some more play time, then good night!
12. What have you learned about owning birds that you would like to share?
Expect the unexpected. I mean this in two ways: first, always be prepared for the worst. I know that I have been blessed that Charles and Lola get along now, but I will never let them fraternize without my constant watchful eye, because one day things may change. Second, they will impress you and enrich your life more than you could have ever imagined. They will surprise you with compassion, new words, hilarious antics, and more It is and always will be one of the most rewarding and one of the most challenging aspects of my life.
13. If you knew then what you know now about birds, what would you do differently?
Well, thinking back to our very first bird, Fallon, she unfortunately was in a very small, round brass cage with one perch and a seed-only diet. She was kept in the kitchen as well, and we had no idea about the dangers of non-stick. If we'd known… we would have done a lot better. Thankfully, my mother had a close friend who LOVED birds and gave Fallon a much better home than we could have. When we adopted Karat years later, we were far more conscientious and really did our research!
14. What other hobbies do you have?
I'm an avid avid avid reader, and the only thing that competes for space with my birds is my collection of books. I also love to cook and bake, although definitely more for the birds than myself as of late; I love to dance and have been classically trained in six styles of ballroom dance; and I am also an amateur trapeze artist!
15. Anything else you would like to share?
I feel very honored and privileged to be named Mayor. I had a very shocked and overjoyed reaction and if you had told me a year or two ago that I would become so connected to a group of people on an online forum, I would have scoffed. But AA is the most wonderful community of intelligent, understanding, and hilarious people and you all inspire me everyday!!
I'm pleased to announce Coco (Lotus15) as October's "Mayor of the Avenue"
She is truly an asset to our community, please join me in welcoming her
I loved reading your interview and learning more about you
1. What kind of birds do you have, age, species and names.
I have an English Budgie named Charles who is a little over a year old now, and a Cape Parrot named Lola who is nearly six months old.
2. What got you interested in birds?
My mother has always been a big bird lover. When I was very very young, we had a cockatiel named Fallon, and when I was in college my mother adopted a beautiful Hahn's Macaw named Karat. Karat, with all her whimsical traits and her absolute snuggle-monster personality, sucked me into the wonderful world of parrots. I missed her so much when I moved out, and eventually after much thought decided to get Charles to fill the void in my life
3. What have your birds brought to your life?
My birds have really brought a sense of true responsibility to my life. I am not only more responsible in my daily life and actions: waking up with the sun for the birds, adhering to a strict feeding schedule, always keeping at least 5-6 healthy vegetables and tropical fruits on hand, etcetera, but also in my pursuit of knowledge and my decision-making. What I mean by being more responsible in my pursuit of knowledge is that I take great pride in learning, researching, and knowing things-- not listening to just anything that anybody on a forum, pet store, or veterinary office tells me, but making the effort to do the research myself: to look up articles, scientific studies, and research to make my own educated decision. I take my birds' safety and health so seriously (yes, I know, often to the point of paranoia) and being responsible about my own database of knowledge is a large part of that.
4. What have you learned from sharing your life with your birds?
Well, I know one heck of a lot more about the importation of natural goods, that's for sure! In all seriousness, though, I think I've learned the most about myself. I never realized quite how exacting, anal, and paranoid I can be about things until I truly had something of *my own*, whose welfare I was solely responsible for. For this reason I am now afraid to have children in the future because I will probably never sleep!!
My birds have also taught me much about humility. In the field of avian research especially, it is incredible how much we do not know and how much there is to learn. As much as an "expert" as anybody claims to be, the truth is that we are still in the dark about these fascinating and wild creatures. I consider it my personal responsibility to continue my own research every single day.
5. What's one birdie memory that will stay with you forever?
Unfortunately it is a wistful one: the day that Charles met Theodore, my late budgie. Introducing two birds is, to me, one of the most nerve-wracking experiences ever. Wondering whether or not they will get along, if they don't get along will it be bickering or will it be violent, if they do get along but one day will stop, if one of them will go so far as to pluck the other, if they will get territorial, if they will share their food, if they will preen each other, if one loves the other but the other doesn't return his love, etc.-- my head was spinning. But the two of them were truly in love at first sight. I still remember how Theodore, just a baby at approximately 9 weeks, sidled up to Charles and with his big, doe eyes began preening Charles's very itchy pin-feathered head. It made my heart melt. Charles and I miss Theodore everyday.
6. Where is your birds main living area?
They're in my bird room! Which is really my bedroom. Which isn't really a bedroom but rather a big bird room with a small bed in the corner. They kicked out my desk and decided a Wingdow Stand would look better there
7. Did you change things in your home to accommodate your birds and if so what kinds of things did you change?
Absolutely. Aside from my sacrificed bedroom, well, everything in my home has been bird-proofed or approved. There are screens on every window and door, there is not a single air freshener or Febreze product, absolutely nothing non-stick is even allowed in the front door, absolutely all of my household cleaning appliances are made to handle heavy duty birdie-cleaning needs and all my cleaners are non-toxic, etc. We are a bird-friendly home!!
8. Are you involved in any kind of bird related group or activities?
I was much more so in New York before I moved down to Virginia, but here I have recently attended my first Phoenix Landing event and hope to continue doing so. My schedule does not at the moment allow for me to continue volunteering at a local rescue or shelter, but I hope to in the future!
9. What is the one luxury item you would love to have for your bird(s)?
I would love to own an aviary!! Or rather, own my own home with an aviary. I simply don't have the space for it right now, or else I would. Some day! My #2 luxury would be… pals for both of them
I'm working on the pal for Charles, but a pal for Lola is a way's away.10. Is there any bird that you dream of owning and if so why?
EMMA!!!
Unfortunately I'm still working out how to smuggle her across the Canadian/American border. More realistically… I dream of partnering up both my birds. A male English-budgie friend for Charles, and another Cape for Lola
I have a few "dream" species (Queen of Bavaria Conure, Fiery-Shouldered Conure, Maxi Pi) but I'm not sure that they are actually good fits for me, nor can I imagine owning any more than 3 or 4 birds, so once I partner up my current flock, I think I will be maxed out.11.Describe a typical day with you at home with your birds.
Wake up at 5:45 and sneak into the kitchen to prepare two bowls of fresh breakfast, clumsily carry those two bowls along with four water bowls and skewered veggies back to the birds and awaken them with our good morning song (this typically takes at least 2 and sometimes as many as 5 trips… I'm clumsy). Get scowled at by Charles for being awoken (no matter the time of day), get clobbered by Lola with smooches. Try to persuade Lola that food is more interesting than my nose while Charles pigs out. Hang out and eat my breakfast with the birds, let them have some flying time, clean their cages, get ready for work etc. Replace their food with dry food and fill up Lola's foot toy bucket with lots and lots of homemade toys, leave for work.
Get home: clobbered by Lola once more with smooches and snuggles. Jaw drops when I see every toy in the cage freshly replaced in the morning reduced to wood chips… sometimes even a perch as well!! Get a funny look like "Oh, you again?" from Charles. Flight time and games to help them work up an appetite while I make their mashie, gobble gobble gobble, clean clean clean, some more play time, then good night!
12. What have you learned about owning birds that you would like to share?
Expect the unexpected. I mean this in two ways: first, always be prepared for the worst. I know that I have been blessed that Charles and Lola get along now, but I will never let them fraternize without my constant watchful eye, because one day things may change. Second, they will impress you and enrich your life more than you could have ever imagined. They will surprise you with compassion, new words, hilarious antics, and more
It is and always will be one of the most rewarding and one of the most challenging aspects of my life.13. If you knew then what you know now about birds, what would you do differently?
Well, thinking back to our very first bird, Fallon, she unfortunately was in a very small, round brass cage with one perch and a seed-only diet. She was kept in the kitchen as well, and we had no idea about the dangers of non-stick. If we'd known… we would have done a lot better. Thankfully, my mother had a close friend who LOVED birds and gave Fallon a much better home than we could have. When we adopted Karat years later, we were far more conscientious and really did our research!
14. What other hobbies do you have?
I'm an avid avid avid reader, and the only thing that competes for space with my birds is my collection of books. I also love to cook and bake, although definitely more for the birds than myself as of late; I love to dance and have been classically trained in six styles of ballroom dance; and I am also an amateur trapeze artist!
15. Anything else you would like to share?
I feel very honored and privileged to be named Mayor. I had a very shocked and overjoyed reaction and if you had told me a year or two ago that I would become so connected to a group of people on an online forum, I would have scoffed. But AA is the most wonderful community of intelligent, understanding, and hilarious people and you all inspire me everyday!!
Coco!!!!! What a great interview.(I'm sorry you miss theodore 
Coco!!! Congratulations!!!
big smoooooooooooches for Lola and Charles.....Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
congrats!!!
Honestly you are a wonderful parront and it is always nice to get to know the members of the forum a little better. Charles and Lola are very lucky birdies!
at
great choice
