Macawnutz
Seriously Nutz!
Super Administrator
Vendor
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
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 @BrianB is September's Mayor of the Month.
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 @BrianB is September's Mayor of the Month.
1. What kind of birds do you have (age, species, and names)?
Currently, I have a Blue & Gold macaw named Christopher. She, yes, Christopher is a girl, is about five and a half years old. Chewy is a Ruby Macaw, and he is 14 or 15 years old.
2. What got you interested in birds?
Whenever I visited my father as a kid, we would always end up at Busch Gardens or some other animal park. It never failed that I would find the big parrots and do whatever I could to hold one. As a teen, I would spend the summers in Florida with my cousins. My aunt bred cockatiels, so I learned from her how to hand-feed. I guess I’ve always been fascinated by parrots in one way or another.
3. What have your birds brought to your life?
I’ve always been a cat person, but birds are such a different kind of pet. The cats that I’ve owned have brought so much joy and love to my life. Birds have done the same, but in a vastly different way. Cats are a quiet cuddle on a lazy afternoon. Birds are that one friend that always brings a little bit of crazy to your life, but you love them so much that you don’t mind.
4. What have you learned from sharing your life with your birds?
Patience. So much patience. Having a house full of birds and managing an exotic bird store has taught me so much patience.
5. What's one birdie memory that will stay with you forever?
A chance encounter between my cat, Odin, and my blue-crowned conure occurred one afternoon. Wasabi had climbed down to the bottom of his cage stand and was perched there. Odin walked by, completely unaware of Wasabi. When his tail came in range of Wasabi’s beak, he bit it. Odin turned around, saw Wasabi, and took off running. From that moment on, he was afraid of the birds inside the house. He would walk by the office, and if the cages were open and the birds were out, he wouldn’t come in. When Christopher came to live with us, Odin walked into the living room, took one look at this monster bird sitting on top of her cage, and had a meltdown. He gave a yowl and took off running. I think the poor guy went hungry for 2 days because he was afraid to venture into the kitchen, fearing she would get him. It wasn’t until the last few months of his life that he stopped paying any attention to her.
6. Where is your bird’s main living area?
We have a huge open floor plan where our living room, dining room, kitchen, and family room are all together. Chewy has his cage in the family room, and Christopher is in a cage around a corner out of sight from Chewy. Other small cages come and go as baby macaws arrive and leave.
7. Did you change things in your home to accommodate your birds and if so what kinds of things did you change?
We enclosed our patio to appease a neighbor who took issue with our pair of green wings. During the summer of 2019, there was a heat spike here in Phoenix. A heat spike is a weather event where the temperature rises quickly in a short period of time. It was mid-July, and with a weather warning of an expected heat spike, we pulled all the conures inside. The next day, the afternoon temperatures rose from 100 to around 113 over the course of an hour. It would have killed the conures even though we had additional cooling on them. After spending a few days inside, we didn’t want to put them back outside, fearing it would stress them out, so we gave up a small bedroom for them.
8. Are you involved in any kind of bird-related group or activities?
I manage an exotic bird store, so I guess that counts. While I’m not directly involved with the Arizona Aviculture Society, I attend their sponsored bird marts in the spring and fall each year. Sometimes I’m a shopper, and a few times I’ve been a vendor. A few of the board members shop at the bird store, and I’ve become friends with them. I’ve also made it a point to make friends with employees at other local bird stores and rescues. We each do things differently, and our client bases aren’t the same, so I don’t think of us as competitors, just different parts of the same community. It’s important to cultivate those relationships because you never know when someone might need something. It’s nice to have a resource to call on.
9. What is the one luxury item you would love to have for your bird(s)?
A large walk-in aviary with trees for them to fly around and climb on, with a stream for them to splash in.
10. Is there any bird that you dream of owning, and if so, why?
I would love to own another Buffons macaw. He was a fantastic bird. A friend gave me the opportunity to hand-feed a hyacinth chick for him. It was an amazing experience, and they are incredible birds in so many ways. An opportunity has presented itself for me to own one, so I am patiently waiting for things outside of my control to work out. Whatever will be, will be.
11. Describe a typical day with you at home with your birds.
My days are best described as a mix of managed chaos and noise. I’m up at 5:15 to get my day started with some coffee; if there are babies to be fed, that happens while the coffee is brewing. Then, at 6 am, I log on to my laptop to check in with work. Between then and 8:30, I feed and water the pets and the remaining breeding flock, and change what papers I can. If I’m working at the bird store that day, I’m gone until 6 or 7 in the evening. When I get home, I recheck the food and water dishes. Depending on his mood, Chewy might hang out in the office with me for a while.
On the days when I don’t work at the store, I do a rolling cage cleaning in the late morning and afternoon. There are still too many cages to clean daily. My spouse has just retired, so that may change now that he has more free time. If I can, I take advantage of my one self-indulgence in life - an afternoon nap. Just 45 minutes of quiet time in my dark bedroom does wonders for my soul. Some days I don’t even sleep, I need the quiet time. The rest of the day is for whatever else I need to do. Some days I’ll end up back at the bird store helping out with a problem, or working on a delivery. Sometimes I’m at home updating the website. I try to be flexible with my evenings. Some nights I’m playing with baby birds, while others I’m hiding out in the office working on other things.
12. What have you learned about owning birds that you would like to share?
No matter how much you think you know about birds, there is always something more to learn. Be open to advice and suggestions, but keep in mind that what works for one person might not work for you. That doesn’t mean you failed your bird or did something wrong, nor does it mean they gave you bad advice. Every bird is different, and every situation and environment is unique. So, try different things and figure out what works best for you. When you discover the best thing for you and your bird, someone will probably tell you it’s wrong because only their way is correct. That’s ok too.
13. If you knew then what you know now about birds, what would you do differently?
Research, research, research. The world is full of some beautiful birds, but they might not be the pet you think they are.
14. What other hobbies do you have?
I love to travel. In the last few years, we’ve taken a few cruises and had a great time. I’ve started playing with a laser engraver and had great fun making things with birds and feathers engraved on them. It’s been a learning experience, and I’ve set a few things on fire, but for some things, you can’t learn how they work without also understanding how they don’t work.
15. Anything else you would like to share?
I wish I had started this when I was younger.
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I must admit I am shocked you haven’t had this before you are such an excellent member of AA
