July 2020
Dear Elephants and Birds and, of course, Humans,
I can't believe that we are celebrating our 32nd Anniversary together but I am thrilled that we
are doing it. Most bird clubs just don't last that long, but look at us. That is because we are
special and every bird is special and every animal is special (except Matt, he is not special).
Actually, this is really a great evening. We can talk about our birds, how much we love them and
how much dirt and noise they make and just how crazy all of us really are.
I had a terrible thing happen to me this week. I lost Zeke, my wonderful cockatiel. Zeke was
originally won as a prize at one of our first shows.....I don't condone using animals as prizes,
but Zeke was a prize. Luckily he was one by a very
sweet girl who loved him very much. She thought he was a she, but that is another story. Six
years after she had him there was a problem in her family and she looked to re-home him and I, at
the time, was looking for a friend for a cockatiel I had named Penelope. Well, Zeke, a normal
grey, and Penelope, a cinnamon pied, hit it off right from the start, so much so, that they had 16
babies. They raised their babies together, I would never pull a baby from its parents, I tamed
them down and got them used to being handled, and I found homes for every one of them except the
first one.
The first one was a pied that I named Antonia, later Antonio when I learned he was a boy. I
finally was able to stop the baby machines from reproducing, and I had Penelope, Antonio and Zeke
for years. They used to fly through my house together like their own little flock, even taking
walks together around the house. Eventually Antonio, and about 2 years later Penelope, died. I
learned that pied and other marking mutations of cockatiels do not live as long as the normal
greys. Zeke lived 25 years. He was the greatest bird. We had breakfast together every morning.
I could call him, by name, and from whatever room he was in he would fly to me and land on my head
or shoulder or finger. I adored him and I miss him terribly. I still look for him everywhere I go
in the house, especially the places he like best to hang out. Cockatiels are amazing. I have
always loved them and always will.
Emma is doing well, needs his nails cut, but he is fine. Aristophanes is going to be moving into a
cage for a while because he decided that living on a bird stand, even one with 6 perches on it, is
boring and he likes to wander. He gets too aggressive when he climbs on Emma's cage and I have to
figure out how to deal with this situation.
We have a great program tonight. Doug Traudt, who was heavily involved in bringing eagles back
into this area after they almost became extinct from hunting and pesticides, is our speaker and his
presentation will be all about bald eagles and their incredible recoverery. Our club member and
frequent presenter, Ellen Kalish, got Doug for us and we are very excited about his program. We
also have our silent auction and just an excellent evening planned for everyone to enjoy.
Next month, Rick Stein will be our program and he will talk about his many years as a veterinarian
who treated birds. Give me more ideas and names for programs and we will keep going strong.
HAPPY 32ND ANNIVERSARY TO ALL OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS. Be kind to every animal.
LOVE,
RICHIE
I can't believe that we are celebrating our 32nd Anniversary together but I am thrilled that we
are doing it. Most bird clubs just don't last that long, but look at us. That is because we are
special and every bird is special and every animal is special (except Matt, he is not special).
Actually, this is really a great evening. We can talk about our birds, how much we love them and
how much dirt and noise they make and just how crazy all of us really are.
I had a terrible thing happen to me this week. I lost Zeke, my wonderful cockatiel. Zeke was
originally won as a prize at one of our first shows.....I don't condone using animals as prizes,
but Zeke was a prize. Luckily he was one by a very
sweet girl who loved him very much. She thought he was a she, but that is another story. Six
years after she had him there was a problem in her family and she looked to re-home him and I, at
the time, was looking for a friend for a cockatiel I had named Penelope. Well, Zeke, a normal
grey, and Penelope, a cinnamon pied, hit it off right from the start, so much so, that they had 16
babies. They raised their babies together, I would never pull a baby from its parents, I tamed
them down and got them used to being handled, and I found homes for every one of them except the
first one.
The first one was a pied that I named Antonia, later Antonio when I learned he was a boy. I
finally was able to stop the baby machines from reproducing, and I had Penelope, Antonio and Zeke
for years. They used to fly through my house together like their own little flock, even taking
walks together around the house. Eventually Antonio, and about 2 years later Penelope, died. I
learned that pied and other marking mutations of cockatiels do not live as long as the normal
greys. Zeke lived 25 years. He was the greatest bird. We had breakfast together every morning.
I could call him, by name, and from whatever room he was in he would fly to me and land on my head
or shoulder or finger. I adored him and I miss him terribly. I still look for him everywhere I go
in the house, especially the places he like best to hang out. Cockatiels are amazing. I have
always loved them and always will.
Emma is doing well, needs his nails cut, but he is fine. Aristophanes is going to be moving into a
cage for a while because he decided that living on a bird stand, even one with 6 perches on it, is
boring and he likes to wander. He gets too aggressive when he climbs on Emma's cage and I have to
figure out how to deal with this situation.
We have a great program tonight. Doug Traudt, who was heavily involved in bringing eagles back
into this area after they almost became extinct from hunting and pesticides, is our speaker and his
presentation will be all about bald eagles and their incredible recoverery. Our club member and
frequent presenter, Ellen Kalish, got Doug for us and we are very excited about his program. We
also have our silent auction and just an excellent evening planned for everyone to enjoy.
Next month, Rick Stein will be our program and he will talk about his many years as a veterinarian
who treated birds. Give me more ideas and names for programs and we will keep going strong.
HAPPY 32ND ANNIVERSARY TO ALL OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS. Be kind to every animal.
LOVE,
RICHIE