Red Red Robins

 Two clutches of robins hatched on my son's deck this spring.  When they tried to nest for a third clutch, my son put up some passive resistance in the form of a box in the place where they liked to nest.  Even two clutches of robins is a lot of robins for one yard.  Still, I have not noticed robins around the yard much since the nesting stopped.

Then last week, my daughter in law spotted a very persistent Cooper's hawk hanging around the deck.  It seemed to be eyeing a rabbit.  Generally, rabbits are too big for Cooper's hawks to kill.  But, I looked up the main diet for Cooper's hawks.  It seems that they eat a lot of robins.

I guess that answers the question--what has happened to all the robins that were hatched around here?

Hummers

 I got a hummingbird feeder this spring. I never tried it before because I always thought it would be complicate d.  But, I have observed my daughter in law's hummingbird feeder for a couple of years now.  I really enjoy watching these little birds chase each other around, protecting "their" feeder.

I got a shepherd's hook and hung the feeder over my herb garden.  The herbs don't bloom much, but the bright red feeder adds some color to that garden. I don't need to worry about spilled seed growing in my herb garden or attracting squirrels.

Tuesday I took a couple of minutes at the end of a very busy day with still more things to do to sit out on my balcony that overlooks the herb garden.  As I admired the look of the hummingbird feeder and wondered how long it would take for the birds to find it, a hummingbird stopped to feed at my feeder. Success!

This was a thankful to God moment for me because who knows how many hummingbirds had visited that feeder this week.  That bird I saw may have been the only one.  But, it stopped just at my moment of musing.  This is not a big important thing, not prophesy or even a direct answer to prayer. But, to me it was communication from God.  A God wink, if you will. God is so good.

The Birds, The Birds

I had a plan last week to thoroughly clean the birdcage.  I planned to transfer the parakeets to the extra cage I have, and take the main cage out and squirt it down.  I planned to scrub everything completely.  This winter some of it got away from be a bit.  In the warmer weather I had taken the whole cage, birds and all, out on the deck and cleaned it. I was very careful not to open the cage while outside.  But all the seed and feathers were easier to handle outdoors.

When I opened the cage and tried to catch one of the birds, he flew out into my house.  I am a bad bird owner according to the social media group I used to belong to because I have given up letting these birds fly free in my house.  They fly into walls and the ceiling.  They hide behind things and crawl into cupboards.  I have tried many times to do the free fly thing and I am afraid the blue bird will kill himself flying into things.  He seems to be rather a birdbrain.  Additionally, the blue bird has never returned himself to the cage.  Abu will crawl all over it seeming to look for the door to get in, but will never find it.  Achoo, the yellow parakeet, is the female.  She is less friendly, but smarter.  She can get herself back into the cage and she seems to be very good at finding hiding places.  Neither bird will perch on my finger or a stick I am holding.  Neither will come to me for a treat, even when I sit with my hand in the cage. I am resigned to having untamed birds.

I have looked at the rescue site here locally. I would consider surrendering them to a better life, but the rescue seems to be full at the moment.  They need more bird foster parents because they have too many birds.  This is not a good time to give up the birds for a better life, because it sounds like they wouldn't be getting one.

This made me consider, as we begin to head out of the pandemic, people who adopted birds for companionship during the pandemic are finding that as their lives open up they are just not that committed to their pets.  That is my story.  Soon the same thing may happen with dogs. Maybe someday there will be more than pit bulls to adopt. I plan to hang in there with the birds for a while longer.  I got off the social media page that was filling me with guilt.  These birds are animals, not children.  I am giving them the best life that I can.

Eventually I caught Abu and Achoo in my net and put them back in their cage.  I didn't get the deep cleaning done that I had hoped to do.  But, there should be warm weather again soon and I can wheel them out to the deck and clean what I can. For now, it is me and my birds.

Success/ Failure

 I am still hanging in with my parakeets.  Their names are Abu and Achoo.  These days I am more achoo.  The air purifier needs new filters and I haven't dealt with that yet, so my sinuses are going crazy. Achoo is molting. I spend most of my time not in the same room with them.  They will never bond with me at this rate.  I probably should find them a new home.

But, then I ask myself, "Is this just one more failure to add to the list? One more thing you couldn't do?" Or is it making a wise decision for my health? During a pandemic is not a time to have sinus problems. So, I have stumbled along. caring for these birds and trying to stay healthy.  Wanting to have success, but asking, is the answer deciding to make them work or deciding to move on?

I am not a quit-er. I keep at something long past the point that most people would have thrown in the towel.  This is often not a good thing.  Holding on just to hold on can be a big mistake. For now I wait.  I have asked God for some guidance in this.  I believe that the way will be made clear if I just listen.  Sometimes when I don't know what to do, just do nothing, but listen.

Boring Post for Saturday

In my ongoing battle to try to keep the parakeets and not suffer too badly from allergies someone gave me a hint that seems to be working.  I spray the liner with water before I change it to keep the dust down.  That has made a difference.  Also, the molting seems to be on pause at the moment.

Boring Post for Saturday--The Birds

I have found that between the air purifier and the Musinex and that Abu is about done with the molting I am dealing with my bird allergies.  But Achoo still has to molt and I am not looking forward to that.  I am hoping to keep the birds because they are noise and company.  But, I have figured out how to get in touch with the bird rescue if I can't handle them anymore.  The complexities of life are sometimes absurd.

Who?

My daughter in law keeps a hummingbird feeder going.  She has quite a little flock of hummers that sail around their house.  I think there are some nests.  The neighbors have a feeder as well, so lots of hummers.  I have seen them chasing each other around the yard.  It is hard to get a photo of a hummingbird.  They move quickly.  But, I got one.  Little bird, the size of my thumb.  Amazing.

Boring Post for Saturday--Parakeets

I feel like I should write about parakeets.  But, there isn't much to say.  My birds aren't tamed yet.  they are a boy and a girl and they are young.  I joined a Facebook parakeet group which is a better place to learn about parakeet care and raising than any book I could buy.

I realize as I care for these birds that I like caring for things.  I like birds.  To me they are interesting.  But, they are sometimes noisy and they are always messy.  But, I enjoy them none the less.  They make a good pandemic pet.

I have concluded that I am not a very good animal photographer because I can't seem to get a good picture of them.  I can get their backs.  I would like to show the front of the female, Achoo.  If I didn't think it would be profane, I would name her Paraclete and I need to show you all a picture to explain that.  She is lavender and white with a yellow face.  On her breast there is a white cross surrounded by lavender.  Achoo.

Abu is blue.  He looks like the parakeet, Pretty Boy that I had as a child.  Abu.

The Birds, The Birds

When my parents thought they would never be able to have children, they found many things to keep them busy and to try to satisfy their desire to nurture. They sponsored scouting, they were teachers, and somewhere along the way they decided to raise parakeets.  By all accounts my dad seemed to be more all in on that project than Mom, but it was a project they did together.

I have heard stories about the hours Dad spent at the library researching how to breed crosses to get various colors of parakeets.  Mom reports that they were always trying for lavender which in the 1950s was a valuable color.  They drove to pet stores and bird raisers in Iowa and perhaps other places.  I am not clear about how long this project went on.  They had a chicken coop that Dad provided with heat and cages at our house in Thomson, IL.  All this said, I don't remember those parakeets.  My cousins have said they remember the last pair Blondie and Dagwood when I came along, and I am not sure whatever happened to them. I have no memory of those birds.  They were gone before my brothers came along.

My family moved to Rockford, IL when I was starting kindergarten.  I missed Thomson and my free ranging life in the village.  I missed my friends and I wanted a dog.  My mom was expecting a baby that winter and a dog wasn't in the picture. So, we got a parakeet which I named Pretty Boy.  Pretty Boy was blue and we taught him to say his name.  We let him out of his cage and he would fly around and land on outstretched fingers and the available head or arm.  I didn't do much parakeet care, but I observed it.  Not closely, but I was there.  Pretty boy died when I was in Junior High.  By that time we were on our second dog and I was a dog person for sure.  But, I always have had a soft spot for birds.

Being a pet person in my adult years I had hamsters briefly.  I lived for many of my adult years with cats who slept on my bed despite my allergies that caused me sinus infections and bronchitis. When the last cat died I vowed not to put myself through that again.  I loved the cats, they were sweet.  But, I like breathing more.

In  my single life I have considered pets.  I have a betta fish which seems to be the single woman's pet.  I like the fish. I keep her clean and fed.  But, there is not a lot of noise or interaction. She is a good listener.  Fish are low maintenance.  I sort of want a dog, but I have to consider my allergies, I like breathing.  I also don't have a fenced yard or access to the backyard easily.  I would have to buy an expensive purebred and I just haven't decided to commit to that. 

I have investigated parakeets on and off. There were always things that gave me pause.  Acquiring healthy birds was one thing that stopped me. Getting all the various pieces of things that I would need was another consideration.  Cleaning up and caring for these birds and finding someone to watch them when I travel were things that gave me pause. 

Then I was home alone. Alone.  Not going anywhere. No travel for the foreseeable future.  And dogs were in short supply.  Online I found all the bird supplies I needed.  I found that I could get birds from a name brand pet store in my town. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take my chances.  I will say that they collectively aren't the healthiest birds, but they are recovering. One is breathing hard.  They were very quiet for the first couple of days after I brought them home, I feared finding one or more of them dead every morning when I uncovered the cage. But, now they are chattering and seem happy.  I can be sympathetic to breathing issues.

I have two parakeets.  I have named them Achoo and Abu which are words that my grandson said.  I might have named Achoo, Paraclete if I didn't think that was profane.  Achoo is mainly white with a yellow head. He/she has lavender markings on its breast that make a cross of white.  I will try to take a picture and share sometime. Abu is blue.

Parakeets are noisy and messy and require a certain amount of daily effort.  They are wild birds that I am trying to tame so that they will land on my finger and perhaps say a few words.  They don't love me like a dog or cat would.  Two birds together make them happier and healthier, but less likely to talk and a little less friendly toward me, but less dependent.  Parakeets aren't for everyone.  But, for me, at this time and place they were a good decision.

I have realized that I am a caretaker. I like things to need my care.  The birds satisfy that need in me to take care of something.  Existing alone can become sad and depressing.  At least it was that way for me.  I don't believe for a minute that most of you would want birds.  They are a lot of work and they smell.  But, for me, the cure to loneliness and depression, at least a step toward a cure is these birds.