Lisa Phoenix's blog

bird brains and magic words

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 22:59:03 -0400

Since Zazu grew his flights in and began flying a couple of years ago, he's always been eager to fly to me, not always at convenient times... if i'm studying or doing an art project everything goes fluttering to the ground in the sweep of B&G wings - he's always been a bit of a velcro bird.

Zazu's new tricks, and Mouse

Sat, 18 Jun 2005 22:37:30 -0400

Zazu has always enjoyed retrieving, and picked up flighted retrieve pretty quickly once he learned to hang on to his retrieve object (he kept dropping it enroute). So i thought the next logical step might be "get it" (fly to perch where object is waiting) and then "bring it" (fly back to me with the object). Today he did this chain three times in a row just for fun before demanding a walnut. Pretty fun. Lately i've been having him retrieve pieces of paper. i can retire and he can support me as a winged panhandler...

what my bird does when i'm not home

Mon, 23 May 2005 15:29:54 -0400

One of these days i'm going to have to set up a web cam. Zazu has invented a new pastime: he takes the sleeve of an old sweatshirt of mine tied to his playgym, works it through his beak to the cuff, then flies across to another perch still holding the end of the sleeve in his beak.

Zazu flying outside

Sat, 26 Mar 2005 21:30:31 -0500

Twice now in as many weeks Zazu has startled and flown off into neighborhood trees. Yesterday he took off over my back fence, always my worst fear as i lose sight of him quickly, but turned to circle back and wound up in a tree a few houses up the street.

Zazu and Mouse

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 21:03:20 -0500

Zazu seems to be hitting puberty, or something. One day he's ridiculously clingly, flying across he room to snatch my car keys from my hand in an effort to prevent my leaving... the next he's opening Mouse's cage for a game of chase while i'm at work.

milestone for both of us

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 18:59:00 -0500

Since Zazu's adventure in the neighbor's tree i admit that i've been nervous about taking him outside, and anyway the weather wasn't really cooperating... i realized i wasn't comfortable anymore just strolling out with him as i have done... have to mentally prepare myself, load pockets with graded treats and car keys (urban reality bites: my neighbor probably wouldn't mind my fence climbing antics, but who knows about the complete strangers not much further along, as the macaw flies)... i was actually wondering about the wisdom of letting him grow his flights in and encouraging him to use his wings, all the while knowing that it's too late to turn back - i can't very well go clipping him now, it would break his heart.

thief

Tue, 18 Jan 2005 20:36:26 -0500

Zazu's latest favorite fun thing to do is to fly to my shoulder, deftly (and gently) remove an earring, and fly off with it to a perch where he blackmails me for it's return. He's become very quick and sneaky at this. He's an ace retriever and i taught him to "trade" objects for nuts when he was snatching my glasses off and destroying them. But flightedness adds a whole new level to the game.

Zazu's not-so-big adventure, or how my macaw helps me stay in shape

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:00:09 -0500

We had a sunny break in the rain today and i played hookey with Zazu. We were practicing recalls in the back yard when he suddenly turned in flight and went sailing over my back fence, landing in a neighbor's tree.

Zazu's first outside flights...

Tue, 14 Dec 2004 18:45:53 -0500

...are really, really short distances. i had him outside for the first time in a couple of weeks this afternoon since we are having a brief break in the rain. He was excited to be out but pretty nervous too; it took some patient coaxing to get that first short hop. On his second recall he overshot and went sailing on past me, but as he wasn't in a panic but had merely miscalculated he made no attempt to gain altitude and glided for several yards, ending with a nice low and much more graceful landing than i would have thought possible. Outside we are starting at roughly 1/4 his comfortable indoor distance.

Zazu blues

Sun, 05 Dec 2004 16:13:24 -0500

Some of you with more experienced fliers are probably going to laugh at this, but... Zaz is giving me grey hair! It feels like he went from perch potato to junior space cadet overnight, so unlike Mouse, who seemed to take the whole flight thing in stride, with day-by-day skill-building.

Mouse and Zazu update

Sat, 20 Nov 2004 17:37:52 -0500

Hello all, sorry about the long silence... i've missed everyone! Glad to browse the journals and catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones.

Mouse PFLB is doing great. He's outgrown his baby clip and is extremely handsome and affectionate. After long consideration i've decided a girlfriend is in order, and so i'm learning all i can about breeding lovebirds. Anything you can share on this subject would be much appreciated. My plan is that Mouse's mate and babies are all to be handtamed freeflyers just as he is. Pretty labor-intensive, but worth it - i wouldn't have it any other way.

Mouse, Monday Evening: four months old

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 22:56:06 -0400

i've been mind-numbingly busy at work, and for that reason i haven't been taking Mouse with me. He is four months old today, and this evening when i got home i took him for a quiet sunset stroll around the block, just Mouse and me. i have to say he is one of the sweetest lovebirds i've ever met, and as calm and self-possesssed as the day i met him and he alone among his clutchmates braved the climb onto my shoulder and then decided that was a pretty good place to be.

Mouse, Sunday Evening: a comfortable routine

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 12:26:01 -0400

Mouse and i have settled into a pretty comfortable outdoor routine when we're home. Left to decide on his own what he'd like to do, it doesn't involve a lot of flying... i spend a lot of time sitting in the grass and playing lookout while he's foraging; he always spends some time crawling around inside my t-shirt; and there's a lot of mellow aimless play that we engage each other in, which reminds me of the kind of thing i did when i was very little; absorbing but without goals, and therefore kind of hard to describe.

Mouse, Tuesday Evening: hummingbird buddy

Tue, 20 Jul 2004 21:15:34 -0400

Mouse spent a lot of time in a (still unidentified) small tree/large shrub in the back yard today, and i quietly walked away and watched from a distance. A hummingbird that usually perches quite high came down and hovered quite close to Mouse, circling him to view him from all angles. Nothing agressive, just sheer curiousity i guess. Mouse basically ignored the hummer and went on eating berries; the hummer settled on a neighboring bush close by and preened, very companionably. i let it go on for quite awhile but after i realized Mouse was actually consuming and not just shredding these berries, i got nervous. So far i haven't been able to id it online; Mouse seems fine.

Mouse, Saturday Evening: flying with hawks

Sat, 17 Jul 2004 23:09:54 -0400

There was a red-shouldered hawk circling the compound at work all day, very vocal. At one point s/he landed on Gertie Gull's favorite telephone pole roost, and the gull quickly ousted the hawk. i don't know when the young hawks of the year fledge, but had the impression this was a youngster - surely no hawk seriously hunting would be so noisy?