Birds We Have Known

We had a tame Magpie around the garden some years ago. It was a bit of a pain, pecking fingers when pegging out washing and it would come into the house through an open window and rummage around. It pecked our dog’s tail as it walked down the garden. It also went into a neighbours house and was pecking their son’s head when he was asleep! Soon woke up! It could also say a few words. It disappeared one day and we never knew what had happened to it.

We had a budgie called Bluey. He was absolutely insane. He would swing round and round on his perch like a gymnast. We didn't keep him in the cage...he could fly in and out at will unless we had the windows/doors open. But he seemed to really enjoy whizzing round and round.

One day I cleaned his cage and must have put the perch back lower than normal because the next time I looked he was lying dead at the bottom of the cage. He'd swung as usual but hit himself on the bottom of the cage.

I am a budgie killer

We used to have a cockatiel called Goldie. From the four of us in the family she chose me as her best friend, she loved sitting on my shoulder as I walked around doing housework etc.

One day I went to put out the washing and had forgotten she was there. As I stepped down into the garden it was quite a big jolt and that made her fly off my shoulder, up into the air. she circled round and round going higher and higher, calling all the time, and then flew off towards the end of the road.

I was in dressing gown with hair all wet but I grabbed a tea towel and ran off down the street with the children all looking upwards anxiously. About 6 houses down was a clear space, I called her and she flew down to me, and landed on the ground. I hastily put the tea towel over her and held her to me, just in time as there were two cats appeared, both looking very interested. She lived a good few years more with us but never seemed inclined to try the great outdoors again.

We’ve had a canary for the past ten years. He landed exhausted next to my husband while he was fishing. He’d obviously escaped from somewhere but we had no luck finding the owner so he became ours. He had such a powerful and beautiful song but is now quiet in his old age. Shame as it was so nice to come home from work to hear him singing away. Perhaps he’s stopped singing as we’re now working from home!

We have the occasional blackbird nest built in the garden and we then buy mealworms for the babies to be fed. One year the pair were on their third brood and the father was so bothered by the fledglings chasing after him begging that he came into the garage where my DH and I were working, walked past us, plonked himself down and rested there for 15 minutes. We didn’t dare move and were pleased to be able to offer him an obviously much needed escape and rest from his brood.

We had a day out with our children. We hadn't intended to go, but there was a bird show on in a hall so we went to look at the birds.
In one area there were birds for sale and DH was smitten by a female cockatiel, being sold because the child in the family had become allergic to her.
She came home with us. She was the best alert bird ever, calling loudly if anyone approached our house, better than our poodle.
She lived very happily with us for about 10 years until one day, giving a loud squawk, she fell off her perch, dead on the cage floor.
We buried her under a tree outside our house.

Thanks for sharing that Geekese

geekesse

My dad had two mynah birds (Morris and Minnie) when we lived overseas. Morris flew into a ceiling fan when it was on full speed. The ceiling and all four walls were splattered with feathers and blood, and because the ceilings were so high, we had to wait a couple of weeks for workmen to come and clean the place. Gruesome!

Well I don't imagine that was the kind of bird story FannyCornforth was expecting

A blackbird had been badly injured by a neighbours cat last year.
Poor thing hopped around our garden on one leg.
We fed it meal worms and put out water, every day it got a bit stronger and could eventually fly a little way.
He started to respond to my call as I put out the food.
He would come and feed from our outdoor dining table and was quite unperturbed by our presence.
Finally his tail feathers grew back his leg healed and just like a selfish teenager he cleared off without a backward glance!!!

My dad had two mynah birds (Morris and Minnie) when we lived overseas. Morris flew into a ceiling fan when it was on full speed. The ceiling and all four walls were splattered with feathers and blood, and because the ceilings were so high, we had to wait a couple of weeks for workmen to come and clean the place. Gruesome!