Modern Day Raptors

I try to make every day count, spread a little happiness wherever I can, and just enjoy this weird little life we get to live.

It’s way too easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing or saying. Protect your peace, do what makes you happy, and don’t let someone else’s bad energy ruin a perfectly good day.

Some of my favorite things about living with parrots are the tiny routines they create completely on their own.

Chucky has apparently decided that announcing bedtime is his responsibility, and now I can pretty much count on hearing his little voice from the darkness every night.

It’s such a simple thing, but somehow those little moments are always the ones that get you.

Just another day in the life of having a house full of birds. Johnny had his planned yearly checkup and made me incredibly proud with how well all of our carrier training paid off.

Baby Doug, however, decided he couldn’t let Johnny have all the attention and earned himself an unexpected vet visit too.

Thankfully, everyone is home and doing well. Doug is now sporting a tiny splint and discovering that medication time comes with the added humiliation of becoming a birdie burrito.

Nico seriously makes me laugh. He’s such a nosy little guy and always seems to be following another bird around just to see what they’re up to.

When he’s not obsessing over Beep Beep, his favorite adventure buddy seems to be Toto. Wherever Toto goes, Nico isn’t far behind, quietly observing and apparently taking notes.

I’m pretty sure Nico considers everyone else’s business his business too.

There’s something really special about being chosen by a bird who has already lived an entire life before meeting you.

Adult parrots come with their own personalities, preferences, quirks, and sometimes a little baggage too. Building a relationship with them isn’t about shaping who they become. It’s about getting to know the bird already standing in front of you and earning their trust along the way.

Georgie was already 25 when she came into my life, and our relationship is proof that you don’t need decades together to create an incredibly strong bond.

So if you’re considering adding a parrot to your family, don’t automatically skip over the adults and seniors. Your bird might already be out there, just waiting for the opportunity to choose you.

There’s just something magical about birds. It’s hard to put into words, but once you fall in love with them, they have a way of completely capturing your heart.

Ever wonder why I do voiceovers on most of my videos? This is exactly why.

When you have as many birds as I do, a completely quiet moment is pretty much nonexistent, especially when everyone is out playing, exploring, and making sure their opinions are heard.

But I thought I’d share this little unedited moment of me hanging out with the big boys, Zazu and Johnny, complete with the usual background soundtrack that comes with life in my house.

Meanwhile, Chucky was keeping his distance and judging us from across the room. He’s normally glued to my shoulder, but Johnny had irritated him, so he chose to supervise from afar instead.

Just a completely normal day around here 😅.

With Johnny, I’ve learned that confidence isn’t built through one big breakthrough. It’s usually a whole bunch of tiny wins that probably don’t look very exciting from the outside.

Something as simple as climbing down from a perch or investigating a carrier might not seem like much, but for a bird who tends to second-guess himself, choosing to work through that uncertainty on his own is a pretty big deal.

My job is mostly to give him safe opportunities to figure things out, resist the urge to immediately rescue him, and make sure there’s a walnut waiting when he succeeds.

We didn’t accomplish the entire goal today, and that’s okay. Johnny left the session a little more confident than when we started, and that’s always a win in my book.

Samara is never wrong.

I think pigeons might be one of the most underrated pet birds out there.

They’re sweet, quirky, surprisingly entertaining, and there’s something about watching them happily wander around doing their own little pigeon activities that never gets old.

Pidgey and Socks have been part of my life for years now, and they’re a good reminder that a bird doesn’t have to talk, perform tricks, or demand your attention every five seconds to have a ton of personality.

Sometimes they just waddle around the yard, obsess over the perfect stick, and somehow manage to be completely adorable while doing it.