Advice from a Professional

Dear 'Keets:
It's been a long time since I've written. Frankly, I was a little miffed by your paranoia regarding my friendly overtures to small mammals. But, it's Christmas, and I think we should let "bygones be bygones". I see that Geoffrey is worried that there is a mouse trying to get into the house from the garage. This is my area of expertise. I patrol all the potential access points to our house--especially narrow spaces under furniture and beside appliances. Mice will try to break and enter repeatedly at the cold times of the year--especially if there is food to be had. I suggest that you get a cat--amateur measures (such as traps) will not work. You need to call in a professional.
Keep me informed.
Furby

Together

Chirp together!
Preen together!
Eat together!
Fly together!
Perch together!
Sleep together!
When we are together
Love is with us!

Jary

King (Ahem...) of the Cage

The human female is employing excessive baby talk, and it is demeaning! (I grant you, when one has had a bad day, and maybe overindulged at the seed dish, a few reiterations of "sweetie bird" with a foot stroke are acceptable, even soothing....) We are adults, and have adult concerns. Even more so than humans, we have order--and, yes, government. I am the leader in matters of ethics and taste, and the chief operating officer. Because of my efforts, I have first dibs at the seed dish, and at any treats that are offered. Jary flies at the head of the flock, but this is merely the result of a physical talent. Jay-Jay is a sweet girl, but too young and inexperienced to have much say in the trajectory of our polity. (Nice phrase, that. I picked it up from an editorial on the bottom of the cage...) I am not a king, of course. You need only witness the nips I receive from the other two, when my decisions are not congenial, to see that.
Geoffrey

Geoffrey Explains the Solstice

Jary and Jay-Jay have some very superstitious ideas about the solstice, and appear, like the Druids, to think some ceremony is necessary to prevent the sun from disappearing altogether. This is silly. The solstice is the result of the axis tilt of the earth (about 23.5 degrees, I believe). During December, the Northern Hemisphere of the earth is maximally tilted away from the sun, thus making for the "shortest" days and the cold temperatures. The opposite is true at the summer solstice--also known as "Midsummer Day". Please see the schematic below, and the excellent link above, courtesy of NASA.

Geoffrey

Of Keys and Cages

Photo by T. Kuo

An old parakeet saying:
"Is it a home or a cage? Who's got the key?"
Thoughtfully...
Jary

Big Trees

We can't go outside and perch on a tree branch, but we were meant to, and we envy the birds that can. Trees are mighty and powerful. They live a long time. Not forever, because we see that some are dying, but longer than we do, and I suspect longer than the humans (unless they kill them). Geoffrey says that this time of year the humans bring a killed pine tree inside the house, and we get to enjoy one for a few weeks. I feel bad that it has to be killed, but I'm looking forward to the pine smell and chewing on the branches. He says they put shiny metal objects on it--some are shaped like birds! Last year, Jary tells me, they visited the human grandparents, and he saw an artificial tree. It looked almost exactly like a real one from a distance, but was unpleasant to the feet. It wasn't made from wood, the needles were much sharper than real ones, and they couldn't be broken with a beak.
Jay-Jay

The Parakeet Law

There's just a few "laws" that we have. They're old--older than the oldest 'keet. It's a dumb bird who doesn't keep them.
Here they are:
1. Chirp your thanks for the sun, the water, the seeds, and the air.
2. If you want your face feathers preened, you have to preen the other guy's face.
3. Save yourself, but you have to warn the others if you see a 'keet-eater!
4. You aren't the most important bird in the world.
5. Fly fast with the flock!

Jary

Avian Wisdom

Although we say many wise things, the humans do not understand us, because they will not take the trouble to learn our language. That is a worrying characteristic of humans--they insist that others "understand" them, but rarely make the effort to assume another's point of view. If the female had made an ounce of effort in understanding the psittacine languages, she would know that I am trying to alert her to mouse activity just on the other side of the wall in the garage. It will be only a matter of time before the rapacious murine makes his way into the house, in search of our seed. And then--mouse-a-rama!
Geoffrey

Santa (Swan) Claus

http://vancouverislandbirds.com/Journal156.htm

l am starting to wonder if Santa is going to visit here. Not the imaginary fat human in the red suit, but the real Santa Claus, a beautiful mute swan, who comes, and leaves food at the feeders in winter for all good birds. There are feeders outside--maybe he will fill those, or leave a sack of bird seed for the older female to put out. I'll ask Geoffrey and Jary if he came last year.
Jay Jay

Sue the Birds...

I look forward to cage cleaning, as I always have a fresh (and folly-filled) newspaper to read. I noticed today that a woman had sued the management of a shopping center (and an "outdoors" store in the shopping center!) for negligence in allowing a Canada goose to nest near the premises. The goose attacked the shopper, who fell and broke her leg, while running from it. The goose has since disappeared--which sounds ominous. It seems to me that this person was approaching the nest too closely--even the manager of the store said that it was not a dangerous bird. Geese do have notoriously bad tempers--and it is best to leave them severely alone--however, they wouldn't attack anything as big as a human unprovoked. I was glad to see that the jury did not award any damages.

Geoffrey

Before the Solstice

The sun is pale and low.
The sky is low and gray.
The days are getting shorter--
Shorter every day.

The nights are long and cold.
The stars are cold and bright.
We fear the sun will disappear--
Into the winter night.

With concern--
Jary

Rats with Bushy Tails

Jay-Jay had had several recent posts on the local squirrel, and I am mystified by her fascination with him. Squirrels are seed-eating machines, pure and simple. They prevent more interesting animals (e.g. winter birds) from dining at the feeders, and are unfailingly rude to us. Like many human females, Jay (though avian) is fascinated by fur. Most of her admiring comments are regarding the tail--which, viewed from afar, is undeniably attractive. The contrasting white of the belly is also pretty, and (from a distance) looks clean. Besides the gray squirrels, I have also been seeing the black ones. Again, the tail (while not quite as full as the gray variety) looks very nice. I wonder if, like our feathers, the tails are shed intermittently. If so, perhaps we could obtain one and have a little fur nest for Jay-Jay--after steam cleaning.
Geoffrey

The Squirrel Returns

The squirrel came back on Wednesday night during the snowstorm.
Here he is, stuffing himself at the bird feeder. He is rude to the birds,
and scares them away if he can. I think his tail is pretty, and I like how
he uses it to balance himself. Geoffrey says he is sure the tail is full of
fleas--but I don't see how they could survive in this cold.
Jay-Jay

Birdwatching 6

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

What a babe! Love to see her eating at the suet block outside on a cold day. I've tried to make small talk through the window, but she's in a steady relationship, and the dude's way jealous. So I just admire from a distance.

Jary

Jay Gets Lost

Yesterday, the older female decided to do some cage cleaning, and employed the dreaded (and dreadful) vacuum cleaner. We immediately fled to the furthest points offering a perch that we could find, and hunkered down. When the machine was finally switched off, I promptly returned to the cage from my place of refuge (the light over the bathroom sink), as I'd noticed that fresh seed had been placed in the bowl. Jary was just behind me, but no Jay-Jay. We started eating--still no Jay-Jay. Concerned, we both began to "ping". No response. The female noticed, and began to look for her, while we continued to "ping". She looked in the bathroom (checking to make sure a drowning was not in progress), the bedrooms, even downstairs. Suddenly, a faint chirp sounded from upstairs. After checking the bathrooms again, the female found Jay, sitting on one of the bedroom dressers, with the room door ajar. She had been unable to see the way out, and the older female had failed to notice her among the knick-knacks. She immediately flew home, to a tender reunion, and an excellent lunch.
Geoffrey