1. Once the Fab Four arrive, everyone decides to swoop in. The FF are the vanguard/cool kids/tastemakers (or they’re just hungrier).

    I am seriously going to miss these guys when we’re gone next month. Are there parrots in Australia?

  2. Even when no other parrots appear, the “Fab Four” are always here. They’re like friends who show up to see your band even when you’re not that good. Thanks, Fab Four!

  3. Someone was asking me if we let the parrots in. No, but they are obviously comfortable with Jason being in their space!

    Someone was asking me if we let the parrots in. No, but they are obviously comfortable with Jason being in their space!

  4. An extremely rare picture of Bugsy in which he is being still but you can still tell he’s a cat instead of a smudge.

    An extremely rare picture of Bugsy in which he is being still but you can still tell he’s a cat instead of a smudge.

  5. As the parrots continue to integrate our backyard tree, I’ve been able to get pictures of the scrub jay and the little ones (type?). The latter are very skittish, so you’ll have to believe me that there were ~7 on the feeder this afternoon.

  6. I told you there’d be hawks! This is a Cooper’s Hawk that started coming back.

    I told you there’d be hawks! This is a Cooper’s Hawk that started coming back.

  7. I’ve been so entranced by ParrotMania that I haven’t mentioned any other birds. The ecosystem in the tree outside our living-room used to have a diverse ecosystem. We had scrub jays, wrens, doves, little bullet birds, hawks, etc. Then the dominating Age of the Pigeons began. It was a Dark Age that lasted for at least 3 years. They have basically been the Orcs of our backyard. An aside: I have to say that I have always been a fervent defender of pigeons. I don’t think they are “rats with wings;” I don’t think they should be eradicated; I applaud the advances they have made in various war efforts (there aren’t any carrier robins, are there?); and, in general, I think they’ve gotten a bad rap for exploiting the environment that us sloppy people have provided.  That said, a welcome side effect of the parrots has been the discovery that the parrots are much more effective in gang warfare and intimidation than the pigeons. They have broken the iron fist of parrots and now the other species are feeling more comfortable to hang out, have some munchies, and drive the cats crazy. This scrub jay is only one of 5 that now chills in the tree.

    I’ve been so entranced by ParrotMania that I haven’t mentioned any other birds. The ecosystem in the tree outside our living-room used to have a diverse ecosystem. We had scrub jays, wrens, doves, little bullet birds, hawks, etc. Then the dominating Age of the Pigeons began. It was a Dark Age that lasted for at least 3 years. They have basically been the Orcs of our backyard.

    An aside: I have to say that I have always been a fervent defender of pigeons. I don’t think they are “rats with wings;” I don’t think they should be eradicated; I applaud the advances they have made in various war efforts (there aren’t any carrier robins, are there?); and, in general, I think they’ve gotten a bad rap for exploiting the environment that us sloppy people have provided. 

    That said, a welcome side effect of the parrots has been the discovery that the parrots are much more effective in gang warfare and intimidation than the pigeons. They have broken the iron fist of parrots and now the other species are feeling more comfortable to hang out, have some munchies, and drive the cats crazy.

    This scrub jay is only one of 5 that now chills in the tree.

  8. I’ve been so enthusiastic about our new “pets” I’ve neglected our primary ones. They love the parrots (aka they want to eat them). The parrots provide endless entertainment; they are almost like babysitters. Can I get sued from some type of implicit babysitting contract? While I feed all of the birds, I don’t actually cut the parrots a check, let alone take out taxes, FICA, etc. Maybe I am in the vanguard of a new barter society!  

  9. Did I mention we have parrots? They are learning to recognize us.

  10. I got a chain letter that changed my life forever

    OK, not really. But it did amuse the heck out of me. My sister (who is actually a reasonable human being) sent me the following email (formatting for readability done courtesy of Barbomatic). How could I not respond?

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