For the Birds

I was sorting photos this afternoon and realized I have quite a few bird photos 

so I thought I'd share a few today.

🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 

One of my Mom's favorite restaurants and one we usually visit while we are with her is 

The Thirsty Clam.  It's a funky place with a, shall we say interesting clientele, live music, fantastic seafood, and on their patio and around the yard, a parrot rescue operation.  

 

A pet parrot is a huge commitment because they live a very long time and can outlive their owners.  People have to move, often to an apartment or assisted living arrangement, and their pets aren't allowed in the new home.

Others underestimate the amount of care, noise, and mess a parrot entails and no longer want them.

Parrots form a deep attachment with their human and it's difficult for them to adjust to change.  Owners who are deeply attached to their birds will miss them and they worry about what will happen to them when they can no longer keep them.

The owner of The Thirsty Clam has a soft spot for people and birds and started a parrot rescue where previous owners are encouraged to come as often as they want to spend time with their old friends.  

 In the case of birds who bite, over-vocalize, or pick on other birds, the birds are socialized, trained out of obnoxious behaviors, and prepared for new homes.  

 

The birds are fed treats from the menu, such as corn-on-the-cob and salad.  This guy was isolated because he bites people and fights with other birds.

By day the parrots enjoy the spacious outdoor cages and perches on the restaurant patio where they can interact with humans and bask in some Florida sunshine.  At night the owner takes them all home with him.

 

 

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Several species of native Lowcountry birds live at Brookgreen Gardens in a huge aviary.  This place feels magic to me -- to be able to walk among the birds and be so close to species you can only see with binoculars or a birding scope in the wild.  

Boardwalk through a cypress swamp

Snowy egrets and night herons

 

Black-crowned night heron

(I could have reached out and touched him!)

Wood ducks 

 

 I have been a bird watcher since the Dark Ages, when it was a slightly nutty and humorous thing to be. 

My parents brought me my first bird book, a gift from a trip they took to Chicago, when I was about seven.  

I used to tiptoe out of the house early in the morning before anyone else was awake and go looking for birds.  

I have 249 species on my life list.