Conure antics and Lorikeet wrestle!

One of my favourite bird activities to watch is a game every young Loirkeet instinctively knows how to play. This is what I call 'Loirkeet Wrestle' and several times a day, an anxious customer comes running to find me to ask me to 'rescue the poor lorikeet that's being killed!' To somebody who had never witnessed Loirkeet Wrestle it could be taken for fighting, but rest assured from the amount of times I've caught countless lorikeets at it over the years, it's the most fun game any lorikeet knows!

For months I've been trying to get a good video of Lorikeet Wrestle. I see my kids play it mostly when in their cage, since my hand-raised loris are kept on flat trays with newspaper over the top and I rarely see a lorikeet secure enough to play wrestle on a cage top or grid, they seem to like a solid surface under them. Finally, today I managed to get a couple of videos of the Rainbow and the Red-collar at Lorikeet Wrestle!

In that one I stood as far from the cage as possible with my arm outstretched, hoping they wouldn't notice me! To get the next one I ducked down under the level of the cabinet, peeping up to crank the door open and catch them at it! You can see the moment they clicked to the fact that I was there at the end :P

In the meantime, Foxtrot (Known affectionately at Foxy) the baby Sun Conure has been up to no end of antics himself. Quite aside from trying to convince every customer to step into the birdroom he is a miserable, neglected little tyke that nobody loves so CUDDLES NOW PLEASE, Foxy has been practicing his balance skills on a branch that sticks out over the edge of their cage top. More of a twig, really...

I must have resized this one oddly since it looked bigger in my preview, but here is is 'hanging around' off the same twig. The last one in this sequence I took about a half-second before he decided to let go and flutter very ungraciously to the floor!

Foxy was bred from Western Australian pied stock, which is why he has his lovely dappled effect on his wings (most babies having primarily green wings). Certainly a handsome little man!

Tango as usual, has one thing on his mind - food.

When he's not stealing the lorikeet's food...

He's playing with his own...

Here's the rainbow and the Red-collar (from the Wrestle videos earlier!) trying to get in a few bites before Tango takes over!

This is the little Scaley in a feat of precarious balance, swinging on around 2 centermeters of stick!

And one of the Musk pair, playing king of the castle on a high twig.

Annnd I think I've finally run out of photos :P I'm on my weekend now, spending two entire days away from these crazy kids. I will however be taking a bit of a working break - I'll be at the Hyde Park Greencross vets this Saturday morning with a little pet parrot enrichment stall for their open day :)

Hellos vs Goodbyes

A bit of a surprise for the birdroom - Tango is back with us! He was being very naughty for his new owners, after deciding he was boss bird and getting very pushy and bitey, so, we took him back. A short while of handling with me and he quickly remembered his manners! He needs a little one on one work to enforce good behaviour, but it won't take him long. He's got a new friend in the form of a baby Sun from my local breeder, a little guy I named Foxtrot, Foxy for short :D They are getting along well, although I think Tango does miss his old buddies, Jack who he lived with for longest while at the Birdroom, and Lola, whom he had a little conure-crush on! But now when I walk in in the morning, there's a familiar conure screech calling hello.

Otherwise I have my hands full with a bunch of lorikeets - two Musks, a Scaly, Red-Collar and a Rainbow. There's also a very grumpy hand-tame blue Quaker parrot, which are notorious for not getting along with other birds, so during playtime I have to watch him like a hawk. Huh, that might be a good name for the little grump!

If it's not too busy (and there are no visiting regional managers to spot me!) I'll smuggle my camera in tomorrow and get a few photos :)

Goodbye to my conure flock

Last week, my conure flock finally broke up. Two were sold separately, two sent to our nearby store, and the last two - Jack and Lola - went together to a regular customer, where I know they're going to be very spoiled. I heard from Tango's new owner recently, he's settled in wonderfully and is happily making mess in a brand new place now!

Nice as it is they've found new homes, I miss them terribly. They were with me so long I knew all their quirks and personalities, and it still makes me sad when I swing the doors open in the morning expecting to hear a happy chorus of conure screams greeting me. Still, I can't take them all home personally, and so I have to practice getting better at goodbyes.

Hand-raised birds are awfully quiet the last few weeks. I've just got one Rainbow Lorikeet and a hand-tame blue Quaker, my Birdroom seems very empty right now. I did some trimming of hibiscus bushes and took some branches in for the kids, so here's some of the aviary residents with the new furnishings.

Cinnamon pied Kakariki taking a nibble

Just a nice lined-up shot of the grass parrots. Up on the purple boing is a Rosa Bourke, then down on the main perch - Elegant, Lutino Elegant, Elegant, two Bourkes, Scarlet-Chested, Pink Bourke, Scarlet, and a Turquoise hiding behind the butterfly toy.

One of my favourite aviary birds, a handsome young male Palehead Rosella.

And a final goodbye photo for my Conure Kids. Sammi sticks his big beak into the camera lens, while sibling Sandi tests the new branches chewability, with Tango in the background.