Hitting It Just Right

[Alwese]

It is an understatement to say I have been out with the birds. Kayko and Clifford have been all over with me; to the beach, the Town Center Mall, and the Riverside Arts Market every chance I get. Kayko has been on the arms of hundreds of children and eager adults. Tonight I went to a little place called 5 points in Jacksonville that has a number of outdoor tabled restaurants. Lo and behold I run into a bunch of girls here for an Avian Veterinarians conference held in the Hyatt! Was that good timing or what! Tomorrow I put my wife on a plane for Syracuse NY to visit with her sister and family and I will be able to go the the beach with the birds all the time for two weeks. All I want now is a little cloudy and cooler so the birds don't get overheated and we all will have a great time!

 

[dulphinz]

Sounds like a ton of fun. Lucky birds!

 

[weco]

Tomorrow I put my wife on a plane for Syracuse NY to visit with her sister and family and I will be able to go the the beach with the birds all the time for two weeks. All I want now is a little cloudy and cooler so the birds don't get overheated and we all will have a great time!

Dulph, a lot of times, you just have to know when to read between the lines.....

 

[Alwese]

We had this big tax free weekend last weekend for people to round up school supplies. I took the birds out in front of Target and there were hundreds of kids coming in and out. To hear a kid say "I can't believe I had a real live bird on my arm" and have two kids come back to you to give you a hug good-bye is all the thanks I will ever need.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Its amazing ,your Macaw is so accepting of all those people !! Must be a real people bird Do you still help out that bird breeder anymore ? Syracuse Newyork is right by me

 

[JerseyWendy]

Your adventures ALWAYS inspire me, Alwese!

Thanks so much for sharing, and reminding us how important it is to socialize, socialize, socialize.....

 

[haleybird]

Alwese, I think it is so awesome that your birds get to enrich people's lives this way, especially when there are kids out there who may have never had the chance to see one of these majestic species in person/up close. By sharing your birds with the world, you could be saving more birds in the future--you never know, one kid might be inspired now, and grow up to rescue birds...all it takes is one little spark!

 

[Alwese]

I just hope Haleybird that I would not encourage little kids to stick their hands in somebody elses' bird cage thinking they were all so accepting as Kayko is. I was approached by a lady at the Town Center Mall who just happened to be the head trainer for the macaws at Busch Gardens Tampa. She wanted to know my secret as to how I got Kayko to be so people friendly. I had to admit to her it was not my superior training ability but that Kayko was just incredibly stupid. Poor old Kayko really rode the short bus to school, but by the same token he is totally safe on the arms of a two year old child. Pinkbirdy asked if I had been back to helping Dave Clayton with his birds again... the answer is no and I am ashamed I have not stopped back to see him lately. I did round him up a bunch of plastic barrels and pipe to support his breeder cages up high. He likes to be able to rake up underneath them and the plastic barrels cannot be climbed by raccoons. Some day I would love to expand my bird collection of child friendly birds to a peach colored Moluccan cockatoo and a Greenwing macaw, but I am just thankful to God for the three birds his has graciously allowed me to be caretaker of for the rest of this lifetime.

 

[Alwese]

It was a scorcher today at 97 this afternoon in Jacksonville. I waited until late in the afternoon to make the 14 mile ride to the ocean and today I went to Ponte Vedra Beach, which is a little farther away than I normally ride. I arrived at 6:20PM so it was starting to cool off there and the birds would not be overheated with no shade. I did remember to bring my camera, and as I probably set a one day record for Kayko-on-the-arms-of-children (say 300) I got a couple of the people to take my picture doing this so you can see what it looks like. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge:

 

[Alwese]

Here is yet another photo from yesterday's beach outing sent to me from the mother's iPhone. I did not realize the iPhone could take such good pictures and have never had a picture sent to me like that. I resized it down so it will fit here. Click the thumbnail to enlarge.

 

[Chesphoto]

It's great to see the joy you and your macaws are bringing to your community!

 

[Alwese]

Today our weather was somewhat less than stellar with on and off rain all day. Downtown at the Hyatt hotel there is a National Convention of Vietnam Veterans this weekend. We got a break in the rain late this afternoon so I loaded up Clifford and Kayko and went down to the Riverwalk to meet the attendees with a little entertainment. Many of the wives of veterans were thrilled as well to have a picture with Kayko to take home with them. Kayko will sit on top of his cage for an hour slowly flapping his wings I think for exercise. He is growing a lot of his feathers back in so before he winds up flying like Fargo I need to get him retrimmed. Tonight I caught him flapping on his cage and snapped this picture while Doogie and Clifford looked on. Click the thumbnail to enlarge

 

[bree]

Aweee! I love the pictures! My blue and gold lets kids hold her aswell i cant say she will never bite but chances are extremely slim were working on being able to go to schools and whatnot for education she really does love kids but she likes to growl? Shes a major growl talker and it scares people haha!

 

[Alwese]

With my wife being gone for two weeks I have been out everywhere with the birds. I bring joy to lots of people but I also GET an incredible joy doing what I do. Last night a woman came by with a boy in a wheelchair at the riverfront, this boy was totally blind and I put Kayko on his arm after his mother described what this was going to be like. His response was "His feet are really warm" as he smiled. I feel incredibly good about bringing experiences to children like this. The night before I was at the beach in front of a restaurant and a little five year old boy who was incredibly intelligent for his age stole my heart. He was not really sure about trying to have Kayko perched on his arm and kept asking all kinds of questions. His mother was egging him on to try and get a picture but he was really unsure about this. I think sharpness of claws is on the front burner of their concerns at this age. He eventually consented after 5 minutes of hesitation after his mother put her sweater on his arm. It is scenes like this that make my macaw introductions a real pleasure