When I turned eight years old, my parents gave me my first pair of parakeets as a birthday present. As a young child, I was overjoyed and gushing with stories about my new feathered friends for any willing listener. I remember chattering endlessly to my aunt and uncle a week later when they visited our home. My uncle’s response to my outburst was unforgettable. He enthusiastically proclaimed, waving his index finger high in the air, “That’s for the birds!”

Since then, whenever anyone in our family has an exciting, astounding, meaningful, or just plain funny tale to tell (bird-related or otherwise), we know exactly what my uncle’s response will be – and it sends us all into a fit of giggles every time! After hearing this phrase so many times over the years, I felt it was time to create a place to collect the fantastic stories that are bound to unfold when living with a feathered friend. So, my dear uncle, here it is: a website ‘that’s for the birds!’

My Background & Mission

Birds are my passion and my hobby. I am not, nor do I claim to be, a specialist in aviculture. I say this as a disclaimer to any visitors of my site: the views expressed here are my opinions. However, my love for these amazing creatures has motivated me to learn as much as I can about them – and I intend to continue learning each day. Thus, what I share here is based on my personal experiences in raising birds, and what has worked for me based upon extensive reading, online research, and work with my own flock over the past twenty years.

Since I was a young child, my family has raised parakeets and cockatiels. (More recently, my sister has added a rambunctious lovebird to the mix!) When I was only ten years old, our cockatiels, Fluffy and Cocoa, laid their first clutch of eggs. From that moment forward, I was intimately involved in hand feeding and raising the baby chicks, with my mother as my guide. This development in our feathered family only increased my interest in parrots. Inevitably, and to our pleasure, our flock began to grow.

While studying at university, I took courses in wildlife conservation and ethology. Taking these courses opened my eyes to the exotic bird trade, and the effect it has had upon domestic parrot ownership in the United States. As I read more about these animals, their natural behaviors, feeding habits, and nutrition, I decided to make some changes.

After only a few short weeks, I was both pleased and astounded at the drastic improvement in our birds’ health and happiness. I made simple changes to our birds’ environment by adding more thoughtful enrichment and foraging opportunities. More difficult was switching their diet. However, by utilizing techniques I had read about online, they managed to convert successfully to the new food within just a few weeks. Their new feathers grew in brighter and more vibrant, and the entire flock had more energy and curiosity! Words cannot describe how wonderful it felt to see them this way! It encouraged me to continue on my quest for more information about these animals.

In my research, I discovered just how difficult it can be to get reliable information about parrots. There are many conflicting opinions, and not every species or individual bird is the same! It can be difficult to know what is right for your animal. As I have recently decided to get my first green cheeked conure, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to begin compiling everything I have learned over the years about avian ownership.

My mission as I foray into this new relationship with my conure is two-fold. First, I hope to share stories about animals and what life is like with my new feathered buddy via my blog (“Just Winging It!”). Second, as I work with this new bird, and others, I will steadily update the “Parrot Info” page to include information for newbie as well as veteran parrot owners about various aspects of avian care (e.g. diet, housing, foraging, etc.). In the end, I hope this website will create a community and place of reference so we can improve the well-being of our feathered friends, while sharing the enjoyment we experience by having them, and other animals, in our lives!