Parrot has something to say

By Carrie J. Sidener

Published: August 18, 2008

The raucousness begins before I put the key in the front door, and it builds with every footfall on the stairs ’til it reaches a crescendo as soon as Simon sees me.

The squawks are my greeting upon my return from work, errands or anywhere that he hasn’t been invited to. The sound is loud enough to pierce walls.

Simon is a Quaker Parrot or Monk Parakeet. He’s the chubby green bundle of feathers, noise and sheer energy that I have shared a life with since January 2003.

Some describe Quakers as a lot of personality packed into a tiny package. That’s an understatement.

Simon talks and talks back. He wants your undivided attention and will give a little pinch if your gaze wanders. He says he’s a good boy when clearly he isn’t and can melt your heart with an “I love you” followed by a kiss.

I stumbled into being “Carrie Bird” — a term coined by Simon’s long-time babysitter and my long-time friend.

It started with Gracie — a tiny white parakeet that I bought in the summer of 2001 because I wanted a pet, and the clerk told me the only thing I needed to know was to feed her seed daily.

She died six months later, making me realize I had no clue how to care for a bird.

They aren’t just pretty little creatures that you can sit in a cage and ignore. Birds are highly intelligent. They need stimulation, affection, exercise, human interaction and a decent diet. Unfortunately it took Gracie’s death to make me realize that.

I owned a couple other parakeets, and then in the fall of 2002, a co-worker at the newspaper told me she hated her cockatiel. I told her that she needed to find the bird another home, and that’s when Tessa came to live with me.

She had no toys, no human interaction, and she was horribly underweight.

With the help of my vet, I nursed Tessa back to health. Then one day, he told me about Simon.

He had beer bottles thrown at him in his first home. In his second, he didn’t get along with a larger bird and in his third, he was the target of dogs and cats.

I went to meet him one day and although he was very much a wild child, I fell for the cute feathered face. Simon joined the flock and has ruled it ever since.

Last fall, Tessa went into kidney failure — perhaps the result of genetics or her earlier years of abuse — leaving Simon an only child.

Simon and Tessa’s stories are not uncommon. These beautiful, expensive pets are often adopted by people who have no idea how to care for them.

Because of that and their long lifespans — depending on the type, some parrots can live as long or longer than humans — many of these birds are homeless. Some live in sanctuaries. Some are turned out into the wild. Many die from improper care.

Simon and I hope to help you learn more about birds through sharing the story of our life together.

Virginia has two parrot sanctuaries. Both offer seminars and assistance to parrot owners, and they adopt out homeless birds to qualified families. For more information, visit the Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary at http://www.projectperry.com or Phoenix Landing at http://www.phoenixlanding.org.