HAWK

I have been trying to get Beignet to allow me to touch her wing. She doesn't hesitate to let me do this if she is on my hand, but she doesn't like it if in or on her cage. She has been taught "gentle no", so doesn't bite to make me stop, but it has been clear to me that she really isn't ready to pursue this avenue of training. I'm willing to go at her pace. She has become much more cuddle with head scratches and face cuddles. One thing at a time is really best for her.

Beignet has been screaming with regularity since a few days before Thanksgiving. She saw the hawk that we captured and sent to the Audubon Society (it died after several weeks) and that began the screaming episodes. She has a genuine fear of predators. It has been a hard time for six weeks listening to her go through screaming attacks and ignoring them. Many times I want to say "Enough already!!!), but I'm doing my best to be a good parrot Mom and ignore the things I don't like. We praise her over and over if she sings something pretty, so that she can get the message "Scream, no attention; sing pretty, lots of attention". I did take time with her after we captured the hawk and we realized that the screaming had been about the hawk sitting on our deck. I explained to her that it made her afraid (using her hand signal for afraid), but that it had gone bye bye and wouldn't come back. When explaining things to her and using sign language, she is very attentive and I'm able to tell if she "gets" the message or not. She knows the hawk is gone, but she still has fears. The do circle high in the sky outside the three tiers (19 feet) of window and she is able to see them. Having one so close must have been terrifying.

GOOD MORNING

When Beignet wakes up in the morning she makes little cooing sounds and then begins playing with her toys. As soon as she senses that I am awake she makes her little locating whistle and then says "Good Morning" in a cheerful voice. As soon as I answer her she says "More water: More Cracker!". When she first came to live with us she called all food related things "Water-Water", but then she learned to say "More" and "Cracker". She loves our low salt taco chips and she only gets two in a day. When I started giving her cornmeal mush for breakfast she instantly called it "Cracker". Now when I am making breakfast she constantly asks for "More Cracker!" Sometimes she comes to watch while I cook, but most of the time she prefers the safety of her cage.

I have been working with her in trying to get her to let me touch her wing. She considers this a very private and untouchable part of her. She has learned how to say a "gentle no" by pushing my finger aside. I began holding my finger still and asking her to touch it with her wing. Usually this is answered by getting a head scratch instead. Last night she gave me a firm "no" by biting until it was uncomfortable. This kind of action is always followed by my turning my back and walking away. When I came to her later I again asked her to touch my finger and this time as a first she said "NO". I responded by removing my finger from the asking position and told her she was a good girl to use her mouth to say no.

It constantly astounds me to live with an African Grey Parrot. They are so intuitive. I have always used a lot of sign language with Beignet and she responds very well to it. I don't use American Sign Language, but a made up language that is descriptive of the things she does. Sometimes she is able to reply with signs herself.

I LIKE CHRISTMAS

Beignet thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year. In this photo she is helping Bob to open his package. She was very talkative during our gift opening time and was thrilled to get to chew on the paper which is her favorite thing. Who needs a paper shredder when they have a parrot!