Meet your Mods and Event Managers

[Lisa B]

Catschair

Many, many years ago, two small black kittens were born on a summer day in Los Angeles. Although my arrival was not scheduled for several months, I insisted on being born immediately, so I could share my birthday with Coalie and Bluey. My parents had no idea how many animals would grace their house over the years to come. I never met a creature that I did not love, so my house was shared by a wide range of finned, feathered, scaled and furry friends. People were fine, but they could go home after one slumber party!

The years went on and I wandered off to go to college, continuing to accumulate animals and degrees as I made my way through Indiana and Minnesota, finally settling down to get a “real” job in New Jersey. It has been my pleasure and honor to work with a variety of talented individuals to provide medicines to cure or palliate illnesses for people and animals for almost twenty years. I spent 15 years there, finally working my way back to California with a collection of cats and birds. Over the years, I did a lot of volunteer work with children, especially through the Girl Scouts, but share my home only with non-deductible “kids”.

Since returning to California, I have become a true bird magnet, and many a fid with a sad story has landed on my doorstep. Since I do work a lot of hours, Magellan (my IRN) is my biggest bird, but she and her 30-odd fiblings keep me busy in my free time. I have a range of birds, including finches, canaries, budgies, cockatiels and the IRN, who keep my cats, Julie & Joshua, company.

In my extra hours of the day, I love to travel, read, research my ancestors, work with children and animals, and even….now and again….. sleep more than five hours!

I am amazed by the emergence of the internet society and am thrilled to be able to lend a hand in linking the global community of bird lovers, to facilitate sharing advice, warnings and stories that nobody without a bird would ever understand!

Heather_Bird

My name is Heather and I was born and grew up in Southern England. I trained as a secretary and hated it. Fortunately met Brian who became my husband and was able to give up office life for motherhood. I had four beautiful children and, once they were grown I was able to re-train as a stable manager and riding instructor and indulge my passion for horses. I also trained as a saddler and through that designed and manufactured a range of dog clothing. At that time I also became secretary of our county British Horse Society committee and later on was a horse welfare officer for the same organisation.

In 1995, we decided to emigrate to New Zealand. We settled quickly and well and have never regretted the decision. Brian continued his work with computers and we also set up a small sheep dairying operation on the small farm we had bought. I gave up horse riding when I found I no longer bounced when I fell off and I took to birds as an alternative source of interest, love and financial ruin. I have had birds all my life but was interested in breeding them. I got my first small aviary and about ten birds and from there the 'hobby' has grown to the point where I now have numerous aviaries outside, even more numerous cages inside and several hundred birds.

My twin birdy passions are for finches and lorikeets. I keep and breed many varieties of finches and canaries. My lorikeet collection is growing and I now have rainbows, musks and scalies. Also in my aviaries are quail, budgies, grass parakeets, cockatiels, Fischers lovebirds, quakers and a solitary crimson wing who is looking for a girlfriend. I hand raise quite a few of my babies and also work with the rehabilitation of orphaned or sick non-native birds in conjunction with our local veterinary practice.

I enjoy chatting with other birdy folk from around the world and take great pleasure in offering help and advice from my own experiences as well as learning new things from others.

[Lisa B]

Lisa B

I am a military wife and mother. I was in the beauty business for 20 years , as a Manicurist & Make Up Artist .

I have been blessed to live with almost every species of parrot over my past 33 years in bird keeping. Birds have always been, and always will be, my number one focus in life.

I founded a local Bird Club in NJ, which at one point had 75 active members. I served as elected President for 9 years, along with other duties within the club including Adoptions, Lost and Found, Events Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, and the Out Reach / Educational Programs for different communities and school systems.

I am a co-founder of Bird Clubs of NJ, which was formed to give bird owners a united voice in NJ. There were 5 sister clubs, with a membership hovering near 1000. Both clubs were active members of the AFA and Bird Clubs of America.

I am the Vice President and on the board of Directors for Parrots at Play Calendar program. The Parrots At Play Calendar Program is a charitable, volunteer, 501 (c) 3 corporation formed in May 2003 for purposes of fund raising to support non-profit avian organizations helping birds, and is utilized by many avian organizations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. There are many non-profit avian organizations that are working hard to help birds; whether through education, rescue and adoption services, or conservation. Our annual calendar is dedicated to these special pet birds, and to the compassionate humans that give the time, effort and resources to help "rescue" them and provide these wonderful creatures a better future.

I also volunteer for The Alex Foundation and I assist Dr. Pepperberg with her NJ appearances.

I am a past Volunteer for the "Look Good/Feel Better" Program with the American Cancer Society. The Program helps women battling Cancer learn to care for their changing bodies with the help of Cosmetologists and Make Up Artists to learn the tricks of our trade.

Most of my children have been special abled or re-homed. I am a firm believer in giving a bird a second chance at life if ever given that wonderful chance to make a difference.

My most satisfaction comes from fundraising and continuing education for bird owners. I want to be out there, HANDS ON, and make a difference. Education is the Key to ensure the future existence of the avian world, in the wild and in our homes.

Areas I can be most helpful are with African Greys, Amazons, Special abled birds, and to people who have recently lost their beloved babies to the Rainbow Bridge.

Nazir’s

My name is DorLisa (you can call me Lisa). I am originally from Manhattan, NY. However, I currently reside in Horn Lake, MS which is 5 miles just south of Memphis, TN.

I am fairly new to the world of parrots and being owned by them. Contrary to that being stated, I've learned many things within my years of being owned by, studying, researching, working with, observing, exhibiting, caring for, discussing, and loving animals (as a whole).

I majored in animal science and will return back to school (soon--very soon), attending an AVMA accredited college to continue my education in animal science in hopes of becoming a licensed veterinarian. I am very familiar and educated in regards to animals; especially, dogs. Now that I am owned by parrots, I will extend my studies/interest into such.

I am a hardcore animal lover! I have been owned by and worked with almost every species that could be considered a pet. I have experiences as a vet assistant, Animal Adoption Counselor for the Memphis Humane Society, am an active member of two local all breed dog clubs and my national breed club (the MPCA), a member in good standing with the AKC, a dedicated dog fancier and reputable breeder of the Miniature Pinscher and soon to be Pomeranian, since 1998.

I administrate for one Eclectus forum and a Miniature Pinscher forum (both being created by me). I am a moderator on a total of four different internet forums/boards (two of which being the BirdBoard and DogBoard)—Thank you guys for having me.

In addition to that, I volunteer at the Memphis Zoo (Avian/Reptile Department) during the summer, have volunteered for the National Homeless Animals Day (2000). I am a member of the Internet Miniature Pinscher Services (IMPS) and also Vol Dog Rescue (VDR).

I am currently owned by a female CAG (Iris), a male Eclectus (Clover), 6 Miniature Pinschers (all champions), and one Pomeranian (will join the pack in March). They are my worlds! See, that's why I am running back to school to be a vet. Hopefully, the degree will give me more justifications because no one seems to understands why I love them so. Nobody but you guys...LOL

I am certainly enjoying the BirdBoard forum. I've learned so much here and I believe that I'm hooked. I currently work from home now as a pet-sitter and computer junkie. Yes, my name is Lisa and I am an addict. I am truly just enjoying my time here.
So, if there is anything that I can assist anyone, please let me know. I will do my best to assist in any aspect or way that I can--it would be my pleasure.

parrotntn

Hi, my name is Mark and I live in Western Tennessee. I am a father of two WONDERFUL kids, 11 and 14, and married 24 years (25 this Sept. 2nd!!) to a wonderful and understanding woman. Our kids are special to us because we thought for years, we would never have children.
I am a registered nurse, currently working with cardiac patients teaching cardiac rehabilitation. My family is an avid camping family and we take several trips a year. Last year, we camped out west for 24 days and nites. We drove 6,487.3 miles, and camped 16 states.
I am pretty new to the avian scene. Although I did have a bird, a parakeet, when I was a lil boy in 1970. I had a cockatiel in high school and enjoyed training him to talk and do tricks.
Went to college, married, kids..jump forward a few years with me to about 2 years ago, I was in a petstore for something and saw, gulp, a moluccan cockatoo on a worker’s arm. I walked up, she let it get on my arm, it walked up my arm, stuck it’s head under my neck and started purring like a cat. I swear it did. There…it had me at hello, right there in the middle of the petstore. I recollected myself, took a cold shower and put the two thousand dollar bird back and ran, not walked, ran outta the store. But, it was too late, I had the bird-bug.
I started looking at birds then, larger birds. Reading every now and then. I volunteered to bird sit a 25 year old YNA, Cecil. Cecil moved in and then the reading really started and I found myself on this board a lot. During that time, Cecil became a diabetic and nearly died, but he made it and safely went home with his parents later. Out of my postings about Cecil’s adventure, GlendaNS contacted me about Cleo (aka Baby). I took Cleo and the rest is history. Cleo is now my companion. She welcomes me when I come home and although we don't share a lot of "hands on" time, we hang out a lot together and have fun. Now, full circle, February 15th I (hopefully) will be bringing home an 8 year old moluccan cockatoo named Gigi.
I have immersed myself in anything avian to read. Mattie Sue Athan, Pamela Clark, Joanie Doss, Sally Blanchard and many more. I read two bird magazines. I participate in four avian forums. I have been diligent in making contacts in the avian community. I have studied and found success with clicker training. I really enjoy reading and working with training behaviors. Cleo came to me without any trust and very little touching and certainly no stepups and a biter and hard nipper. But this was out of fear. I’ve worked extremely hard in 6 months to proudly say that now this bird will stepup (90% of the time), ride into the carrier and go to a friend’s house and stepup onto his arm. That’s trust! One of my goals is to have a pet therapy bird to work with disabled children and adults. That’s where Gigi, hopefully, comes in.
My plans are to work with the local avian vet on some bird cases and maybe volunteer at the Memphis Zoo in the future.
There is so much that I don’t know that I don’t know. Haha. But, I do know about biting and stepping up trials. I know that I love the rawness of a bird. I believe owning a bird is bringing a present from God into your home and for that, you owe that bird the best it can have. Being with a bird, to me, is like when we go to the ocean. It calibrates me and puts my life into perspective. You may have him in your home, but don't ever think that this bird is domesticated. He's your gift of raw nature, don't fight with it...embrace it.
I am excited to have this opportunity to share what little I’ve learned, facilitate and direct good training questions to the right place. Also, I'm excited to to read your success stories about training. Please start thinking of training success’ with your birds, I’m going to be asking for them soon!
Mark

[Lisa B]

PowerBBS

My name is Dan and I've been living in East Helena Montana for the last 9 years. I am 34 years old on March 24th. Currently I am a Network Systems and Web Applications Specialist for the State of Montana - Department of Commerce. Currently I help support and program approximately 38 different State Goverment websites (some include visitmt.com, commerce.mt.gov, travelmontana.org, visitmt.com, montanakids.com, wintermt.com and several others). I've been working for state government for the last 8 years.

During my lifetime I've had a couple different "carrier" paths. Prior to working for the State of Montana; I was Sales Manager at our local Staples (thank goodness I'm out of retail) for 2 years. Prior to that, for 8 years I worked for Uncle Sam as a Military and Technological Counter Intellegence Officer. During my tour of duty I actually was required to travel quite a lot. I've been to 28 different countries and 26 different states in my tour of duty.

I've owned two businesses in my lifetime as well. B & B Computers which was a computer and consulting shop in my hometown of Anaconda, Montana as well as the PowerBBS Online Family which was my home town's first local internet service provider back in 1990. I sold my business in October of 2005 and my ISP service in March of 2006 to Earthlink as I could no longer compete with the internet giants - it's just impossible to compete with their marketing budgets.

I have a Master's Degree in Computer Science with a Minor in Micro Electronics Engineering and also Business and Technology. I went to College in Terra Haute Indiana serving a joint term in the US Army and Army Reserve from 1992 thru 1998. I graduated from Anaconda Senior High in 1992. I went thru special forces training at Red Stone AFB Redstone, AL.

I have no human children (and likely will never have any). I am owned by four parrots/fids.
• Our fist parrot, a Green Cheek Conure was adopted from our local PetCo in February of 2006 at approximately 5 months old. Originally when we got Chucky he was a sweet loving bird that was mildly nippy. When he headed into his "terrible two's" it can now be said that Chucky has a rather unpleasant disposition most of the time and is a very nippy and territorial bird. He definitively likes my wife better than myself. Because of his attachment to the wife and his need to put his tail up ontop of anything he's standing next to, we feel he is male.
• The second, a Sun Conure was adopted again from PetCo, however it was located in a town 160 miles north of us. She came to us at only 12 weeks old in June of 2006. While she was on a solid food diet, we continued to wean her for the next 4 weeks in hopes that it develop a stronger bond more quickly with us - and from all signs to date, it seems to have worked. The disposition of this bird is one that of "if all birds were like her, we'd have 100's more!". She is very friendly to everyone and extremely social. Her demeanor compared to Chucky's is a complete 180 and she is very much so "my bird". We've not had her sexed, but we feel she is female.
• Next came our Skoobie Doo who was adopted in May 2007. We actually got him from a local "second hand" shop who had advertised him in the paper. He lived at the second hand shop for almost 6 months; and never once was let out of his cage in that time frame. He was a approximately 2 years old then. I have no other prior bio information on him. His disposition is skiddish. He is fearful of new people and will only let my wife pet him. Yet he will give me kisses. We feel he is male as he tries to settle down on the wife's hand as if to mount it.
• Finally is Franky. We adopted Franky after discovering her announcement in the local paper. We traveled to a nearby town to view her and purchased her on site. She has a very social disposition in that she will typically let anyone pet her, however she is pretty skiddish. She is "my bird". She is territorial when it comes to me and other people interacting with me. Her favorite game in the world is "playing fetch" with her ball. Yes, you throw it and she'll go fetch it and bring it back to you to toss it again. She is approximately 3 and 1/2 years old. We feel she is a female do to some characteristics noted by a few members of this board.

If we were to get another bird, it would most likely be a Scarlet Macaw. We're just very interested in getting such an affectionate bird with such beautiful colors. We've not done much more research on it yet, as we know it'll be at least 2 or more years before we make anymore bird purchases as we want to make sure we've got a handle on the four birds we already are parents of. Only then will we start our research and self training to get another bird. But honestly, we most likely are done adopting. We both work Mon thru Fri, 8a to 5p and if we had much more, we feel it would be a terrible injustice to the birds.

Since we bought our home in June of 2006 we have another unexpected "family member" which is a tiny cotton tail bunny who loves to eat my tomatoe plants. I think he's living inside the lining of our Hot Tub. We jokingly call him, Elmer Fudd Hunter. He seems fairly tame as he doesn't seem to run from us if we're all in the yard with him.

We also have a 75g fresh water fish tank with a variety of "community" fish. Tetras, Bali Sharks, Angel Fish, Discus, Clown Loaches and Golden Garaumi and all natural live plants.

I've only been a member of the Bird Board for a short time. I was invited to become a Moderator as I was continually offering and sending support code and applications for the site (even tho they never asked for any). I feel that this board is a great resource and since I don't really have any funds to donate, I thought that I'd donate my profressional talents. If anyone has a technical issue that I can assist with, please let me know, I'd be happy to help if I can. I strive to keep the Bird Board a friendly place for all members.

[Lisa B]

Valo's Moirana

My name is Birgit, but I go by Bee as Birgit seems to be a tough one to pronounce here in the States. I spent the first 25yrs of my life in Austria (nope, no kangaroos), and came to the US during an exchange program. Needless to say, I stayed Now, after finishing my PhD in Chemical Engineering, I'm a Postdoc in my research group while looking for something to do with the rest of my life My entire career, my research has focused on either environmental consequences of human presence on this planet, or on materials based on renewable resources, but at heart I'm a passionate polymer scientist. Let's see where that leads me....

I've grown up around birds, and they've been a part for most of my life. I still remember the day when I was 5, and my mother asked me: "Not that it's a topic right now, but if we would get a budgie, which color would you like?". The same evening, my dad came home with Piepsi, who was our first bird (oh, and he was blue ). I loved that little bird... looking back, I think Piepsi was attached to my mom as Valo is to me. We lost the little bird to a neck injury at only 3 yrs of age after he flew into a window, despite immediately taking him to a vet. A hard lesson learned.
We had more budgies, but back then the nutritional guidelines were basically "give them seed", which sadly cut their life spans too short.
In 1994, my uncle turned to my dad and handed him a cockatiel that he just grabbed out of an excited pile of chickens on the farm. We tried hard to find the owner of this beautiful bird (who was kind enough to tell us his name), but after being unsuccessful for a year, we decided that he's here to stay. Again, we did a lot of things wrong due to our lack of knowledge. Stupsi had a mate for 3yrs, Maedi. We lost her to a cold; during the summers we took the birds outside and showered them, and we must have taken them in too soon before they could fully dry off. I've never seen my dad in more pain – he tried everything possible to save that little girl (he followed the vet's instructions rigorously and warmed her for 10min every hour with a heating lamb, which required taking off work…. she died in his arms). Stupsi still lives with my dad, and we believe he's at least 18-20yrs old. He's not very interested in hands-on interaction with humans, but talks and whistles when people are around, and meanwhile eats out of our hands again.

Almost 2yrs ago I walked into a PetCo, and there was this spunky little bird. He didn't let us out of his sight for a second while we were there. 3 days and 5 books later, Valo, a 12wk old greencheek conure, came home with me. He's my boy – he loves me, and defends me, which translates to biting strangers.
The accessibility of knowledge regarding bird keeping here in the States gave me the chance to learn a lot (and I bring this knowledge back to Austria with me every time I go home – Stupsi now has toys too and eats a lot healthier).
In December of 2006, I got a call from Gayla (gbird). She told me about this cute, cute sun conure they had at the PetCo she was working at. We successfully introduced the little guy, who turned out to be a girl, to my BF who is now inseparable from his princess (mind you, that's the same person who told me 4yrs ago "if you ever get a bird, you have to decide between me and the bird" ). She still is a wonderful, friendly, funny, loving little bird who will go to almost anyone. She'll be 2yrs old in June, and lives with my BF in NM about 6hrs south of here.
After visiting the Gabriel Foundation in the spring of 2007, I started to consider giving an older bird a home. I found Nino, a peach fronted conure. I can't put my finger on the reasons why I decided to take him – maybe because he used to be so shy, not interested in humans (on the contrary, he'd hide on the back of his cage every time I'd come to talk to him), and because of the feeling that not a lot of people would take a bird like him. After patiently waiting for over 2mths, he finally joined Valo in his new home. We don't know how old he is, but the journey has been wonderful so far. Every day, this little man surprises me with something. By now, he eats out of our hands and will race towards the closest branch on his play perch if you have food.

Shortly after getting Valo, I joined Birdboard. I learned so much on this site. The amount of information, experience and passion people have to offer here makes this a wonderful place to ask questions and share stories. I'm glad to be a part of this.

[Lisa B]

my-africangrey-echo

My name is Chris I am 43 year old mother of 2 and step mother of 3 I am married to Len. He is my 3rd husband. It only took 3 times to get it right.

I am a Registered Nurse and work in Long Term Care. After about 15 years of working in the Intensive Care setting I made a complete turn around and absolutely love it. My job and residents are indeed like my extended family I love it.

I have been owned by several cockatiels the first of which I lost when he followed me out the door on a zero degree day in Feb back in 1990. I had a Goffin Too for a very short time for he was a wild caught FID that had Beak n Feather and died within about 3 months of when I brought him home..

I also had a CAG named Tess that I lost in my second divorce. It took me about 10 years to decide to get another African Grey and after much reading I decided on a TAG and Echo came to be my baby at 11 weeks of age. I hand fed him for about 10 weeks and it was very rewarding to hand feed but don't think I will do that again.

Last December a teil was given to me by a nurse that cares for my mother that had spent about 3 years in a young boys room with very little attention. I placed his cage in the busiest room of the house (the living room) He only ate seed when he came to me and I have successfully switched him to a mostly pellet, fruit and veggie diet with only a little seed on a daily basis. My 13 yr old daughter Taylor has taken him on as hers and has done quite well with taming him. She calls him Happy but I call him PITA

Then there are my fur babies! Two big goofy Golden Retrievers Maddie my female is 5 and Murphy my male is 3 (They are aunt and nephew) Two cats. Bob Cat (aka Sponge bob square cat) and Tom cat.

I must say unless it's at night there is always something going on at my house. If it's not Echo chatting away the dogs are wrestling in the living room.

Chris