Birds: Parrots

Pumpkin is really asking for a scritch on the face but this silly pose also looks like she's saying hi! :)

She doesn't ever dip her beak into the coffee, but adores the foamed milk on top!

Pumpkin loves looking into cracks of all kinds, and makes lots of silly noises as she does this!

"Oooooooo, it's dark in there!"

Pumpkin loves sitting here, where she can look into cracks and chew on cardboard from the foil and plastic wrap!

This is my first self-portrait. I tried for a long time without a prop but wasn't getting anywhere. It occurred to me that I'd probably be successful if I was holding my darling Caique parrot, Pumpkin.

Winner of FlickrDuel contest: Alpha Pets This is a picture of sunlight shining though our parrot's eye. Taken on August 14, 2011.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Steve and I are part of a photography group here in southern Oregon, and there is a photo theme for each monthly meeting. The photo presentation is always fun because everyone comes up with so many different ideas! This month's theme was "Pet Portraits", and this is one of the pictures I took! Pumpkin is our darling Caique parrot, a bird native to the Amazon Basin in Brazil. We got her when she was just 6 months old and she's now 10 years old, and the love of my life (along with Steve of course!). This picture was taken in our kitchen with the sun shining through the window and through one of her beautiful eyes. I have another picture like this , taken with my SX30, but I thought it would be fun to take another one with my 5D Mark II! Isn't she amazing?! She's my best little friend in the whole world!! :) This image was taken in April, 2012.

Another attraction at the county fair was a parrot show, and I knew it would be a lot of fun! It turned out to be much better than I expected and was centered around education. The birds in this show are able to fly at will, but stay because their owner, Chris Biro, loves them all and gives them protection and food. As Steve and I walked into the show area, one of the Blue & Gold macaws sitting on a rooftop waved a foot in the air and looks like it's saying, "HI THERE MATEY! Welcome to the Pirate's Parrot Show!!" The magnificent Blue & Gold macaw, also known as a Blue & Yellow macaw or "B&G", is a fairly common wild macaw in much of South America, but is extinct, extremely threatened or endangered in many places where it was once common. This is all because of the pet trade, but bans on the import of wild parrots has helped stopped this, and some bird populations are recovering. If you would like to know more about Blue & Gold macaws, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Blue and Gold Macaw If you would like to know about Chris Biro's wonderful parrot conservation organization, please visit Bird Recovery International