Hello cockie: they'd make damn fine jig material

[bombora]

Having a nice cup of tea the other morn and got a couple of visitors.
sulpher crested cockatoo
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and rainbow lorikeet
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Of course, thought if I could just pluck a few feathers..........

The cockies are such brainy birds, and get bored easily, destroying people's wooden balcony rails and window frames, just cause they can with those amazing beaks.
Several hundred lorikeets call the Norfolk Pines in the background home. They make a hell of a racket dawn and dusk as they have a good old chat with each other before zooming off to suck down nectar and scoff berries. Pic doesn't do the colours justice; only had a second before he buzzed off, annoyed I wasn't gonna feed him (you do that and next morning there would be 20 of em on the railing, and they poo, a lot!

 

[Fatman]

OOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! lookie at those cool feathers!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[StumpHunter]

They look pretty but feeding anything wild is asking for trouble. Good pics for fast pic taking.

 

[Radtexan]

Beautiful birds !!! We had a cockatiel for close to 15 years when I first got married...Smart birds,,,I miss him sometimes(other than the noise and mess )

 

[Fatman]

You could always go for a long walk and pick up feathers, wash and clean them and then use on your jigs!! Well if your laws there allow it!!!!!!!!!! I do that at one of the ponds I fish when the geese come in, get lots of feathers that way and best of all FREE!!!!

 

[redear]

wow, what country you live in?

 

[ridgeliner]

It would be easy to get the feathers for tying if they lived up here. Single digit temps the last few nights. I don't think that they can make it through that cold temps.

 

[Shoemoo]

Really crazy seeing wild ones. I've only seen them as pets or sitting on perches in pet stores. They're very expensive pets!

 

[smalljaw]

Just think how horrified our wives would be if they brought home one of those beautiful birds only to find it bald the next morning while the rack on the tying bench is completely filled with awesome jigs!!! I know I would be posting anymore and probably end up on the back of a milk carton.

 

[redear]

what ever you do don't put your hands on them, I had a cockatiel show up at the house and he let me walk right up to him while sitting on a fence, I thought a neighbor may have lost him, so being a good samaritan I gently grabbed him across the back with my left hand, bad move!! he instantly sunk his beak into my index finger nuckle to the bone!! probably 1/4" penetration! and he wouldn't let go, like a snapping turtle!! I could not believe how strong their jaws were. finally got him off my nuckle and had blood running down my arm and off my elbow, the wife and boy were laughing!! it was ugly.

 

[Fatman]

Sure he didn't bite you cause you plucked a few feathers first!!!LOL I know about the getting bit - my brothers girl friend had one and that damned bird didn't like me one bit!!!!!!!!!! Anyone else he'd sit on their shoulder, talk and no problems. Me!! he always tried to bite

 

[Hawnjigs]

The cockie looks rather comfortable with you - are you encouraging that?

 

[bombora]

Keith and Stumpie no encouragement, they are just very confident critters. Some people feed the lorikeets honey-soaked bread, which is really bad for them. You can buy special feed which is healthy, but as said, me no want poo-covered balcony, and best let nature be nature. I do love how unafraid they are of us humans (if only they knew how we are stuffing this planet). The other day one lorikeet just walked into my apartment, right up to the kitchen!!
Fatman I'm always keeping an eye out for shed feathers, but you never see any, despite so many living in the pines (like to think of the trees as high-rise apartments for parrots). Don't know why. Also, unlike pigeons, minor birds etc you rarely see road kill. Don't geese get a bit aggro sometimes?
Redear and Fatman, those birds KNEW you were jig makers! (Red, I'm in Dee Why Beach, Sydney Australia, mid summer here. Ridgeliner, hottest day on record last Friday _ 115F!!!!, and we are on the coast!!!)
Smalljaw you had me laughing out loud picturing naked, plucked cockies and parrots! They sometimes get a disease where they shed all feathers and lovely little old ladies knit them cute little wool vests to wear, and hats!

 

[Fatman]

Usually they're swimming around in the pond so they don't bother you, but if you get to near their comfort zone look out they'll run at you.

 

[quivira kid]

Geese get territorial in the spring time, when mating/nesting/baby time. Other than that, not really anything to worry about. (They taste DELICIOUS, too)

A nice pellet gun could get you some very cool soft hackle material with those lorikeets around!

 

[ridgeliner]

I think I'll stick with the single digit temps. There is no way that you can take enough off to get cool in 115 degrees.

 

[Fatman]

Ridge - How cold did you guys get last night??? Was down to -23 with no windchill, tonight is supposed to be worse and the winds have already picked up!!!

 

[ridgeliner]

Sorry for the late reply. The actual tem. was -2 degrees. I' not sure what the wind chill was. Last night it was 11 degrees. A heat wave. We got some of the lake effect snow. I had the snowblower out 4 times in the last 3 days. I'm sure you remember those lake effect snow storms..............sunny and nice in one area and a mile down the road it is snowing so hard that you can only see a few feet in front of you.

 

[Fatman]

Ain't it the truth!!!!!!!!!!!! was only -9 this morning but with the winds it's about -35/-40. They extended the wind warning till 11am so far, but I don't see the winds dying down!!!!!!!!! I'm glad it's not snowing too much right now - my snow blower wouldn't crank over and it's in the shop, he thinks it's stuck in gear - funsies!!!!!!!!!! but it needed a oil change and tune up anyway, hoping to get it back today!!!!!!!!! They're talking temps in the 40's next week and RAIN!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait for spring!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[redear]

last nite we got several inches of snow and it is down in the teens.