The Periphery of the Mind

So this weekend the Professor and I made a road trip to London, Arkansas, to the Singing Wings Aviary. Well, actually, we left our house on Saturday morning and after seeing half-a-dozen vehicles off the road due to slush and ice, we decided to turn back home and watch some Terminator and Dollhouse. Then we made the trip.

The aviary was just outside of Russelville, and we made it a bit harder to find than it should be. It's one of those places operated outside of somebody's house, and it really makes you appreciate just how many neat little things you can find hidden away. We were both impressed with the number and variety of birds; I think the owner said she had over 1200 birds (some of which were kept inside and out of general public viewing). Prices were fairly reasonable; we paid $80, which is about half what a pet store charges, but $20 more than other breeders. I think the premium was worth the selection however, as we found a nice mate for Casanova. A little red-brown female we're calling Esmerelda.

Introducing Esmerelda to Casanova was chaotic. First Casanova begins singing as strongly and loudly as he could the moment he sees her. Then Juliet thinks Casanova is singing for her, and starts going nuts. Making Romeo jealous. So in between attempts to sing and fight with Romeo, Casanova was chasing a rather stressed out Esmerelda around. After re-arranging the cages some, Casanova and Esmerelda were placed in their own cage well away from Romeo and Juliet and everybody seems happier.

That said, this canary breeding year may be a bust. Between the house work and moving of the birds (and hopeful moving of us), the canaries may be too spooked to properly breed or raise any chicks for a while.

Labels: birds