#tbt
Canada appreciation post. 🍁
We love our neighbors to the north.

Today, something spooked the birds, who took off flying in circles around the room.
Harry came in to the room and discovered what scared them.
A red shouldered hawk was sitting on the fence looking into the bird room.
We comforted Sido (who was the most spooked) and then lowered the blinds so she couldn’t see the hawk.
Here’s a little clip of the hawk. I took the photo/video through the window, so the quality isn’t that great (it’s also raining).
If you visit the Bronx Zoo in New York, make sure to Budgie Landing – the new budgie exhibit.
You can get up close and personal, and even feed a budgie with a seed stick.
Apollo the African Grey Parrot is amazing! He can distinguish colors and materials – and has an extensive vocabulary.
Mango the Green Cheek Conure can do fourteen tricks – what a clever little bird!
In a new study, researchers from Northeastern University, the University of Glasgow and MIT found that given the choice, birds would call each other.
Eighteen birds participated in the study (three dropped out early on). They were taught how to work with the smartphones and tablets, and were able to decide if they wanted to make video calls to fellow birds.
They found that the birds would initiate calls, and would “learn skills from their video friends, including foraging, new vocalizations and even flying.” The phone calls were especially beneficial for birds who were isolated. Two elderly macaws formed a deep bond through their calls.
You can read more about the study here.
Today is #GivingTuesday. Cooper decided she wanted to use the money she has made from her Redbubble shop to donate treats and toys to Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary and to Ginger’s Parrot Rescue.
Both rescues have a donation page. Other ways to help are by sponsoring a bird or donating items from their Amazon wish lists.
Free Flight’s Wish List
Ginger’s Wish List
Cooper has a shop on Redbubble. She donates a percentage of her sales to her favorite bird rescues. The past couple years, Cooper decided to adopt a turkey through Farm Sanctuary. This year she decided to adopt again.
You can read more about Farm Sanctuary here.
Cooper recommends skipping the turkey this Thanksgiving. It’s all about the sides anyway.