I'm baaaaack....

FINALLY got cable and internet at the new place. OMG what a pain in the balls that was. Had to settle for DirectTV and (ugh) DSL, but its something. I was starting to go through withdrawal! the new place is down to about 3 boxes, so we have been doing a huge amount of work. Planted all our seedlings that after two months were no longer seedlings and everything is thriving, we should be inundated with cucumbers and tomatoes real soon.

The birds and cats love the place. Lots of windows and the birds outside are sometimes louder than the ones inside and its funny when they start calling back and forth. Have swarms of hummingbirds, lots of blue jays, blue birds, oriels, cardinals, finches and chickadees... lots more that I don’t know what they are. The wildlife up there is amazing and we actually have a local botanist coming soon to give us a tour of the property and tell us about the flora and what is edible.

Bryan is still looking for a job but has done work for some local farmers and greenhouses to make some cash. I have started looking for work as well, my company just got bought and though we don’t anticipate many changes, the atmosphere is getting worse and worse and I can’t deal with the stress and the long commute (average about 1:10 one way)

Will take some pics of the inside tonight so you can see the new place. But happy to be back here. Looks like I’ve missed a lot.



And a belated blanket welcome to all new members that I’ve missed since I have been away.

Welcome back Vikki!!!

Arthur loves his new view...

Woah, does Arthur not have his orange? He actually doesn't look like a Lesser..

He's got a tiny bit of orange at the bridge of his nose, but I don't think he is a lesser after some recent study. I think he may be a greater. I will post a better face pic of him to show detail, I'm curious myself what others think.

Not real clear, but this is a face shot.

Honestly, a Greater was my exact guess at first sight of that picture, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. From what I've seen and read, the Lessers and the BWs have beaks that run at a smooth arch from the forehead, but the Greaters' beaks drop down and are tucked in from the forehead.

And if that's true, aren't the greaters a bit more rare? Honestly, I've only seen a few jardine's personally and none of them looked like him. They looked similar, but not the same. He's bigger and like you said, he doesn't have the orange forehead. And he has more black coloring than the lessers.

They are quite rare in aviculture, there is only one breeder in Canada who has a breeding pair. Arthur also stands up more upright in comparison to the other Jardine's I've seen- another Greater trait.

I'm glad my suspicions were justified then. Exciting to know Arthur is so special! He's my baby and was my first bird.

What is his temperament like? It's very very hard to find info on them, I could only ever find a few links!

Thats probably why I have been so confused about his true species for years... no info. He's got a great temperament. When I first got him he had come from his second rehome. His first owner kept him in a cage indefinitely and the household had a clutch of bulldog puppies that liked to bark at his cage. His last home before me was much better, but he was rarily let out due to lack of time at home by the owner. When I got him he was beyond nippy, didn't like to be handled or touched much at all but in his shyness was always very curious to a point.

Unlike most jardines, he's was never much for moving around his cage. He seemed happy to finally be in a stable, quiet home and was content just perching and watching. I spent over a year handling him on a daily basis. Just left his door open for the first couple of weeks until he was bold enough to come out on his own, then I started with step up and a bit of cuddling, which he didn't like at all. Now... totally different bird and more of a Jardine.

He's a profound mimicker and sometimes says stuff that no one in the house has said, so I'm assuming he picks it up from TV or radio. Makes tons of sound effects and actually talks to me in his way. When he wants out or into his cage, he makes the sound of his cage door squeaking. When he's extremely happy he says "woodgie woodgie woodgie" (which is something I used to say in his ear early on when I would cuddle him.) and usually says it when I flip him an his back and lay him in my cleavage, which he loves to do when I'm on the PC or watching TV. In his cage, he's a little monkey now, hangs upside down, loves to forage from the bottom of his cage... wonderfully personable bird. I couldn't have asked for a better starter bird.

Vikki wrote:

The birds and cats love the place. Lots of windows and the birds outside are sometimes louder than the ones inside and its funny when they start calling back and forth. Have swarms of hummingbirds, lots of blue jays, blue birds, oriels, cardinals, finches and chickadees... lots more that I don’t know what they are. The wildlife up there is amazing and we actually have a local botanist coming soon to give us a tour of the property and tell us about the flora and what is edible.

Jealous, jealous, jealous here!
I would love to leave the city one day and live among the nature. That's what my father did in PL (RIP) and he was happy like never before...
Vikki, it's good to have you back!

Welcome back! You've been missed!

Thanks! Good to be back, but catching up is a bitch. I think I may just start from here and hope to catch on to all the topics.

Welcome back Vikki!

Vikki wrote:

Thanks! Good to be back, but catching up is a bitch. I think I may just start from here and hope to catch on to all the topics.

Good luck, really. It's hard enough keeping up with this group day to day.