I love birds.
We had chickens when I was a kid, from early. I carried them around. The hens acted panicky when I tried to catch them, but once I had them they calmed right down. We had some wild hens also, and used to gather the hatchlings.
I also used to climb the barn rafters and mug sparrow nests. I’d hold them a while, then let them go. We had a lot of swallows around but they were too jumpy to sneak up on. I loved watching them fly. Their tails are cool. They attacked my cats as a group.
I’ve handled ducks, geese, parrots, a crow and an owl. I touched a peahen briefly at the zoo in Omaha.
The owl died in my arms. I saw it on a rural road, and when I stopped to move it to the ditch, I saw that it was still alive. It was huge, three feet from head to tail tip, and beautiful. I wanted to take it to a vet, but it was stressed about me being near. I spoke to it softly, and it calmed down. I picked it up and it just kept eye contact. I only took a few steps and he died still looking at my face. I was broken hearted. I put him in the trunk and the next day I took him to a DNR office. I told him the story, and asked if they could have him preserved for their mini museum. He told me he is supposed to arrest anyone who touches an owl. He could see how upset I was over the bird, and told me he would take the owl, and warned me to never touch one again.
I did pretty much the same with the crow. It was during the day though, and in a city. I saw it flapping around, and suddenly I just didn’t want him to die on the pavement. When my I approached he too was stressed, and calmed down when I talked to him. I carried him to the grassy area needs nearby, and he made no effort to defend himself. When I put him down he rolled over to his belly. He may have been only stunned. I left him there to live or die, but not on pavement.
I worked at a mall in Mountain View several years ago. I used to visit a pet shop there. I was admiring a parrot which was not caged, but on a perch. He made little cooing noises to me so I leaned close for kisses. An employee came over to warn me he was vicious, but too late. I had already gotten my kiss. The guy was stunned. They couldn’t sell the bird because he was mean, attacking anyone who got close.
I took to visiting often. The bird never once attacked me.