Complete Interview for Bird Talk October 2002
At what age did you first have a pet bird? Which species?
I first got a bird when I was 25 years old. I did raise winged creatures as a child and teen. I raised and released butterflies and moths and participated in the tagging of Monarch butterflies that led to the discovery of their migration patterns and roosts. I come from a family of amateur naturalists and learned to identify plant and wild bird species when I was growing up, but never could imagine keeping a bird in a cage. Then I met Clement.
I moved to Monterey in 1982 when my college roomate lived there too. She had acquired a cockatiel named Clement. He was so cute and personable, and happy. And he didn't live full time in a cage, he came out to play and was sociable. Within 2 weeks I acquired Dacey, a gray hen, from the same breeder. I just celebrated Dacey's 20th bird-day (since cockatiels aren't "born" she couldn't have a birth-day).
In what year did you start breeding birds for recreation? Which species?
Eventually Clement, the first cockatiel I had met, became mine. Dacey and Clement set up housekeeping even though I didn't know what to do about breeding - or how to stop their romantic inclination. I started reading everything I could about cockatiels, joined the American Cockatiel Society and subscribed to magazines I saw listed as resources in books I was reading
We had our first clutch of babies in 1984. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised that the two gray birds had produced a lutino and a pearl chick. I read more about genetics. Now I can plan for colors in a clutch, though I emphasize gentle, nice pet birds in my hobby breeding program. My goal is producing cockatiels that are happy in captivity and can be good pets for their human companions. I also emphasize cockatiels that successfully raise their own chicks. I co-parent with my cockatiels and depend on them to teach their babies skills and to feed them well, even though I help. The babies I have occasionally are 6th and 7th generation descendants of Dacey.
In what year did you begin writing for Bird Talk? In what year did you get your own column? Was it always called Small Talk?
I started contributing to Bird Talk in 1988. I answered a questionnaire in the magazine about first birds and what they meant to you. By that time my acquisition of Dacey as a companion cockatiel had led to a regular column about pets in the American Cockatiel newsletter, starting a bird club in Monterey so I could meet other bird enthusiasts, and continuing to breed cockatiels as a hobby. I expressed all this in my answer to the questionnaire and got a letter back from Bird Talk's editor at the time, Karen New, asking if I wanted to write articles. I was so excited! I made a list of articles I wanted to write. Most involved doing some research about the topic, so they provided me with an opportunity to learn more about cockatiels and other birds. I contributed articles for several years under my married name "Diane Morrison".
In 1995 I started to write the "Small Talk" column for Bird Talk. The two years previous to this my foray into publishing had been as editor and publisher of Bird World magazine. I sold that magazine to Fancy Publications and during the sale Norm Ridker asked me about what I liked about producing the magazine, where I could be a contribution. I expressed that I enjoyed the networking with organizations, event coordinators and researchers that was a part of publishing the magazine, and making that information available to bird lovers. Norm asked me if I would be interested in a Bird Talk column. I started writing "Small Talk" in July 1995 and has become the "FYI" column lately
What books have you written?
The books I wrote are: Cockatiels for Dummies, The Complete Book of Cockatiels, The Canary: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.
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I also wrote Birds Off The Perch, a book about parrot behavior and due to be published by Simon & Schuster in March, 2003. My co-authors are animal behaviorist and psychologist Dr. Larry Lachman (Cat Fancy columnist and author of Dogs on the Couch and Cats on the Counter - animal behavior books) and Dr. Frank Kocher, a veterinarian.
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Talk is Cheep!(with Tom Roudybush, as yet unpublished but due to be put out by Avian Publications. It was originally written as an Idiot's Guide but wasn't published).
I know you are frequently involved in fundraising. What are some of your recent causes and events?
I put on seminars and speak at seminars that are fund raising events. For example, I spoke at the Parrot Education and Adoption Center (PEAC) seminar in November 2001 and in St. Louis in April 2002 at a seminar that raised funds for University of Georgia veterinary research. I've been putting on "Pet Bird Seminars" for the last 7 years. Those efforts have raised over $16,000 for The Alex Foundation since June 1998. Dr. Pepperberg has been a very gracious speaker. I appreciate the work she does, which proves to so many people how intelligent our parrot companions are. It is my belief that this assists pet owners to explore their pets' potential and to provide stimulating and interesting environments for their companion birds.
I've included speakers from the UC Davis Psittacine Research Project and Texas A&M Schubot Research Center at seminars and have been able to send some funding to those organizations as well. I try to stay in touch with what's happening at UC Davis on a regular basis. One of those first articles I proposed writing for Bird Talk was about the UC Davis Psittacine Rsearch Project, where there was a large flock of cockatiels. The project made invaluable contributions to our knowledge about psittacine nutrition and work has continued there, with behavior research currently involving both the cockatiels and their flock of Amazon parrots as well as further nutrition studies.
How has bird breeding changed over the last 20 years? What specific positive advancements have been made?
I've seen tremendous advancements in avian medicine and research. We have tests and can identify diseases that were mysteries 20 years ago. I appreciate a widespread acceptance of bird behavior as a field of study and aid to the companion parrot owner. Of course the Wild Bird Conservation Act which limited importation into this country changed bird breeding tremendously. Some species are not available any longer, are not being bred much because they were previously inexpensive and readily available (like Grey-cheeked parakeets and some finches) and there are other species with small or not genetically diverse populations in the U.S. A couple of Pionus species fall into the latter category, for example
The state of avian nutrition has changed vastly over the past 20 years. Magazines and books used to publish recipes for home-made hand feeding formulas, advocate feeding parrots from food you had chewed in your mouth and mention ways to increase production. Over the past 20 years, we've proved we can raise parrots effectively and in numbers to meet demand for parrots as pets. There are manufactured diets available for hand feeding and maintaining our parrots in captivity. I see more and more advocates forward-thinking aviculturists talking about flocking their birds to allow natural mate selection/change, allowing their wild-caught pairs to rear young so we don't lose parenting capability in our captive flocks and also experimentation with co-parenting techniques and fledging and instruction of young parrots.I see these as positive advancements leaning on what we know or have learned of parrots in the wild, and how much we care about the birds entrusted to us.
Through the years AFA awarded "first breeding" awards to aviculturists who acquired newly-imported species. Now there are aviculturists with 3, 5, 7 and more generations of birds captively bred in their aviaries. With a captive breeding population has come the first evidence of domestication - the appearance of mutation coloring in birds where before we had the wild type. We've carried this to the extreme in budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds and ring-necked parakeets.
While we used to worry how to raise parrots, now we have many domestically-raised parrots living in homes and parrots are accepted as fairly common pets. Parrots have been in the movies and show up in ads and greeting cards as an accepted pet by the general public.
Our population is getting older as well as more urban, and the suitability of many bird species for smaller living quarters and for the (often active!) elderly is ideal.
What aspect of bird breeding or pet bird keeping has made a turn for the worse in the past 20 years?
I see a tendency to acquire a certain set number of species as companions, to the detriment of diversity in American aviculture: African Greys, Umbrella Cockatoos, Sun Conures, Yellow-naped Amazon Parrots, Cockatiels and Budgies. I worry about losing the rich diversity of species available as companions and breeding birds
I think most changes in aviculture over the past 20 years have been positive. I'd like to see aviculturists more unified and sharing with each other to maintain studbooks and promote quality breeding operations. There's still no national species organizations for cockatoos or macaws, which seems like a "missing" although also a monumental task! We have a chance now that won't come along again to use the skills and genetics of wild-caught birds to build a strong foundation for aviculture.
There is a rift between bird breeders and those who rescue birds. There are many people in both camps who care about birds but who think they don't have much in common. I see bird placement as one way for "bird people" to take responsibility for care of a bird throughout its lifetime - and most birds will probably pass among a few homes in their long lifetime. Placement services are a way to network about homes that is a service to the bird breeder. Most bird breeders don't need to be accepting back offspring into their closed aviaries but can encourage pet owners to network among themselves to keep good parrots in good homes. I think that people in bird rescue and placement should also recognize the difference between dogs and cats reproducing on the streets and people purposely raising parrots, many of which are endangered species. A dog-and-cat solution or attitude should not automatically be adopted. Bird breeders are also knowledge people. They know about species-specific behavior, breeding behavior (which we can use to discourage that behavior in pet homes!) and have contacts with people who are acquiring parrots. They have information to share that pet owners should hear. I just want everyone to get along
I think common ground for anyone who cares about birds and their care is education
What are your (bird-related) priorities today, compared to 20 years ago?
20 years ago with a pet cockatiel and no knowledge, I was a sponge for learning about my bird. The more I've learned, the more I realize I don't know. My priority now is mainly education - giving back some of what I found out, encouraging those who are making breakthroughs in what we don't know, and networking with other bird lovers. Instead of just care information, now I am learning about behavior, the human-animal bond, birds in the media, as well as exploring what a good pet parrot is and what "domestication" might mean to our birds.
There's something magic about a room full of people who love birds, there's an electricity in the air and sharing happens. I love creating events and attending events where that magic feeling happens. I envision bird care classes becoming as common as dog training classes are now, offered by pet stores, humane societies and continuing education centers. I also envision many regional seminars with top speakers happening throughout the country, making it more likely that there is a seminar happening near you.
What struggles have you faced as a bird breeder? As a pet owner? As a writer?
Just in case anyone out there knows they are a writer but haven't submitted anything for publication, do it! Writing is not easy, putting something down and putting it "out there" is an accomplishment. One of the hardest part about being a writer is baring your soul. The second hardest part is sitting alone at a computer, baring your soul then not hearing back that your message was received. Writing can be lonely. I work full time in a field not related to birds, come home to my birds and then pound on my keyboard in spare moments. It doesn't come easily. It just got to the point where I had something to share and it was more difficult to NOT put it down than it was to keep my thoughts and insights to myself. It's been worth it.
I made a commitment to myself to do what I could for birds (1988 -89?), within my abilities. It turns out that even with a few birds, not a lot of time or money, but lots of will, that you can do something that makes a difference. Whenever an opportunity came along I looked at it from the point of view: "would this activity fulfill my commitment to do what I could?" I looked at my strengths and weaknesses and interests then dove in. The worst thing that can happen in many situations is that someone says "no." I had to forget that I was shy, embarassed or not an expert. I just did what I could anyway. I relied on others, I relied on myself, I made some big mistakes, had a lot of fun and cried sometimes. I'm sure there's more of all to come!
As a bird breeder the hardest moments are when a cherished bird dies. When it's a baby, I ask myself if I should be doing this? If it's a bird that's been placed I wonder again. What keeps me going is the people I meet through breeding birds, for whom worlds open up. The shy kids who get a confidant or study companion, the elderly who have a reason to be up in the morning and someone to talk to, the couple who address their first parenting issues!
As a pet owner my struggles are grief over the loss of cherished pets. Mathilda died last year at age 12, suddenly and unexpectedly. She was a close friend and the cockatiel who could do it all. She was a great pet, great mom and a winner at exhibitions. I can't do everything I'd wish for my companion birds. I want to give them flight and fresh air and lots of love and... I've seen parrots in the wild fly out of sight and congregate in noisy flocks. I want my birds to have that but still be safe!
Don't be modest. What bird-related achievement are you most proud of? Why?
I feel very good when I go check how "Cockatiels For Dummies" is doing and see that it is rated well on Amazon.com. It's fulfilling to me to share what I can with new cockatiel owners to an extent that I could not without a far-reaching publication like that book. It is the culmination of 15 years of work, so I'm glad it's being read! My goal is to reach the general public with bird care information that is well known to "bird people."
The achievement I am most proud of is the proliferation of regional seminars. I felt that should happen, and did what I could. I began putting on seminars in Northern California and also put one on in Chicago, near the town where I grew up. It gave me a chance to visit Mom and Dad. People who attended the Chicago seminar have gone on to put on seminars in Wisconsin, Chicago and St. Louis. At the St. Louis seminar a Tulsa group was asking the coordinators how to hold their own seminar. Education is happening regionally, and the idea is catching on. Moreover, the coordinators do an even better job than I could. I couldn't be more proud!
Diane Grindol
