Birdku: Haiku Poems About Companion Birds (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781456308223)

Diane Grindol acquired a cockatiel hen, Dacey, in 1982 and it changed her life. She began writing about cockatiels for the American Cockatiel Society, and then BIRD TALK magazine. She was asked to write "Cockatiels For Dummies," and has also authored several other companion bird care books, as well as writing a column for BIRD TALK since 1995. Diane lives on the Monterey Peninsula along California's Central Coast, with several cockatiels and a bule-headed pionus parrot. Ginny was the 'Bird Girl of Boca' growing up. She tried to save many abandoned and injured baby birds, not very successfully! She swears she taught a wild Grackle to talk - at least it talked to her! For many years she kept and raised doves - Ring Neck and Sacred White - and their beautiful offspring. One Christmas she asked for a fish tank for Christmas since she doubted Santa would bring the much wanted parrot - that was the year Jaspar the Canary Winged Parakeet joined their household! She tried to teach Jaspar to say 'hello' - repeating it hundreds of times a day. Once every day her father looked at the cage and said 'Jaspar, you are a dirty bird'. Well, sure enough, Jaspar learned to say 'Dirty bird' but never 'hello'! Rescuing and rehabbing parrots took up much of the 80s and 90s which are otherwise a blur of childbearing and raising. At one point Ginny's basement was full of feather plucked macaws and cockatoos, and the backyard housed an aviary with a pair of rescued Military Macaws. These were also the glorious years of the Monterey Bay Cage Bird Club and lots of photographs and several articles published in the major Bird magazines.