Pre-dawn
Dawn
Misty, a Mississippi Kite, is staying in Corrales for the summer.
We interrupt this post for a news flash. Søren has Tail Feathers! Yes! You heard it here first. Søren has tail feathers. For those of you who don’t know, Søren is our neurotic African Grey Parrot. Tristan and David got him around 2007. When Tristan and David divorced in 2014, Søren went crazy and pulled out all his feathers. We took Søren so he could live with a couple. He let all his feathers grow back, but he had been pulling out his tail feathers until a few weeks ago. Why he stopped pulling them out all of a sudden I can’t say, but he has figured out that he might be able to fly having all his feathers grown out. He finally looks like a whole African Grey Parrot.
Søren with his red tail feathers
The moon finally broke through the clouds for a bit last night.
Off Center & Not Even 
Beautiful, and how wonderful about the tail feathers. I have a friend who had a parrot that did something very similar, under stressful situations. Sensitive, they are, I think.
Parrots are like people. Thanks, Jeff.
Ah, indeed. You’re welcome, Tim.
Brill skies. A gopod looking Mississippi Kite settle in.
And handsome Søren feathers his instincts. Great!
Thanks, Inchcock.
Beautiful
Thanks, Saania.
oh yay for feathers. My mom has an African Grey and it has no tail feathers… poor guy. 💖
Poor thing. I’m happy Søren is letting his grow. Thanks, Cindy.
Congrats! Søren is definitely looking handsome, preening for the photo op.
He’s looking great. Thanks, JYP.
Is he still cursing everyone out? Or was that Beaker? Hard to keep track of your cast of characters
Søren is as fowl beaked as ever. He cusses us, the cats, Beaker… Sometimes he cusses us out and then laughs and laughs about it.
Lol, fowl-beaked! Good one!
Søren sounds like a very sensitive soul. He is a handsome fellow. Do you still have Beaker?
Beaker is still as sassy as ever. He’s 30-years old now. Thanks, Lavinia.
I think besides kitties it is the two birds and Blue the Boa now?
Kitties birds and Blue.
Soren must finally be content in his new home. (Although the cats might give some worry.) Life is so unpredictable…
Søren simply cusses out the cats. Immitates them. Mocks them. Sings songs about them. Calls them by name, and calls them names. They are not a threat or a least bit of a worry for him. Thanks, Cheyenne.
Beautiful!
Thanks, Inge.
Poor Søren …. finaly he seems to feel better now with less stress.
He hasn’t seemed very stressed for years, but maybe he’s maturing. Thanks, Rudi.
Soren is epic !
He’s a feisty bird.
A real character! (I expected no less mind you.)
Wonderful moon pics too
Thanks, Shey.
Wonderful news! They do take stress badly. Thank goodness he’s on an even keel again.
Thanks, Couriers.
It makes perfect sense that Søren would grow back his feathers and smile in your paradise! Painter painter… sigh!
Thanks, Marina.
🙂
I love the Misty photos, the gray feathers against a pale blue sky.
Hopefully Søren finds out soon the benefits of beeing pretty and in flight, too.
I hope so. Thanks, Heidi.
I am so pleased to hear that Søren has his tail feathers. I am convinced that we underestimate the emotional responses of our fellow creatures. I believe that Søren may have been experiencing PSTD. – I say this seriously.
You are right, Rebecca. Søren had major PSTD and separation anxiety over David leaving. Sophia, the African Grey Tristan rescued, was depressed and mean because her owner had sold her to a pet shop after being with him for 16 years. Apparently, he had married a woman with a 16-year-old daughter who didn’t like Sophia. I would have thrown out the woman’s daughter. She would have stuck around for long anyway. It took Tristan a long time to get Sophia tamed down and back to normal.
A delightful little bird. Photos are gorgeous!
Thanks, Holly.
OMG! I’m so happy about Søren!
He is gorgeous, beautiful… and so much more.
This is another example of how our pets love us, in their way.
Many children do not do well when parents divorce.
It’s taken time, but Søren now trusts and loves you and Laurie. The cats could be part of it, part of the family.
Søren is finally truly content and filled with a sense of well being!
He’s always been sassy and talkative. I think pulling out his tail feathers had become a habit, and for some reason he decided to stop, which is great. Thanks, Resa.
Agree! Lovely bird.
I’m happy for him and hope he feels better. That was so hard on him.
Thanks, Gigi.
What a beautiful bird!!! Good for him; that is quite a story! And love the shots of Misty, too. Stunning pre-dawn/dawn photos!
Thanks, Samantha. He looks so much better with his tail feathers.
Awe… the red tail feather is beautiful. Glad she is feeling less stressed.
Thanks, Nancy.
That kite is gorgeous!
Goes to show that birds are emotional creatures and feel the stresses. So glad SØren feels happy enough to allow his tail feathers to grow back
Parrots are very sensitive. Thanks, Dale.
Yes, they are, I have heard.
Interesting!! But love to see birds flying freely 💕🙂
He can fly freely around the house. Søren has never known a life outside. Thanks, Saima.
Well, thats interesting to know that he can fly freely around the house.. i feel sorry for the caged bird.
My pleasure!! 🙂
Søren’s cage is open all the time. He was complete freedom in his room. He gets in his cage on his own at night and asks to be put to bed (covered).
Beaker is our conure. Their average lifespan in the wild is six years. The average lifespan in captivity is 20 years. Beaker is 30 years old now.
Wow, very interesting 👍😍 and glad to know how Søren is happy with you🙂 and surprised to know about the life span fact in captivity..i didn’t know that. Good to know about Beaker too😍
Parrots live many years longer in captivity because they have no preditors.
And ofcourse, very nice photos of the sky👍🙂
Glad to hear that he has stopped hoisting out those feathers .. he’s a handsome boy
Thanks, Julie. He looks so much better.
Love those Kites – they just look mean ha! One was sighted flying over a local forest preserve about 30 minutes from us, but unfortunately Ron and I were chasing a rarity (actually a Swllow-Tailed Kite) in the exact opposite direction. Missed the Mississippi, but we now have the S-T checked off! Never new those birds would self-ground themselves like that – do you think it will try to fly now?
I was surprised the first time I identified the MKs. When I looked up their range, some of them come to bread in the upper Rio Grand valley. I’ve seen more MKs than usual this year. Thanks, Ron.