HeatherStrella

Love your pictures!! They look like they're having SOOO much fun!! That makes me want to get a friend for Harrison. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the comments... Hannah_Rae, I bought a bunch of solid color fleece blankets...you know the ones you can get at the drug store...like 10 bucks...anyway that's what the black thing in the background is.

I just love taking pictures of her..I love being a mom to her...I can't imagine life without her...here she is.. Thanks for lookin' Heather & Harrison

I wonder if using a perch to get him out would work. If he was abused with a stick or something, you might scare him, though. I've read that as a first "step" use a perch...maybe try a colored one so he doesn't associate it with a stick. What I mean by using a perch is, while he's in his cage, put the perch up to his breast as you would with your hand. Say "step up" as you would if you were using your hand...If he seems afraid of it, ditch it.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2008/01/29 14:46

Harrison loves to chew on these blocks...they're the perfect size...she won't chew on anything bigger...here is the eBay link http://cgi.ebay.com/25-Small-Hexagon-Blocks-Bird-Parrot-Toy_W0QQitemZ110171416167QQihZ001QQcategoryZ20736QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

You're wonderful!! Your bird is letting you do more than mine will let me and I got her as a baby. :huh: It's wonderful what you're doing. I went into a pet shop last summer and found similar conditions as you...I called the SPCA and an officer went out on two different occasions. The first visit to check on them...he told them to clean up their act...the second visit was to see that they were doing right by those birds. I'm wondering if there's an agency you can call and have them go out to that house. Even if they don't find that the birds are being neglected, surely 15 dogs HAS to be too many by law.(??) By the way, I love the picture of Cosmo in the towel with his eyes closed...precious!!

I will be the number 4 person to suggest using red palm oil. I put a little on Harrison's favorite treat every morning and she gobbles it up. Her skin seems to be in much better shape...not so dry. Also, we thought Harrison was plucking her feathers a while ago. We had taken her to a different vet to get another oppinion...that's when we found out that the first vet had clipped her wings too short and when she "folded" her wings to her side, she would accidentally poke herself...then she'd start chewing/plucking at her wing feathers. We started using red palm oil and left her wings alone and she's fine now. If we decide to clip her wings again, we'll have the new vet do it so we know it's being done right.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2008/01/27 05:12

Harrison has taken over my heart. Being spoiled isn't quite the word I would use...don't laugh but I'm thinking along the lines of 'soul mate'..I never expected to fall head over heels for a bird. I have a connection with her that I've never had with a human or an animal. Now, I got her during a very trying time...my mother was sick and dying and did die a few months after we got Harrison. So, anyway, Harrison has all kinds of toys...homemade ones, store bought, internet creations, household doo-dads...boxes of stuff. Her favorite thing to do is chew on hexigon wood beads. She would do that for hours...ha. I, too, love spoiling my bird...I don't have any human children so my pets are my children. I worry, as you do, about what would happen to her if I died and left her behind. Who would take care of her the way I have? This is a good topic...I hope a lot of people post their "spoiling stories"...ha ... Heather:)

All I can say is "WOW"!! Beautiful pictures! What kind of camera do you use where you can take it under water?

Cool..thanks!!

Welcome to the wonderful world of greys!!! I brought a picture of my little one to work one day and a girl asked me if it was going to "turn into" a parrot. "HUH???" was my response. Then she went on to explain how parrots have so many colors and mine was just grey. :evil: I educated her. My Harrison will sometimes take to a new toy right away or sometimes will take a few days of moving it closer and closer. What I do actually is this: I have a rug in the living room just for her and I to hang out on together. I will bring the new toy out on the rug and pretend to chew it and rub it on my head..I know it sounds silly, but it works. She sees me doing it and knows it's not something unsafe. As far as the wing clipping, if I was in your situation, I would clip after he learned how to fly. It sounds like you have a lot of opportunities for him to get out and possibly get lost. If you leave doors and windows open, I wouldn't risk it. Same with fans....they can be deadly...but, clipping is up to the individual. It's best not to, of course, but if it comes down to keeping the bird in the house or not keeping the bird in the house, then I would. But, I would let him learn to fly first. Good luck!! Have fun...I'll tell you this...I was so excited when I got my birdie...then about month 3, I thought "what have I done..this is too much for me"....I kept on...then about month 6-8 I realized what I had done...I had gotten myself a companion for life. She's the apple of my eye...So if you feel overwhelmed, just keep on...you may just fall in love. I sure did...I wasn't expecting to, either...hit me by surprise..lol<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2008/01/23 03:34

TalonSis, I wrote you a private message and asked on here...you must be a very busy woman cuz I still don't have an answer. Can we enter pictures of wild animals living in a zoo?

Very cute picture. Harrison does it all the time...sometimes it scares me when she does it on her play stand...I think "how will she get out of THIS one!!??"...Nice picture

Well, it's my picture of Harrison that won Picture of The Day...here's the link http://www.photographyvoice.com/pv/potd/ViewPOTD.aspx?c=14656 Hope you guys don't mind that I'm bragging a little

Can the picture be of a wild animal in a ZOO??

Thanks for the comments, everyone. She's my favorite subject to photograph B)

Harrison does this about 1-2 times a month. She will actually stand in her water dish or flick water on herself with her beak. She makes a big water mess on the bottom of her cage...it's adorable By the way, she doesn't like it if I give her a bath...it has to be on her terms or no bath at all.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2008/01/16 04:26

Harrison is fearless!! She hangs upside down from just about anything...here she is on her stand. She fell shortly after these photos were taken...but she went right back to hanging upside down again..ha

We paid $850 for Harrison (CAG) and she was 15 weeks old. She was fully weaned when we got her but still "asked" to be fed...the only thing that went wrong with our breeder was she was wrong about Harrison's gender...she said she was male...no big deal...

I know I should know this, but what is 'vignetting'?...and what is 'chromatic abberation'?

Kaedyn, thanks so much. Yes, I'm shooting with that lens. I really like it...I've been shooting in Program or Manual modes. As far as the blue background, it's just a fleece blanket I hung on the wall. Do you think I should use one that has a design on it or another solid one? I tried it once with a towel I had that had palm trees on it and it seemed to take away from the subject. Maybe something in between...like polka dots or stripes? Thanks!!

Hello...sorry I haven't replied...we had a big storm pass through here and our internet was out. I will try your suggestions, thanks!!

I've been practicing with my new Nikon D300 and haven't really been producing very good images. They're ok but nothing spectacular. I'll post a few pictures followed by the exif info...all you pros out there, can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?? Exif Info: Compression JPEG compression Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D300 Orientation top, left side X Resolution 300 dots per inch Y Resolution 300 dots per inch Resolution Unit Inch Software Paint Shop Pro Photo 12.01 Date/Time 2008:01:05 19:00:57 Thumbnail Offset 1042 bytes Thumbnail Length 6181 bytes YCbCr Positioning Datum point Exposure Time 1/60 sec F-Number F5.6 Exposure Program Program normal ISO Speed Ratings 400 Exif Version 2.21 Date/Time Original 2008:01:05 18:52:50 Date/Time Digitized 2008:01:05 18:52:50 Components Configuration YCbCr Compressed Bits Per Pixel 4 bits/pixel Exposure Bias Value -1 Max Aperture Value F2.9 Metering Mode Multi-segment Light Source Unknown Flash Flash fired, compulsory flash mode, return light detected Focal Length 105.0 mm User Comment ASCII Sub-Sec Time 50 Sub-Sec Time Original 50 Sub-Sec Time Digitized 50 FlashPix Version 1.00 Color Space sRGB Exif Image Width 2325 pixels Exif Image Height 1769 pixels Sensing Method One-chip color area sensor File Source Digital Still Camera (DSC) Scene Type Directly photographed image Custom Image Processing Normal Exposure Mode Auto White Balance Mode Auto Digital Zoom Ratio 1/1 Focal Length in 35mm Film 157.0 mm Scene Capture Type Standard Gain Control Low gain up Contrast Normal Saturation Normal Sharpness Normal

OMG!!! You are so lucky to have had them so young. I wish I had Harrison so young. They're lucky to have you, too, someone who loves them so much. Happy Birthday to your boys...I hope you and your babies have a wonderful year. Heather and Harrison

Harrison will say "where's Heather?" "Where's Denis?" (my husband) and "Where's Valerie" (our disabled roommate)...she's generally alone when she says it...I don't recall her saying it while hanging with us in the living room. She also says "c'mere" but she's always scratching her head when she says it...almost like she's scratching a flea and telling it to "come here!"...lol