HeatherStrella

Cute pictures!! I've seen AnnaBella sleeping before, one foot up, eyes closed. But I've never seen her with her head around on her back. I guess I'm not quiet enough...I've never been able to get a picture of her sleeping...maybe that will be my new mission..ha. Great idea caitb2007

Awesome as always!! How ya doin?

Beautiful birdie...stunning photos!! Keep em coming :-}

Wow...I wonder how far C/TAGs can fly...he looks well taken care of...or did he not look that well when you found him? I can't imagine losing AnnaBella...I would flip. I'm sorry your friends were too into their lives to help you post flyers and such. The right thing will happen. <br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2009/05/16 06:35

Marauder, thanks so much for all the info. I'm going to work on it this weekend.

When I first got my Grey, the vet told me that Greys will only talk if they "like" what they hear. Also, she said it helps if they can see your mouth...so if you want him to say a particular thing, make sure he can see you forming the word/s. I recently taught AnnaBella to sing "How Much is that Birrrrdie in the Window???"...I sang it a lot while she couldn't see me but also while she was about 2 inches from my face. She looked right at my mouth. (she'd be looking in my eyes but as soon as I started to sing, she zoomed in on my mouth instantly)..She learned it in about 2 weeks. Of course, she'd say parts of it...when she was close to it, she sang "how much is that birdie in the gooooooooooo". I think she sang that cuz she says "ready, set, gooooooo" a lot. LOL. But, soon after that she sang it correctly. I've "taught" her several things like that...but most of the words/phrases she knows are what we say around the house like the people above have said.

taxidriver5 wrote: AnnaBella *loves* bottle caps too. She likes to take out the plastic liner inside the cap...if there is one. It used to take her a few minutes...now it takes her just a few seconds. lol. I just love your baby pictures. Babies are soo cute. I wanna take 'em all home!! Your photos almost look like paintings. Very cool looking.

B) Ha!! Cute picture!! I wish AnnaBella would bathe on her own.:blink:

Nice photos...I see you've got a Nikon...I've got a D40x and D300...I'm wondering how do you put that mark in the middle of your photos? I've never been able to figure that out. I have Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2. I know it does a lot more than I use it for. I mostly use it to touch up photos. Sooo...is it difficult? What program do you use? I edited it because I realized I used my program to make my signature..lol. At first, I said "I only use it for touch up...."<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2009/05/10 09:33

Thank you ranaz, I appreciate it.

Oh man, how did you get her to do that? I've tried that with AnnaBella but she won't have it. Great picture!

Awww what a cutie pie!! Great pics

Thank you all for the comments. It's funny, I see her fly everyday but she flaps her wings so fast, I never really see her wings. It's cool to actually see them in the photos. Thanks! Heather

These are some photos from tonight...a lot of the flight photos look like the other flight photos I posted here a while back... (go figure).. Relaxing.. Thinking about flying around... Take off... Sooo pretty.... Flying back... Another fly back from a lap... Same as above... I hope you enjoyed the photos

AnnaBella was already talking when we bought her from the breeder at 3 months old. I know her talking abilities has nothing to do with anything I've done with her, I think she's just really good at it. One thing the vet mentioned about it, though, was to make sure your bird can see your mouth when you're talking to her. I guess they like to see how you form your words. It doesn't really make any sense to me, but I'm no pro. She also said that they'll only say things that sound good to them. The last thing she said was to never say "say hello"...or "say I love you"...just say whatever it is you want them to say. Don't say "say" with it. With AnnaBella, just us talking to her and each other, she picks up things. There are a few phrases I've taught her on purpose, she learned it in a few days. I think once they learn a few words, they just take off. That's what I've heard anyway. Good luck!!

AnnaBella is 3 years old. Her hatchday is 12/31/05. Yesterday (4/6/09) was our 3rd anniversary of being together. {Love-000200C2} {Love-000200C2} {Love-000200C2} {Love-000200C2} {Love-000200C2} {Love-000200C2} {Love-000200C2}

Congrats!! Was Tim hand fed? Were you able to have visits with him before you brought him home? If so, how was he with you then? Maybe you can talk with the breeder about how s/he handled him. When you say "but he just won't let me near him... unless I'm outside his cage." ...Do you mean that if he's outside his cage, you can handle him? And that if he's inside his cage, you can't get him to come out by putting your hand in the cage and having him "step up"? There are many training techniques you can try depending on what your issue is. If you're trying to get him to step up onto your hand, try using a hand held perch first. You can look in the "training" section of this site or google it. There are sooo many ways...it just depends on the issues and what you're comfortable doing. It looks like you're experienced with other birds. Do you think if he sees your other birds steppin up he'll catch on?...It may not even be a training issue...it may just be a trust issue. I'm sure you'll do fine...you obviously have a caring heart and he'll see that.

WOW!! Beautiful pictures!! I love the sky in the background. She's such a stunning Grey. You take great photos!!

Hey... AnnaBella is quite moody right now. Last year at this time, she was biting me every chance she could. After a while, I could read her body language and avoid getting bitten...most times. One thing she does it, if she goes to step up with her right foot, I know she's going to bite me. She normally steps up with her left. This year, we had one bad weekend, I posted pics of my wounds in the "bite me" thread, and I went back to being careful, reading her body language. Now, she's very clingy. Don't get me wrong, I love it. She likes to perch on my knee and snooze...if I'm lying on my side, she'll perch on my hip and creep up to my neck and kinda nuzzle in. Is the clinginess (is that a word?) part of the hormones? If, for some reason, I can't have her on me and I redirect her to her swing area enough times, she'll stay for a bit. She's being such a good girl, but I'm wondering if it's the calm before the storm. I suppose I should just be thankful. She's even waddling over to my husband sometimes, which she never did before. Once in a while, if my husband and I are sitting together on the sofa and he puts his hand on mine, she'll waddle over and try to nip at his hand. I think it's kinda funny...I know it's not, and I don't reinforce it...but I do think it's funny. I'm bad, I know . Anyway, I guess my question is: is the clinginess from hormones too? And if it is, can I reinforce it so she's still a little more clingy than she is when she's not hormonal? She's normally a pretty independent bird. The vet said that she'd be less independent and more well behaved if we clipped her wings...that's out of the question. Thanks!! Heather EDIT...by the way, she's also molting right now.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2009/04/07 23:08

Aww what a pretty girl!! Love your signature too!

We had parrots growing up. We had a Sun Conure, another type of Conure, and a Kakariki that flew in our window on a Friday afternoon. I was never really close to the Conures, they were pretty much my mom's birds. But the Kakariki was a different story...we named him Friday, for obvious reasons...we took him to the vet right away, put an ad in the paper in case someone lost their bird. No one claimed him. Anyway, Friday was very sick. He required daily shots to his chest. My mom couldn't handle it, so I had to do it. We became very close. I was his and he was mine. He trusted me totally, he never bit me even though I was doing horrible things to him. He only lived a couple of years. He was always sick...I wonder if he was wild caught. Anyway, ever since Friday, I've always wanted a parrot of my own. I just didn't know what kind. Then I saw a TV show about a Grey who had telepathic abilities with his owner. (I hope that's the correct grammar.) They way those two got along was fascinating to me. The human nature of Greys attracted me to them. I knew they could learn to talk, that was no big deal. I figured they were just copying sounds. But I didn't know they could learn to say things in context with what was really going on until I witnessed it with my own Grey. So, I guess what made me want a Grey was their human-like emotions, their personalies, and you never know what's going to happen next. Now, what attracts me to her...those three things plus the things she says...she's her own being, she teases us and the dog:lol: , and she makes her own choices and I respect those choices.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2009/03/30 01:07

When AnnaBella knows I getting a soda bottle out of the fridge, she makes the sound of it pouring in the glass and then me drinking it. I love those sounds she makes..they're almost cartoon like. My husband and I live with and take care of a woman (Valerie) with disabilities. She cracks up when someone sneezes. AnnaBella will make the sneeze sound, say "bless you" and then laugh like Valerie. There are so many noises and things that she says, it's impossible to pick a favorite. I'm sure you guys can relate...when she learns a word or phrase, she'll say it a lot and then stop saying it. Then I forget that she ever even said it until she starts saying it again. I was keeping a journal of everything she was saying but I've stopped adding to it. I should catch it up to date. Oh well...it's fun to read these. Birdies are so much fun!! Here's a list of words/phrases she's learned over the last couple of years. I stopped adding last October...laziness... I love you Hi/hello baby Whatcha doin? Cartoooons!! Hiya Hotlips OOOoooooohhhh!!! Hellllloooo??? Hello bird Harrison is a (very) pretty biiiiiirrrrrd Pretty cool It's OK Added 4~12~07 Feed the geckos? You're a good boy. (lol) How's my baby? I'm sorry Hello Buddy How are you? He just started saying "no" when he doesn't want to do something. 5~1~07 Heather Where's Heather? I'm Sorry gootchie-gootchie goo Go On Ooops! 5~23~07 I'm trying to teach him "Tell me about it, stud"...you know, the famous line in "Grease"...so far he says "Tell me about it, SSSSS" 5~26~07 He said "Tell me about it, Stud" perfectly. He doesn't always say it perfectly, but most of the time he does. He's also saying different variations of the phrases in the first group. Like "Whatcha doin boy?" or "Whatcha doin Harrison?" He beeps like the microwave, makes belching and farting sounds, whines like the dog, wolf whistles, and he also kinda mumbles in my husbands voice...I'll say "what did you say?" to my husband...and he didn't say anything at all...it was AnnaBella. 7/10/07 Since we've found out that Harrison (AnnaBella) is female, we've been talking to her as such. She's learned a few new phrases... Pretty Girl Good Girl Wanna Come out and Play? She's also barking like our dog...she talks to the dog but I can't understand her...she says "blah blah...Sandy!!" (the dog's name) I had a sneezing episode yesterday and after each sneeze, my husband said "bless you"...well, this morning, AnnaBella made a sneezing sound and said "bless you" right after. ha. 7/25/07 La Dee Da Yummy yummy yummy Stop it Sandy and she's regularly making sneezing sounds and saying "bless you" 8/13/07 You Go Poopie? (female voice) "Honey?!"~(male voice) "What?!" It's alright Ok bye bye Bye bye Harrison You're a good bird, yes you are Come here WOW! She makes the sound of a soda pop opening 8/18/07 Want a cracker? Fly, fly, fly!! Hey, hey, hey!! What's the matter? Where's my good birdie? 10/10/07 Hi Sweet Pea That's my nose, those are my toes Sandy, shush (Sandy is our dog) 10/26/07 Hey Girl Go Poopie (in a really high voice, then she poops) Where's my girl? Walnut? Watch birdies (bird DVD) How's my (little) girl, hmmmm???? That's my (little) girl 11/7/07 I'll be right back Go outside 12/18/07 Silly girl Silly bird(y) Got your nose WHAT!?~she says that quite often after we say something...as if she didn't quite hear what we said.. Beep (like the phone) Hello? then she says "alright bye bye" Come on, come on, step up. C'mere baby girl, step up. I'm sorry Sandy, chill!! Where's Denis/Valerie Hi Heather/Denis/Valerie 1/20/08 She has started clucking like a chicken...I don't know where she got that. She's also recently started saying "turkey" because I call her that. When I go to get her out of her cage, she sometimes plays hard to get. Well, she's got what I say down pat. "wanna come out?" "NO?...ok"...(i walk away)..."turkey!!"...then AnnaBella kinda stomps her feet..."oh you do wanna come out?"..."I thought so"..."Turkey!!" 4/18/08 I'm a star/superstar cluck cluck chicken cocka doodle doo good morning cocka doo doo wanna go back? want some water? You stay right here. 6/13/08 What's going on, buddy? You wanna come back out? Where's/who's my little girl? You're my good girl, yes you are. Wanna come out and play? Do you wanna go eat? Want some mango? Thank you (my voice) You're welcome (hubby's voice) When she sees me eating almost anything, she will say "Want some?"...she also, for some reason, says "Want some here?" I think it's because after she says "want some?" I give her a little bite and I say "here"...that must be why she started that. 7/15/08 Hi Sweet Girl Where's my sweet girl? Where's my lil girl It's ok, buddy Turkey Lurkey 8/2/08 You're a good girl, Sandy, that's the baby. When she flies to me, right when she lands on my hand, she says "hello."...it's so cute...she's so 'matter of fact'. 8/18/08 Want a pistachio? I've been trying to teach her "Okie dokie artichokie" but she says "okie dokie turkey lurkey" instead...it's cute 10/3/08 You are my sunshine...(I'm trying to teach her the song) Hey, don't bite me. Stay right there. Cheerio? want some banana? want some apple? If you want to hear her talk, you can visit my website - there's 3 audio files of her talking. They're pretty old and I've posted them here before so if you've been here a while, you may have heard them before.<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2009/03/29 05:29

Here you go... Cute pic. Nice that you can trust your cat like that. By the way, when you go to post a photo, click the button that says Img then copy your image url then click the Img button again. NO spaces. Your photo will be small so if you want it bigger, you'll see a number (150) where it says "img size"..change the 1 to a 4 and you'll be set. Hope this helps. Heather...

{Love-00020118} I love your Grey! That picture is just too cute. Those kinds of pictures are the pictures that make people like me run out and get another baby Grey. Oh how I wish I could get another baby!!! Married with one Grey or divorced with two...hmmmm.

I remember seeing a TV show either about this or about these exact people and this bird. It was one of the things that attracted me to parrots. I've noticed AnnaBella does this a little, sometimes. A few times when I've been holding her on my hand, I went to whistle the "wolf whistle" and at the exact moment I was forming my lips to do it, she made the "wolf whistle" noise. This has happened maybe 5-7 times in the 3 years I've had her. She has an unusually large vocabulary for her age...she started talking very young (before I got her at 3 months of age) and her vocab just took off....When she sees something like my husband handing me a soda pop, she will say "thank you" at the exact time I'm forming my lips to say the same thing. She does this with several things. I don't think it's the telepathy, I think it's the vocab, but I could be wrong. Well, no, I think it's vocab. But I do think there is some telepathy between the two of us. I can just tell by the way we interact...we kinda "finish each other's sentences". ha. Anyway, thanks for posting this. :woohoo: