*Aviary Update*
It has been a busy couple of weeks and I have much to report.
The finches and quail have settled in nicely.
So it was time to release the budgies! I moved them into the boxed cages a few days prior to release day so they could acclimate to being outdoors and they could get used to some of the sights and sounds around the aviary before they left the familiar safety of a cage forever.
Little did they know, their world was about to get a whole lot bigger.
I started by opening all the doors on the two cages and seeing what would happen. Not surprisingly, the parakeets were hesitant to leave the cages. No volunteers, willing to take a chance, on an unexpectedly open door, like brave Jasper the Finch.
Fortunately, I had a secret weapon ... millet sprays!
I secured a tempting spray of golden millet on the ledge in front of the cages. And then I waited.
I didn't need to wait very long, either. Kiwi and Snowball are millet fiends. Pretty sure they would hop through fire for a chance at a millet spray. A scary open door was not even going to slow them down.
As soon as the first budgies were out, the rest followed, and in a few moments the millet was covered in hungry budgies. I was about to take a quick photo when something must have startled the birds ... because they took flight abruptly88. Half a dozen budgies launched into the air in all directions, flapping wings and blue tail feathers everywhere.
A few budgies were still in the cages, but most of them were scattered around the aviary, on the floor, on the wire, on the branches. Very confused and frightened. Most of them froze where they landed, not sure what to do next. A few tried to fly, with mixed results, mostly ending up at ground level. They were much slower, but less coordinated flyers than the finches. On the upside, most of them were able to figure out "controlled descent" and made it to the ground safely. Even better, they quickly discovered that the ground was full of cool things to eat and they all got super excited exploring the aviary.
Most of my parakeets are still quite young and came to me with wings already clipped. None of them have had much flight practice beyond very short "flights" inside a large cage. The three youngest birds have not yet moulted so their primaries are still gone. I had hoped that they would have enough time while I worked on this project, but the aviary was finished before their wings were ready.
So I guess it shouldn't have surprised me when the parakeets decided that the ground was where they belonged. After the initial flight, the budgies all did their best to stay low. Every time they were startled by a strange noise, they would temporarily burst into panicked flight ... then slowly reconverge into a floor flock.
When they found one of the seed trays I had placed on the floor, they were in birdie heaven.
They found the grass hay too. Not quite as exciting, but fun to dig around in.
So far, everybody is getting along just fine. The finches are more agile fliers and have no trouble avoiding the budgies. The quails mostly keep to themselves, but don't seem too bothered by all the floor budgies.
I was a little worried that the parakeets would stay on the floor all day, but they did eventually start to gain some altitude. By the late afternoon, some of the birds found their way up to this cross-beam.
And by the evening, the most of the flock had migrated to this branch to roost for the night.
The clipped budgies were able to reach this roosting spot by climbing up the wire mesh. I added a few more branches and a ladder to make it easier for everyone to perch comfortably in this area.
By the next day, the budgies were spending most of their time up in the branches and flying freely. It was an incredible transformation.
The aviary is finally complete!