Roseanne Lee has 26 birds, and guests to her place might want to watch their step.
“The birds come out every day,” Lee said. “They’re hardly ever in the cage. We also find seeds, feathers, poop; we’re always cleaning.”
The first bird Joyce Lekawa befriended was a baby parakeet, only a couple of months old, with a preference for water.
“It loved water,” Lekawa said. “It would do anything to get in the water. You’re doing dishes and it would jump in. We had a fishbowl, and we had to put wire over it because it would jump in.”
Lekawa and Lee are members of the Avicultural Society of Tucson, comprised of 30 bird lovers. This is not a club for birdwatchers, though that could be a side hobby. The group loves birds and has them as pets and family members.
The club meets on the second Sunday of each month, except May, when they meet the first Sunday. The meetings host guest speakers, who may discuss the dangers of plants or household cleaners. They have raffles where a member might win a toy or a swing for their birds. Sometimes there are even birds on the raffle table.
Lekawa is the longest-tenured member, having joined the club in 1977.
Bird lovers pet and cuddle their avian friends just as much as those with cats and dogs. They are careful about what they feed their birds and they talk to them like children.
“Come here, Poppy,” Lee said, while trying to coax the cockatiel to perform. “Do your trick. Aren’t you going to do your trick? Where are you going, sweetheart? Can you say ‘Hello?’”
The club’s treasurer and secretary, Lee had birds as a child, but in deference to others in her own household, chose not to have them.
During the pandemic, she got a cockatiel named Poppy. Then she got Mali, a parakeet. Twenty-six birds later, cages line two walls in her spacious family room.
A birdsong chorus greets guests to the room. It’s not a cacophony; but a lovely natural sound. Still, it’s constant — and it can get loud.
Lee favors smaller birds so, besides the many parakeets and cockatiels who often fly around, she also has a collection of zebra finches. They’re not as social as their larger roommates. They are more feral, unless they are hand raised from the shell.
Lekawa, who has an African gray parrot and two Gouldian finches, was raised on a farm so she knew ducks and geese. It wasn’t until she acquired the parakeet, however, that she started to really enjoy feathered company.
Her first parakeet lived for years, which leads to an important point. Some species live up to 50, 70 or even 100 years, according to Lekawa.
“You have to put them in your will or find someone who will take them that has a love of birds and knows what they’re doing,” she said.
Because birds are smart and can imitate just about any sound, she knows what her husband has been watching when she gets home simply by what her birds tell her.
“You were watching ‘Star Wars,’” she said.
How did she know? They were saying, “Pew, pew.”
One thing is certain: the birds recognize their family members. Let a stranger try to hand feed them and forget it. That bird takes off.
Lekawa and Lee said newbies should start with one of the smaller species, such as a parakeet or lovebirds. Pet store parakeets come in at around $50, plus, they need a cage, food and toys. Larger birds, such as the African grays, begin at about $1,500. If their feathers are unusually colored, they can run $15,000 or more.
They suggest bird owners visit club meetings to learn how to take care of them.
The pair encourage everyone to consider getting a bird.
“They are a delight,” Lee said of her own avian crew.
Aviculture Society of Tucson
