Hi All, new here

[bill-e]

Hi Folks,

I've owned a parrot for almost 40 years and just lost my Orange Winged which I purchased as a young, but full sized bird in 1976. While I have to admit that there were certainly times where life got in the way of giving her the attention that she required, we always had a good bond....she hated my wife though and would bite her as soon as look at her even though my wife mostly took care of the feeding duties.

It's been about two months since I lost her and she did leave a hole in my heart....I couldn't even look at a piece of fruit without thinking of her. I almost adopted another Orange Wing which was given up by an older couple but I procrastinated too long.

My daughter, a Petco GM, knew a person who knew a person who was giving up her birds for personal reasons. We began a text exchange which culminated with my wife and I going to meet the bird this past weekend. I warned the owner that Nike, the Hawk Head Parrot had to impress my wife if she really wanted to come home with us. Well it took all of 2 minutes for this very, very sweet bird to make my wife fall in love with her so we brought her home with us.

It's been about 4 days and she is an amazing bird. She's quiet and sweet but can also talk and make noises. Loves to be handled and pet and falls asleep in my arms every night. SHe is nowhere near as active as my Amazon and has not as yet displayed any crazyness. She's not really playing with anything yet but she is becoming more and more active every day.

I've got some full spectrum lighting coming tomorrow and I've started weaning her off the seed diet that she was on...she seems to like Zupreem fruit diet.

Not much in the way of pictures of her yet. Here she is on my sholder and a short video or her running down the back of the couch.

Bill


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[PlaxMacaws]

Hi Bill... Thanks so much for joining us!

I'm so sorry to hear of your great loss. Forty years is a long time to be the parent of a feathered companion. I was under the impression that I had been with my B&G and my MM for a long while at nearly 35 years and counting... but you clearly have me beat! I'm sure you'll keep plenty of great bittersweet memories on hand of your dearly departed friend :(

Your newly adopted HH, Nike, sounds like a wonderful bird. I'd say that you, she and your wife are off to a superb start :). While I don't have any personal experience with Hawkheads, I've always admired them. Thank you for posting the photo and your video clip of Nike. She looks so natural and content perched upon your shoulder. I noticed that shortly after she went over to greet your wife in the video, there appeared to be a bit of what may have been some affectionate regurg head-pumping (for a brief moment). That could be a good sign of the contentment she is already feeling with her new parents.

Please feel free to post more photos and video clips if and when it's convenient. We will all enjoy seeing them. I'm glad to know that you were able to find such a fitting, well-mannered bird to add to your lives :th_HAWKHEAD:

[wingman]

Hi Bill Welcome! Glad to have you here!

[bill-e]

I noticed that shortly after she went over to greet your wife in the video, there appeared to be a bit of what may have been some affectionate regurg head-pumping (for a brief moment). That could be a good sign of the contentment she is already feeling with her new parents

She has been regurgitating and flicking her wings at the both of us ...especially my wife. I'm the first male owner she's had but she is warming up to me pretty quickly. When she sees my wife the starts head bobbing and dancing and talking. It's happening much quicker that I would have expected.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Hello and welcome, she certainly seems quite relaxed in her new home. What is her name?

[kendrafitz]

Hi Bill and welcome!!

I'm so sorry for your loss. It must have been horribly painful.

It looks like you have an awesome new family member. How old is Nike? It's great that your wife will be able to have a bonded relationship with her as well as you.

I'm so glad you joined us and agree with Plax. We all love to see pics and videos here. :)

[PlaxMacaws]

She has been regurgitating and flicking her wings at the both of us ...especially my wife. I'm the first male owner she's had but she is warming up to me pretty quickly. When she sees my wife the starts head bobbing and dancing and talking. It's happening much quicker that I would have expected.That's all very positive :). It sure appears that she was the right bird for the two of you. I believe we have at least one other member with an HH in her flock. They are neat birds :D

[bill-e]

Her name is Nike (like the shoe). She was represented as being between 13-19 but I'm suspecting that she's older than that. Her age only bothers me because I offered a price based on that and for an older bird I would have offered less.....still, she is a great, apparently low maintenance bird. I hope to get her medical records next week and maybe they will shed some light in it.

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[PlaxMacaws]

She's beautiful!

[bill-e]

Thanks!

[spiritbird]

Hello Bill and welcome to your bird family. I am glad you chose us to join. I am also glad that you have a new avian love in your life. Hawkheads are stunning in appearance and it sounds like temperament is outstanding also. Have you had Nike examined by an avian vet yet? Since she was on a heavy seed diet she may need an examination. I have a friend with a HH parrot and some of the things she has written me about this parrot are very positive. They are super intelligent, very aware of what is going on around them and make good watch-birds. Their alarm call is very loud. They are very good at entertaining themselves too. She did say that they have a terrible bite because the beak has a hook downward and before you know it you have a bad bite so keep them away from your face. I hope this helps you out a bit.

I would love to make a signature from that lovely photo of Nike if you would like one.

I have two adorable Lineoated Parakeets, one male and one female. You can see them in my signature.

[bill-e]

Thanks Spiritbird,

Here's what I've learned about Nike in the last 5 days.

So far, she has no bad traits. She is not noisy, she is not aggressive, she will step up for anyone, she doesn't (hasn't) bite.

She uses her beak as a third foot so whenever she comes to you she will first grab you with her beak and then climb on. She initially liked my wife way better than me and maybe a half dozen times over the first day or two I was just too much for her and she would raise her headdress and hiss...sometimes lunge. One time I let her bit me as I wasn't going to back down and she bit harder than normal but not hard enough to hurt....that may have been the last time that she reacted like that.

Now I can scratch her at will, no matter where she is, on my fingers, perch, shoulder, wherever. I (we) can rub her belly and up under her wings, we can stroke her back.

She tends to crash around 8 or 830pm and at that time if she's on my shoulder she'll nestle up behind my ear. If I lean back she has climbed down my chest and rested on my crossed arms. I've even cuddled her and one time she rolled on her back while I was stroking her belly and opened her wings so I could get more of it.....totally amazing to me.

Oh wait, one bad trait. Being an older guy my skin has plenty of little spots or specs...I guess Nike thinks that they are bugs and she will try to pick them off....kinda hurts. I have to wear a collared shirt so that I can protect my neck. She also loves to pick at my ears....same thing, old skin must seem like bugs so she will use the tip of her beak to try to pick them off.... kinda funny in a way. Today though she left my ears alone...maybe she's learning.

As for the Vet, I hope to get the records this week and then depending on the weather I'll bring her in....I certainly don't want to risk traveling when it's below freezing.

She just seems to me to be older as she is not very active....I have read that they Hawk Heads are way different than amazons from that perspective....thought I wouldn't mind a few antics from her ;)

Signature, yes, that would be great, thanks.

And she even steps up to kids!....granddaughter
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Bill

[Lady]

Hi Bill,
Welcome to P.P. I'm sorry for the lost of your Orange Wing. I can only imagine what a wonderful relationship you both shared being together for so long.
Nike is a real cutie and it sounds like she's feeling like one of the family already. It's great that both you and your wife will have a relationship with her, not to mention that she so friendly with your grand daughter too.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures with Nike as time goes on.

[Mare]

Hi, Bill and Nike! Welcome! She's a beauty! I'm so sorry for your loss, that had to have been a hard one..

[spiritbird]

Nike sounds perfect for your family. I know about that "old skin" Here is one signature I just worked on for you. I can make more if you do not like this one. I love making them. Instructions:


How to insert a signature pic...

To insert a signature pic... go into " settings " which you will find at the top, on the right hand side, click on " Edit Signature ".. You will see 2 options.. enter URL from another website or,.. Upload from your Computer. If you are uploading from your computer, just click on " Browse ", then double click your pic.. then upload. click on " Insert Signature " and save signature.

If you want to upload from Photobucket, just copy the direct link and paste into the box ... upload and then click on " insert signature " and save, the same as above.

If you would like your signature centralized click on the centralize option in the top area, next to where you see U ( middle lines) before you click in, " insert " copy your uploaded pic, then paste it in between the 2 lines between the words "Centre"

[spiritbird]

Signature:

3580

[bill-e]

Thanks for the condolences all. There's nothing better to fill the void left from loosing a pet than to get another.

I think my dog Corbin is the most upset...Nike has been getting more attention than him these last dew days and he's unaccustomed to that...the cats on the other hand could care less.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Spiritbird, that's pretty cool!