Birdy Bytes. High Desert Bird Club of New Mexico. Words from the Prez. Upcoming Events. In This Issue. Newsletter for the

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1 Birdy Bytes Newsletter for the High Desert Bird Club of New Mexico Volume 11, Issue 3 April 2018 Upcoming Events April 26 th - General Meeting, Speaker, Dorothy Newbill, Birds of a Feather Parrot Rescue of New Mexico RGSCC, Albuquerque, NM May 24 th - General Meeting, Australia! Vacation Photos and Stories from the Newells RGSCC, Albuquerque, NM Juned 28 th General Meeting, TBD RGSCC, Albuquerque, NM In This Issue Upcoming Events... 1 Words from the Prez... 1 Bird Club Biz... 2 General Meeting... 3 April... 3 May... 3 Meeting Minutes... 3 Hospitality Table... 3 Raffle Fun... 3 Flock Rivalry... 4 Word Search... 4 Facebook Fun... 5 Friends of HDBC... 6 Classified Ads... 6 Words from the Prez Got a picky eater? Have you tried everything imaginable there is to add variety to your bird s diet like different fruits, nuts, seeds, veggies and assorted treats? Have you hit a wall when it comes to your bird and seasonal changes that make your bird s beak point upward? If so, don t give up. Have you ever considered sprouting seeds? I learned my sprouting from Evelyn Candeleria and it s something I do for my birds to this day and every day. I have been experimenting with different seeds to add some zest and sass into their hungry little beaks. Besides black oil sunflower and wheat berries, try adding corn, radish, mung bean, alfalfa, millet, barley, buckwheat, adzuki, garbanzo, broccoli, and lentil; all are super delicious too. Sprouted seeds are lower in fat, as the process of sprouting utilizes the fat in the seed to start the growing process - thus reducing the fat stored in the seeds, (lord knows this is needed as I have a few fatties tipping the scale.) Sprouting is the practice of soaking seeds overnight (1 part seeds to 5 parts water), draining them, placing them into a sprouting jar (a sieve propped up in a bowl to allow the water to drain will do just fine); and then rinsing the seeds several times a day until they start to sprout (they usually start sprouting after about 24 hours) - at which time they are ready to feed. For the next days, the seeds will continue to grow. The different stages provide different nutrients to your bird. For a few birds, a few tablespoons of seeds are sufficient. If properly attended to, the sprouted seeds will last for up to five days. Discard if a foul smell can be detected. If early spoiling is an issue, adding a few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide or GSE (grape seed extract) added to the rinsing water will prevent early spoiling. In most cases, this may not be necessary. Try adding the sprouts to cornmeal muffin mix, polenta, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, cooked pasta, mashed sweet potatoes, or peanut butter or even ice cream, kidding of course. Give it a try and let s talk about any success stories or flat out failures. I d love to hear everyone s ideas and feedback. Margaret Johnson April 2018 Birdy Bytes Page 1

2 Bird Club Biz High Desert Bird Club of NM P.O. Box Albuquerque, NM Bird Rescue Hotline: (505) General Meetings Fourth Thursday of the month Meeting time: 6:30 PM 8:30 PM Location: Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center th Street NW Albuquerque, NM Map link: Club Officers President: Margaret Johnson Vice President: Carolyn Newell Secretary: Sparky Newell Treasurer: Donna Tucker Committee Chairpersons Advertising/Publicity: Available AFA Delegate: Jennifer Catron Bird Rescue: Margaret Johnson Education: Available Fundraising: Available Hospitality: Sparky Newell Library: Carolyn and Sparky Newell Membership: Available Newsletter: Jennifer Catron Raffle: Available Website: Jennifer Catron Treasurer s Report Beginning balance (stmt 2/28/18) $2, Revenue $0 Expenses $0 Ending balance (stmt 3/31/18) $2, The High Desert Bird Club of NM is a 501(c)(3) educational, public charity recognized by the IRS. Membership Requirements Any person interested in cage birds who agrees to support the objectives in the HDBC By-Laws is eligible for membership. Membership Dues $20.00 Individual $30.00 Household $15.00 Junior (17 or younger) $15.00 Senior (60 or older) $25.00 Senior Household Dues are payable in January of each year or at a quarterly pro-rated amount upon joining the Club. Newsletter Policy Birdy Bytes is generally issued on a monthly basis. Content from members is encouraged. Content deemed obscene, inflammatory, overtly personal, copyrighted without permission to republish, or insufficiently bird-related may not be published at the discretion of the newsletter Editor. Newsletter Advertising Policy Any individual or business that supports HDBC through the donation of money, goods, or services may have a near business-card sized ad published in the newsletter for three months for no cost. Members may have a text ad of up to 50 words and a reasonable number of supporting photos for no cost. Ads run for two months and may be renewed for two-month increments. Members are responsible for contacting the newsletter Editor to renew their ad. Advertising space may be purchased. A halfpage ad costs $25 for six months. Additional ad sizes and corresponding rates are available. Newsletter Editor reserves the right to accept or reject any advertisement based on the appropriateness for Birdy Bytes. To submit content for Birdy Bytes, contact Jennifer Catron, Editor, at jrcatron@q.com, or (505) Thank you. April 2018 Birdy Bytes Page 2

3 General Meeting April Dorothy Newbill will speak to our club about her parrot rescue, Birds of a Feather Parrot Rescue of New Mexico. She will share with us the type of birds they receive and rehome, and describe the process for adopting a rescue bird. Anyone who has adopted birds through Birds of a Feather is invited to bring their birds and share stories about their new feathered family members. Dorothy will only be with us for the first hour of our meeting time starting at 6:30 PM. Please be on time or a little early to the meeting if you can. Dorothy is Holding the Macaw with Volunteers and Birds at the Home Show in Rio Rancho March 2018 Join us for an interesting presentation about Birds of a Feather Parrot Rescue and some heartwarming stories of new beginnings. Members, guests, and birds are always welcome. May Australia! Members and club officers, Carolyn and Sparky Newell, took a trip to the land down under. They took a lot of photos, and they always take really good photos, and had some marvelous adventures in Australia. Join us to see some wonderful photos and hear about their Australian adventure. Meeting Minutes Meeting began at 7:00 PM. All officers and some members were present. Club business was a discussion of future meeting programs. Newells prefer to schedule their presentation for May. Donna Tucker agreed to reach out to Dorothy Newbill of Birds of a Feather Parrot Rescue of New Mexico to speak at our April meeting. The rest of the meeting was visiting, socializing, sharing bird stories, and enjoying snacks. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM. Hospitality Table Do you like snacks? Do you like to share? HDBC invites you to share some snacks at our hospitality table at each monthly meeting. Everyone is encouraged to bring snacks when they can. We re very informal about who brings what and when. Donations are always welcome. Thank you for your contribution and support. Raffle Fun It s been a long time since we last had a raffle, and we ve collected quite a few nice raffle prizes. The April meeting will have some time during the latter part of the meeting for a raffle. Let s have a raffle with a chance to win cool birdy stuff. Ticket prices are: 50 cents for each ticket $5.00 for 12 tickets $10.00 for 24 tickets Thank you to everyone who has generously donated items for our raffle. Your support is greatly appreciated. Support HDBC. Buy some raffle tickets. Have some fun! April 2018 Birdy Bytes Page 3

4 Flock Rivalry How much wood would a Goffins chuck if a Goffins could chuck wood? Thank You for Joining or Renewing Your HDBC Membership! Riley, a Goffins Cockatoo Word Search Enjoy a word search puzzle from the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) website. Riley's Neighbor, a Yellow Canary Answer: as much wood as he could get his beak on. It took Riley about two hours to reduce a 2 x4 x4 piece of wood into small sticks. He would bite off a piece of wood and somehow use his beak and the bars on his cage to chuck the stick at his next-door neighbor a little yellow canary. Most of the sticks landed on the floor, but some landed on and in the cage and even a few landed in the little bird s water dish. No good-neighbor awards for Riley. April 2018 Birdy Bytes Page 4

5 Facebook Fun Budgie Bee Avocado or Parrot - Nature s Camouflage April 2018 Birdy Bytes Page 5

6 Friends of HDBC Classified Ads For Sale: three bird carriers to bring along your feathered companions. Two carriers are pictured below with dimensions and price, and a third, larger carrier (30 x 18 x 22 ) is available for $ If interested, please text Sandy Uhl at x 16 x 20 - $ x 12 x 16 - $15.00 April 2018 Birdy Bytes Page 6