It's not over yet. This is Saffron, a lutino, and the newest addition to the family. (I'm not sure what possessed me.) He'll be moving into the aviary with the others in a day or two. I brought him home thinking I'd have another chick to hand feed, but he's having nothing to do with it. He refuses to eat baby food and has made a point of demonstrating how he tucks into the birdseed I provided. So much for bonding with me over feedings. Oh well, he's a sweet tempered little thing anyway. We seem to be getting along.

Luna is now flying with the others. No more waiting on the sidelines for that girl! Yes, I'm pretty certain at this point that we have another female. She and Finn have become good friends, although Finn is still a real Momma's boy. I wouldn't want it any other way. He's my baby.

Several other birds have sinced joined the family, and at one point we topped out at eight, which earned me the title of "Crazy Bird Lady."

Gaffer (pictured on the right) was an elderly bird who came to live out his retirement years with us. He was a nasty tempered thing that just hated us on sight, and we thought we were in for a bumpy ride with him, since he'd bite unexpectedly and didn't like to be touched. Then one day he decided that we were okay, and that his current existence was pretty darned good. He suddenly got very cuddly and ended up being a favorite of ours until he died peacefully of old age the following year. This was his first meeting with baby Sasha, who is now a handsome adult.

The birds like to hang out on the window perches when there's a party so they can see what's going on.

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