The Birds of Pandemonium
Page 17
“Are you hungry? Do you want a cappuccino?” Heeeeere’s Shana, not to be upstaged.
Nor will the little green guy be ignored. “Amigo, Amigo, Amigo!”
The courtyard erupted with laughter. True to their natural love of clamor, the parrots were instantly animated—all except Mylie, who perched like a prissy prom queen, awaiting adoration. Tico drew himself up to full height, then did one of his Saturday Night Fever moves, pulling up and extending one wing, then the other. Yo, check me out!
I’m sure my jaw dropped at his next trick. Tico, the sneakiest bird in captivity, picked his cage lock in full view of his astonished audience and pushed open the door. This was tantamount to Houdini revealing his underwater escape trick—in Times Square! More astounding: the big macaw stayed put, so that I could step right up and close the door again. Normally he would go straight into his signature escape move, then taunt me loudly and without mercy.
The Pandemonium volunteers and I exchanged astonished looks. Any outsider would think these feathered vaudevillians had rehearsed their routine for days. Prank followed prank and wisecrack until the children were breathless with laughter. As the group moved off to have a look at the plum-heads, I stopped for a wary look at Tico. The next group of children would be along in a few minutes, but having just lost his audience, he might pitch a hissy fit. His bloodcurdling screams could scare the arriving children.
But there he sat, calm and silent—a real stand-up guy. We looked at each other through the mesh, and I felt that old connection—fleetingly, but it was enough. He might well try to bite me that evening, but for the moment, my shoulders relaxed.
As the next group of children approached, Shana put the cherry on top of my morning.
“Hey, pretty mama. I love you!”
And from Tico: “Aw, shut up!”
Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the vision, effort, and devotion of two remarkable people: Bonnie Solow and Amy Gash. They both went above and beyond what agent and editor normally do, and without them there would not have been a book. The birds and I are lucky you took on this project.
A special thanks to Pamela and Ed Taft, who have provided unfailing encouragement, financial support, manuscript feedback, introductions, and sage advice. Pamela and Ed, you inspire and motivate me. I am honored to have you as treasured friends and allies in the effort to save species.
Tom Raffin, Fran Scher, Alex Shubat, Dan Reddy, Uta Francke, Lynn Bahr, Diana Hawkins-Manuelian, Darlene Markovitch, Ron Haack, Flor Cuevas, Eric Helfenbein, Betsy Vobach, and Igor and Tatiana Cherkas have been on this journey with me for a long time. I am grateful to them for believing in the goal of saving birds and for their support of Pandemonium. Bridget Ferguson, Joe and Judy Passantino, Micki Regas, Virgil Bates, Carol Stanley, John Del Rio, Sheri Hanna, Sharla Ansorge, Fern Van Saant, and Heather Riggs were instrumental in teaching me about birds and how to care for them. Brenda Kim, you were there when I needed you, listened to early chapters, and kept asking for more. And Gerri Hirshey came into my life at right time with the right help.
Michael D. Kern, our photographer, wore many hats, from management consultant to board liaison. Michael, who lives in Palo Alto and works in both the studio and the field, has been recognized worldwide for his ability to capture the simple beauty of his subjects. He has the uncanny ability to get wild animals to pose for him. It’s as if they know he is there to help them.
There would not be a Pandemonium without the incredible volunteers, hard-working interns, and steadfast donors who have given time and money so generously. They have enabled our small organization to fledge and grow into an entity devoted to saving not just individual birds but whole species from half way around the world.
Then there are the birds . . . the amazing birds who ended up at Pandemonium. How can I ever thank them for letting me enter their world? They’ve given me the ride of a lifetime, and I’m grateful.
And, finally, there are my children, who believed that having so many animals at our home made us the “weirdest family on earth.” Thank you for understanding that the animals were not rivals, that there was more than enough love to go around, and that even though we sometimes had buckets of worms in the dining room, we were weird in a good way.
Michele Raffin is president of Pandemonium Aviaries, a conservation organization dedicated to saving birds. A former executive, Raffin began taking in abandoned birds fifteen years ago, housing them in her backyard a half hour south of San Francisco. Today Pandemonium is still in Raffin’s backyard, but it is now one of the premier facilities breeding and caring for avian species facing extinction due to the destruction of their natural habitats. The aviary has the largest population of rare green-naped pheasant pigeons under conservation in the world and the second largest population of the endangered Victoria crowned pigeons. Raffin, who also lives with turacos, lorikeets, East African cranes, finches, and doves (as well as parrots, donkeys, goats, two dogs, and one cat!) is a dedicated avian advocate and a passionate observer of birdlife. A certified aviculturist and regular consultant to zoos and breeders, Raffin has spoken at the TEDx conference, is a conservation columnist for the Avicultural Society of America's Avicultural Bulletin, and has served on the board of a companion bird rescue organization. (Author photo (c) Michael Kern.)
Published by
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Post Office Box 2225
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2225
a division of
Workman Publishing
225 Varick Street
New York, New York 10014
© 2014 by Michele Raffin. All rights reserved.
Bird photographs: Michael Kern
“ ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson, from The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Variorum Edition, edited by Ralph W. Franklin, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, reprinted by permission.
eISBN 978-1-61620-427-3
Pandemonium Aviaries
PO Box 240
Los Altos, CA 94024
www.PandemoniumAviaries.org