ISSN 1492-8132
Issue 104, © 2004
No reprints without permission

Our latest CD of Robirda's canaries singing consists of 12 16-bit true-stereo tracks, each averaging almost 5 minutes long, for a total of 58 minutes and 48 seconds of canary songs.

You can hear a 10 second mp3 sample here. Listen carefully, and you will be able to hear the different positions of each bird!

A recent customer says, "I just received my 'New Songs from the Birdroom' CD last night. I got up this morning and popped it in-- You should have seen my baby perk up! Your CD sure did start him singing. He was hanging from his swing looking out the way of the CD player and singing right along with it. Thanks again from a very contented canary and his owner!"

We are now offering New Songs From The Birdroom for only $14.00, plus $3.99 shipping and handling. Order yours today!

The folks at Bird & Cage aim to provide birdkeepers with a great selection of good quality cages and birdcage accessories for great prices, and their customers agree.

A recent customer comments, "The cages have arrived, very pleased with the service and the cages. I will be in touch again when I have the need for new accomodations for my flock. Thanks again."

Find out for yourself by visiting BirdandCage.com

This website is dedicated to that little-known breed of canary, the Norwich. These are wonderful little birds, known as the 'Teddy Bears' of canaries for their confiding personalities, as well as their looks.

This website is loaded with pictures, but expect to wait some time to see them, if you are on dial-up - the file sizes are huge. You will have a bit of a wait even if you have a high-speed connection, but you will be rewarded with some great pics!

We rely on you to help keep this publication and its associated websites alive. If you find help you need in this ezine or on our websites, please consider joining our sponsors. For all those who continue to help out in so many ways, thank you for your warmth and caring.

Click here to read testimonials or for more details on sponsorships. If you're looking for something different, check our home page for links to all our great products and services!

Our next issue is due Oct 10th. We hope you and your birds stay safe, well and happy in the meantime, and we look forward to seeing you all then! 

Robirda
Kelowna, BC
Sept 26, 2004

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

Hello! Welcome to Flock Talk's 104th issue. Subscribe and unsubscribe information for the email version of this ezine is at the bottom of this webpage.

Table of Contents

Website News

This issue features the winning story in our contest, a funny and entirely endearing tale sent in by schoolteacher Trisha Douglas. Trisha, please send us an email so we can arrange to send you your prize package?

We'd like to say thank you to everybody, young and old, who sent in a story about their pet birds. One and all, they were funny, heart-warming, precious, entertaining, and sometimes sad. We had a very difficult time choosing our winners, and at several times found ourselves wishing that we could award everybody a prize!

We would also like to say thanks to everybody who sent a note to Robirda offering their condolences on her long illness. Your encouragement, warm thoughts and caring comments were greatly appreciated, more than you will ever know! After a series of puzzling re-ocurrances, Robirda is still under the care of specialists, but is recovering - we hope this time, for good!

Feature Story

Tricia Douglas
Third grade teacher
LA Unified School District
Copyright © 2004

I’m a teacher and I love children. Each September I excitedly accept the new incoming class as part of my own extended family. Looking back, 2001 was a special year. Little did I know that as part of my school family, a little canary would also join this circle and educate me beyond what I could ever learn from a book or teacher's manual.

One beautiful fall day in November my class was preparing for the upcoming holidays, thinking about how we were going to spend Thanksgiving. We were quietly working on a writing project and I was, in turn, helping each child proof-read the first drafts of their paragraphs.

I am known as a fairly firm teacher, but also one with a good sense of humor. This means that I am a good listener and the children don’t hesitate to relate their problems to me, but only at the appropriate time. They know not to interrupt me when I’m working or talking with someone else.

Suddenly I heard a loud cry of "Ms. Douglas, a bird just walked into the room!" Well, this wasn’t the first time an animal had been in my room. I’ve had squirrels, mice, spiders, lots of spiders, fascinating cockroaches, and dogs walk into my class, but this was the first bird. My first reaction was to say, "Shhhh. Birds don’t walk they fly and beside you know not to bother me when I’m with someone else."

But my curiosity got the better of me, so I glanced up and did indeed see a little bird waltzing into the room as if he were bearing an important message from the office.

Within the next few seconds the room turned into a state of pandemonium. Students were screaming and crawling under desks to escape the now urgent flying attack of this bird. You’d have thought a pterodactyl had flown in from the Jurassic age the way the children were reacting!

I calmly place my pencil on my desk to take charge when suddenly a streak of brown flew past my face narrowly missing my head and landed atop the closets. Much to my surprise this brown bird, with just a touch of yellow, sat quietly and authoritatively and, by the look on his face, tempting this teacher of 25 years to do something about the sudden eruption of noise and confusion in the room. If he could talk I’m sure he'd have said, "Can’t you keep these kids quiet? What kind of classroom is this anyway?"

I somehow restored a little order, told the children to remain quiet and still, and turned off the lights in order to try and shoo the bird outside. The next half hour gave proof to the fact that this little canary was definitely smarter than any of us.

Education is a funny thing. It is said that the best way to learn a skill is by performing an action until it becomes a habit. I was soon to learn that reading a book on how to catch a bird is by no means the same thing as putting the words into action.

I knew that noise in the classroom is a distraction to me, so I also figured that the screaming of the children was probably not the proper atmosphere for a bird either. I'd initially thought that this bird was a sparrow because of its size and color, but upon further observation, I knew that it was larger than a sparrow. Besides, he had a blue band attached to his leg.

Suddenly my motherly instinct connected, and I had a feeling of dread, realizing that someone had lost their pet bird. I quickly closed the classroom door and announced to the class that we needed to gently try to capture our visitor.

At that point the game began. How does one catch a bird? I didn’t want to look like a fool to my children, but I was going to have to admit to them that I was totally at a loss on how to go about this job. Catching birds was definitely beyond this credentialed teacher.

I would try the obvious. Walk up to the bird and pick him up. I got to within a foot, my hand slowing rising to the top of the closet to grab him, and, whoosh. On to attempt number two. Turn off the lights this time. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to see well in the dark. Right, neither could I.

Attempt three took place while listening to the slowly increased giggling of the children. I would try talking to the bird while attempting to again sneak up to him. Bad idea. Whatever I said got him more excited and now, in addition to flying erratically all over the room, he was dropping 'presents' on top of the students’ desks.

I teach a class of gifted and high-achieving children and should have left the task of catching our guest to them in the first place. They are always one step ahead of me anyway. One of my children suddenly suggested that we capture our bird by throwing his jacket over him. It was lightweight and wouldn’t cause any damage.

I had to note the way the children were calling this 'our' bird. I was in more trouble than I realized. So with the silence of a deer in a forest I gently tossed the jacket over 'our' bird and became the first teacher in the history of the school to catch a bird without harming a feather on its body.

So now I was holding a bird within the folds of a red jacket. It was a warm cozy feeling, almost like when a mother holds her baby for the first time. I knew I was in trouble. I thought if I called the office they might have a solution.

I could have been a little calmer when I pushed the intercom button, but the extra exercise had gotten my adrenaline pumping. When the principal answered I yelled in a panicked voice, "There’s a bird in my room!"

The reply was not what I had anticipated. "Alright, we’ll send Roger down with a broom and help get him out."

"No, I’ve caught a bird in my room," I carefully restated. "I don’t need Roger."

"Then why are you calling the office?" came the quick reply.

"Well, could you please tell me what to do with it?" I asked.

Right away I knew that was the wrong question. I was just as smart as my students, and they already knew what our principal, was going to say. They looked at me in shock and dismay as we waited for an answer. This bird was now 'our' bird and we couldn’t just let it go.

"That’s O.K.," I suddenly replied. "Could you just find me a bird cage or something?"

So began a year of learning with 20 eight-year olds and one bird. We had been reading the first volume of Harry Potter at this time, and as a group, decided that Hagrid’s baby dragon, Norbert, was a perfect name for our little bird. Norbert was small, so I figured that small meant young, and the name stuck.

Luckily he didn’t breathe fire, but within a few days he did begin producing the most lovely songs. In fact, he was so loud that his cage had to be placed outdoors and our doors closed for the peaceful completion of any lesson. When outside under the shade of the trees, one by one the classroom doors down the hall could be seen closing. Norbert had become a special addition to the school. Other teachers now shook their heads in a quandary as to how such a small bird could make so much sound.

The first week we had Norbert he was mistakenly identified as a finch. A parent from another class loaned us a birdcage. She previously had raised a canary and was positive, because of his coloring, that Norbert was a finch. I took her word as gospel, and went off to the pet store for finch food and books, to read up on this particular variety of bird.

It wasn’t until a week or so later as Norbert accompanied me home, that another friend who happened to raise canaries noted our new addition.

"Yes," I assured him, "our finch is named Norbert and he is the newest member of my classroom." Norbert must have said something to him, because John looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean, a finch? This is a canary. Listen to his song."

Back to the pet store. More food - canary food, this time. More books. More toys and entertainment necessities. More money.

Time passed quickly and much of our science in the class was based on canaries and other animals and how important environments are to living things. It was almost Valentine’s Day, and Norbert continued to sing, entertaining us daily. We made Valentine cards and tied a red ribbon to the top of his cage. He was a very happy bird and loved being around the children. The more noise the classroom made, the more noise Norbert made.

Most of the time Norbert won the contest, then outside he'd go, until we'd completed our work. When Norbert was ostracized to the fresh air, the children would groan and realize that they would be outside with Norbert too, if their work was not completed quietly.

Valentine’s Day arrived and cards were passed out. Norbert had his own colorfully decorated bag overflowing with cards from children all over the school. He also had his own special bird treat as the rest of us munched on Valentine cookies.

It was a great party until a frightened student shouted out, "Ms. Douglas, there’s another bird in Norbert’s cage!" My heart sank, not knowing what could have happened. Had one of the local crows or pigeons attacked poor Norbert? I rushed outside to see.

There was a bright yellow chick in the cage. What was one of those yellow marshmallow Easter chicks doing in the cage? It was Valentine’s Day, not Easter. At least Norbert was alright. Then suddenly, the 'marshmallow' chick moved!

I just about fainted. Someone had put another bird in Norbert’s cage! My first feeling was one of anger. I didn’t want another bird. Norbert was plenty to take care of.

Besides, I didn’t want anything happening to Norbert. It wasn’t until the end of the day that I found out a parent had purchased a beautiful yellow female, thinking that Norbert was lonely. He had placed the new bird into the cage hoping to surprise us.

That was the day I realized that I was a sucker for canaries. On that day, Norbert and Fluffy (named after the three-headed dog in Harry Potter) were happily united. They did truly love each other, as birds sometimes do, and the next month of science revolved around the 'birds and the bees.'

When things got too ‘hot’ for the likes of my third graders, the office helped out and put Norbert and Fluffy in the principal’s office. Some habits are too personal, even for birds.

By the end of the school year, we had a beautiful baby, Phoenix (named after the magical bird that rises from the ashes). She is the color of lemon custard and sings like her father, just a little more quietly.

Our family is now complete, and I am much wiser. Every teacher should have a bird. The experience has been immeasurable and the stories that we can tell are too numerous to recount here.

I know the children will always remember their third grade year and continue to tell the story of how Norbert came into their class. To this day, Norbert continues to provide joy to all he meets. I will never know why and how he picked my room. But I do know that I am still in love with Norbert. He is a very special individual.

Tricia Douglas
Third grade teacher
LA Unified School District
Copyright © 2004