Aviary project

I spoil my birds, even if the little devils probably don’t deserve it.  This is what they were living in before I moved.  Took about three weekends to make and looked gorgeous, but was a terrible pain in the ass to clean.  After moving to the new apartment, I decided it was time to scrap it and build something new.

Once I get my house, this is what they’re going to get.  Designed to scale using Google Sketchup, which is an awesome design tool.  It’s done in 3-d and you can pan and move around your entire project.

Final dimensions: 6ft wide by 2.85ft deep by 6.7ft tall.

J&M Aviaries and Austin Avian Rescue and Rehabilitation

My final project for my photojournalism class is to do a photostory. Rather than do what had been done hundreds of times before, like interview firefighters, following student life, or showcasing a band, I decided to drive to the only Central Texas rescue and rehab center for exotic birds. Situated on 3 acres of land it houses over 90 birds, of which 70% are rescue cases that come in from all over the country. They receive no help from the government and rely solely on private donations. Many of the birds are permanent residents, which is a huge commitment considering the lifespans of parrots can reach up to 100+ years. Therefore several birds end up at AARR because of a death in the family, not abuse or negligence.

This is Jerry Nolan, the co-founder of the organization with Michael Glend Haley who recently passed away in 2005. Very nice guy, extremely knowledgeable about birds as he has run the aviary for over two decades. He personally greeted me when I walked up to the door, showed me around, and explained pretty much everything about AustinAvianRR and J&M aviaries.

Very peaceful place. There are trees everywhere to provide shade for the various bird enclosures, a few ponds, benches, lots of flowers and plants. There’s a memorial garden for Michael Haley in the sanctuary.

The white cockatoo is an amazing speaker. I was walking around and here the clearest “Hello” imaginable from a bird. We chatted for awhile, then he said “Bye bye” at least ten times when I walked away.

So I need to organize everything from today and do some research on Homer the Homeless Goose who is apparently a major Austin icon. All in all, was great fun and will probably head back for followup.

[More pictures here]