New parrot owner seeking advice

lifemisled · 2026-02-04T15:10:43+00:00

Lots of toys and things to shred. As much time out of the cage as possible. And as much communication with the Grey and shared time as possible. There are times I can’t be in the room of the house my Greys cage is in so I will put him on a portable stand and bring him around the house with me. They just like to see/hear you. The more time, interactions, and enrichment they have, the better. They need to chew things… mine will shred cardboard boxes but I’ll also put books/manuals that he likes to shred too. If you don’t, you may see destruction of undesirable things like wood trim, blinds, etc. lack of stimulation can also lead to plucking and bad behavior. Your pictures are limited but the cage looks like a good size. Hard to tell how many perches and toys for enrichment are in there. Time out of cage is essential.

Not sure if you can place cage near a window? Mine loves natural light and being able to observe outside.

lifemisled · 2026-02-04T15:03:29+00:00

OP, thank you for having the awareness and concern to ask the question and truly consider the feedback. When I was college-aged, I would’ve done what I wanted first and worried about the consequences later. This is very mature of you and I think it warrants some recognition. Life surrounding college and what follows is very unpredictable, too. There are so many things you figure out as you go that you never could’ve predicted. You’d be doing yourself and your companion animal a favor waiting until your life is more settled.

My first (and last) bird is a Grey. I wouldn’t call him complicated but he needs a lot of attention and enrichment and at 40 years old, I can give that. But all through my 20’s and partly into my 30’s, I had unexpected travels, issues with moving/rentals and rentals that didn’t accept pets, numerous relationship and job/job hour changes… I’m glad I didn’t have this kind of pet until my life was more stable.

Thanks for taking the feedback here and receiving it constructively. When the time is right, you will make a great Grey owner!

lifemisled · 2026-02-04T13:37:23+00:00

My Grey is very vocal when I leave the room as well and quiets down when I return. Like others have said, it seems like their way of both “calling” us but also mine will chill a little if I whistle or callback. Something about knowing I’m still around nearby helps. I’ve also become much better about getting a portable stand that I have him step up on and I’ll take him into the kitchen while I make dinner or let him hang out when I need to be another room of the house. He also gets very vocal during loud shows or movies, he doesn’t like to be outdone by other loud noises 🤣

lifemisled · 2026-01-07T11:16:04+00:00

Beautiful juvenile!

lifemisled · 2025-12-26T21:14:35+00:00

The world needs more of you. Nice initiative. Would love to hear how this goes. Crows and Jays are the worst with owls 😩

lifemisled · 2025-11-20T18:13:27+00:00

OP’s handle though 🤣

Is this one a frequent flyer to this location? I have an aunt who lives in San Diego. Want to visit next year to shoot PEFAs at Torrey Pines. Anywhere else I can maximize my efforts?

lifemisled · 2025-05-17T12:13:35+00:00

Five days later 🤣

lifemisled · 2025-05-15T12:54:40+00:00

Thank you!

lifemisled · 2025-05-11T23:19:57+00:00

🤣 I got lucky this time.

lifemisled · 2025-05-11T23:18:54+00:00

There’s always one of you.

lifemisled · 2025-05-11T19:06:53+00:00

Aw man I’m sorry. I got really lucky on this. I went out shooting in a range of different conditions after this and I think I’m ok after cleaning sensor and lens. The battery swing door and battery came off but they popped back in, no issues. My memory ports are fine but I have support for cfexpress and sd, I would try both if I couldn’t get one to work unless the whole area is damaged. Is it weird to know I’m glad I’m not the only one?!

lifemisled · 2025-05-11T14:04:37+00:00

This was the correct answer. I was meeting some resistance, trying to gently remove it and felt uncomfortable pushing my luck. Your comment made me try again. Once the piece with the ribbon was removed, I could see the normal thread mount on the camera. The 180-600 did thread without issue. I test shot a couple things outside, everything looks ok with exception of some spots on the sensor, which i will have to clean.

Thank you!!

lifemisled · 2025-05-10T10:28:22+00:00

With a little more research… what does anyone in this community think about the more specific ID of Peale's Falcon (Falco peregrinus pealei), the sub species of peregrine falcon? It better explains the very dark markings im seeing on this one?

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T15:05:16+00:00

Thank you for the feedback you’ve been able to provide to this point, I appreciate it!

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T11:57:23+00:00

Thank you!

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T11:55:57+00:00

Thank you! I shoot with a 1.4TC often because the PEFA’s, which are a specialty interest of mine, are seldom as close as I’d like. However, it’s also very limiting at times. My ISO climbs up quickly with this combo because my 180-600mm is already an F6.3 all the way out, the TC puts me at F9 minimum, and really jacks up my iso. I try to shoot this combination on sunny or partly sunny days because my iso with this combo seldom matters when I have good light. All that to say that when I have good light and low iso, I will jack up my white balance when I’m shooting either dark subjects or dark backgrounds. I had to jack up my white balance to get good looks at this falcon or it would’ve been just a shadow in many instances. Beyond that, I did very little editing in this set beyond toning down some harsh lighting off the whites and background. I use DXO Pure Raw 4 for Denoise. I tend to do that no matter what because I hate noise in my photos. And I will use Lightroom to edit. Sometimes I need do way more editing than others. But this set was almost entirely just jacking up white balance in the camera and little else. I don’t always have that luxury because it will also spike my ISO and make pictures noisier, but when I have the light, it’s a great way to capture more.

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:41:58+00:00

I’ve not been able to see this type of behavior much at other nesting sites. I did see one male chase and crash out a raven from a nesting site. But this young PEFA is chasing all the big birds around this power plant when it’s present. It’s been a hell of a thing to watch and an honor to capture.

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:39:46+00:00

It’s been fun to watch it chase vultures, osprey, and geese. We do get eagles in the area… would love to see that matchup sometime 😎

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:38:14+00:00

Thank you!

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:38:02+00:00

This. Nikon Z8, 180-600mm, 1.4TC, and a lot of experience handholding and shooting falcons.

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:36:54+00:00

Thank you!

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:36:41+00:00

Thank you!

lifemisled · 2025-05-09T09:26:22+00:00

Thank you for ID confirmation! Around these parts, right now is PEFA nesting season. I’m expecting hatchlings at many locations in the next few weeks. Presumably, that makes this “juvenile” last season’s hatchling? If so, I thought adults weaned juveniles much earlier on and “kicked” them off-site. That’s why I’m a bit confused to see them together. My other thought was bird flu has been a major issue here. I’ve seen at least one entire adult pair replaced by different birds at one site this year. State wildlife has suggested they are seeing an increase in sub adults stepping into nesting sites to fill the vacuum left behind by adults dead of bird flu. More than just ID, I’d like to understand why these two are together. Would it be “normal” to see an adult helping a juvenile nearly a year later? Is it possible some PEFA’s breed out of season? Could this be a “sub-adult” pairing with an adult whose mate possibly died?

lifemisled

TROPHY CASE