Well, nobody has claimed the still nameless parakeet we found in the gutter on Main St. And, by now, I hope they don't....because Buckbeak, the parakeet we got from the pet store really, really likes.....HER! Yep, it's a girl.

Okay, I thought. No big deal. After all, Island Girl has 4 parakeets in a cage and one of them is female, and she has never even laid an egg, much less mated. Parakeets are like people - they don't just mate with any old parakeet. Some people have had male and female parakeets in the same cage together for years and, well, they're just good friends. What are the chances that Buckbeak and this bird that literally fell out of the sky could be avian soul mates? And even if Buckbeak and his new companion become more than just good friends...well, we don't have a nesting box in there. They'd need encouragement to go through with a whole mating ritual, right? And even if she DID lay an egg...these are birds who have survived in the wild a long time without human help. What's the worst that could happen?.....

Well, the worst that could happen is that she could DIE!! It turns out that parakeets are a LOT like people. One web site answered a question about the lack of a nesting box preventing breeding by asking the rhetorical question: "Do humans need a bed to have sex? Of course not, if they feel like doing it they're going to do it!" And, just like with people, a TON of stuff can go wrong without the proper attention of a vet....we're talking visits, special diet, having medication on hand 24/7.

Yikes! I don't know anything about breeding birds! I only took this parakeet in because I didn't want to see her starve out on the street. I was only trying to do my good deed for the day. I can't afford adaquate medical care for myself let alone my parakeet!!!

So, I should take her up to the Humane Society. Except I can't. I can't seperate them....'cause I'm pretty sure Buckbeak's in love. I've been all over the internet trying to learn the difference between serious courtship behavior - the kind that leads to the pitter patter of little tiny parakeet feet - and behavior that just signels " I really like you, my fellow feathered creature." The good news is that everything Buckbeak is doing COULD be classified as "friendly". The bad news is that same behavior COULD be "serious". It's really hard to tell the difference. Heck they could have done the deed already for all I know. It's not like I have parakeet cam on and know what they're doing in there all the time. It's true that I haven't seen him up on the roof of the cage smoking a tiny ciggarette.....but that's probably what it would take to get me to realize what was going on!!

And parakeets are flock animals. Many experts feel that it's cruel to keep just one parakeet by itself, since in the wild they travel huge flocks and the features that make them so highly desirable as pets are because they are very social animals. We had learned that as soon as we got Buckbeak and were discussing getting a companion bird for him. In fact, we had just literally decided, an hour before taking our walk to get another bird. That's why The Hub was so stunned to see this one on the street.

The Hub wants to find a female name that means "Gift from God". He really feels that us finding this parakeet was meaningful.

"Maybe God was trying to give us a sign, " he said, "You know, so we remember about 'his eye is on the sparrow' "

"Maybe he was just trying to give us a parakeet." I answered, "Or, more likely, give the parakeet a home. After all, the parakeet is one of His creatures and she's innocent. People are always saying God does stuff and it's about them....maybe we're just incidental. Maybe the parakeet is the important one to Him."

"Well, it's a win-win situation." The Hub said, and bidding good night to the birds, went up to bed.

He's not worried. I'm the one up reading about all the horrible things that can happen to female parakeets if their eggs don't come out right and then they die and their mates get grief stricken and won't eat and.....Oh, this is what I get for having such a soft heart! Dad was right! I should have learned to toughen up a little.

No good deed goes unpunished.

P.S. Birda's mate, whom we call Cyrano ( don't ask me why. The Hub and I just started calling him that -both of us at the same time) is on the nest tonight and you can just barely see the beaks fo the little hatchlings over the top. We think there are only 3 this time.