112 views as of January 10, 2011

My daughter’s lovebirds had babies. After a couple of weeks the parents began mistreating the babies, pulling their feathers out. The babies were removed from the parents’ cage and are being hand raised and formula fed now, either from a spoon or by syringe, and they are thriving. In this collage are the father lovebird “Ralphie” (center shot), mother “Birdie” (center right), “Hatch” (the older baby with the green feathers, 3 1/2 weeks old), and “Tuffie” (tiny one with no feathers yet, 2 weeks old). In the five days since these photos were taken on December 26, 2010, Hatch’s feathers have grown back fuller, and Tuffie is beginning to look like a bird! Needless to say I had fun photographing them that day, as it was the first time I had seen them. Photos taken in Seminole, Florida, at my daughter’s house.

UPDATE: Sadly the older of the two baby birds, Hatch, died today, Jan. 8, 2011. He was healthy, but may have injured himself in some way. :-(

Canon EOS Rebel XSi/450D
Cropping and collage made in Picasa3

FEATURED in Pets Are Us, January 10, 2011