My Parrots Sing Out

Three of my parrots are quite eager to speak to whoever will listen. They all have a backstory which I know nothing or little about because I got Sugar and Hannah as adults from a rescue organization. I received Ruby from a previous owner at the urging of her veterinarian who thought Ruby was unhappy at her home. I’ve followed Kate Sitka’s blog for a couple of years now, where she conducts many psychic readings of different kinds, and she also has a regular podcast. I left a  recent comment there, through which she learned about my parrots. She asked if she could interview my birds for her podcast. I was game, and my parrots were too!

Hear the whole thing here. If you ever want to hear how a bird thinks, and how differently each bird communicated to Kate, it can be an interesting study. As their owner, I was fascinated. The recording is pretty long (1 hour and 48 minutes), and you might not be interested in the whole thing. So, let me summarize the good parts.

Sugar is a wild-caught Goffin’s cockatoo. He came across as cocky and childish. Having been confined in the past, he has a fondness for windows and light. In fact, he spends quite a bit of time looking out our windows, so Kate was on the money, there. Sugar is quite affectionate, kind of like a toddler is, according to Ruby, our African Grey. Sugar told Kate how he likes to rub his beak against me and adores my son, who plays rough with him (true). He also described how much he likes eating with me, sharing food – a bit of an understatement!

Ruby enjoyed telling Kate how she is the smart one in the bunch (true). She spoke of her love for our family, particularly my oldest daughter. Surprisingly, Ruby told Kate that she likes to watch soap operas! She’s never seen one at my house, but I don’t know if she watched such shows at the home she lived in before she came to me. She told Kate about a cross-country trip she had been on once, which her previous owner had also described to me. Ruby seemed to know everything that goes on in the house and chimed in on several conversations, always with an interesting insight.

Where Kate really shined is in helping me with Hannah. Hannah had been abused by other birds, I knew from the rescue where I got her. What Kate got from her was a clear distrust that anything nice happens to anyone. She had seen a person kill another bird, breaking its neck before her eyes. She has experienced so much disappointment and negativity in her life that she expects bad things at every turn. I have problems with Hannah screaming a lot in a way that just sets my teeth on edge; I asked Kate why Hannah screams. What are her triggers? In the end, Kate learned that Hannah fears short quick movements, loud things (people, radio, TV, or anything else), and energy. She expects all energy to be bad energy. So even when we have happy energy, she is freaked out.

All these things, in retrospect, explain Hannah’s observed behavior; I just didn’t understand why before. And, most importantly, I did not know the abuse Hannah had witnessed. I need to see her more as a trauma victim and less as a nuisance. She has come a long way in her confidence and ability since she came to live her, but she still has a long way to go. She can heal, but it takes some understanding of trauma triggers for me to help her. Bonus – Kate learned how Hannah enjoys being with me alone (without Sugar on my shoulder) and just sit with me while quiet instrumental music plays. She loves sitting with me as I read.

Kate first established credibility by telling me things that were true about my birds. Then she gave me insight into Hannah’s state of mind. Using her suggestions, I have begun handling time with Hannah differently, as Kate suggested. It has totally changed my home life in a wonderful way; she isn’t screaming anymore! Thank you, Kate! If you are interested in a session with Kate, listen to the podcast; she left a coupon code in there!