Watching over you!

Lilly is a beautiful Illiger’s Macaw found flying wild in the city.  After Rich retrieved her from a backyard, she was placed in an outside aviary until the next days vet appointment.  It was on that day that Nicki (volunteer) and I stepped into the large aviary to capture Lilly.  It wasn’t a difficult task, as she appeared to be exhausted and injured.  She ran up my arm only to snuggle as closely as she could to my neck.  Jaundice, liver damage, dehydration, poor nutrition, and an open chest wound put her in intensive care for several days, where fluids and meds were constantly being pumped into her little system.  Nicki and I returned back to the vet for visits to be updated on her condition and to reassure Lilly with the presence of familiar faces.

Shortly thereafter, is when I was blessed with the opportunity to foster Lilly.  In only a few short days, Lilly decided to come out of her cage and sit on her perch getting acclimated to what was going to become her new permanent home.  She amazed me with her talking ability, determination, and her playful attitude.  She greets me in the morning by saying “hello” with her eyes pinning (for Lilly, that’s a sign for “I have lots to tell you”).  She arrived to us with an already amazing vocabulary and sounds of which she continues to update.  She says:  “whatchadoin”, “whereya going”, “hello!”, “whe-e-e-e”, “oh, such a pretty bird”, “are you a pretty bird?”, “I love you”, “cookie”, “get over here”, “come here”, “night, night”, “meow”, “bye-bye”.  She makes all kinds of noises; sneezing noises, coughing noises, gulping noises, laughing (loves to laugh), she can wave with her foot, throw you tons of kisses and tickle the back of your neck.

Most of her day is spent out on her cage, flapping her wings on a hanging swing or her play stand.  Her favorite foods are almonds and corn.  She’s a tough little girl who wasn’t willing to give up.  Her fight for life paid off for the both of us.  A day never goes by that I don’t laugh at something she’s done or said.  Everyone should be so lucky!

Big thank you to the following:

Nicki, my dear friend, who brought Lilly and me together….

Rich, for your unconditional love and understanding of birds.  Never once did you give up on her, regardless of the overwhelming financial responsibility to get her back on her feet.

Karen, for knowing and believing that deep down inside something special was about to occur.

Look at me, I am so pretty!