Palm Heaven at Hornbeam Aviaries!

Katy McElroy, myself and Jim McElroy

Yesterday I had the opportunity to finally meet a friend I have known online for many years. This was another one of those moments that make me realize how great this journey of mine truly is. 

My friend Kevin had asked me shortly after I arrived if I knew Katy McElroy and if I was interested in visiting her?  I said "absolutely, I've known Katy for many years online and I would love to finally meet her in person."  So Kevin contacted Katy and arrangements were made for our visit. Being that both Kevin and Katy are excellent cooks, plans were made for our arrival, she would make pizzas for lunch and he would bring dessert for us to enjoy. 

I was really anxious to get on the road but one of my problems when I'm looking forward to something is that I wake up in the middle of the night and then I can't fall back to sleep for a long while. So because of this, and Kevin baking late into the night, we didn't get on the road until around noon!

Kevin drove the two and a half hour trip so that gave me the opportunity to do something else. What is one to do with a camera but take rear view mirror pictures!  It's amazing what one sees on long road trips!

We finally arrived at Jim and Katy's home. Set in the middle of the woods, it's a very picturesque cabin they built in the seventies. I had finally arrived at Hornbeam Aviaries and I was like a kid in a candy store. Katy came out and giving her a hug was like saying hello to a longtime friend. She ushered us into her kitchen where she had started making pizzas. Jim came in and we were introduced, I had to apologize because I wasn't wearing my signature overalls since that's also his choice of apparel!

I brought one of my aprons for Katy and she promptly put it on and we made some pizza.

I was learning to cook healthy....

Who am I kidding?  I have no idea of what to do with all of these kitchen instruments other than throwing them around and making lots of noise with them!

Katy's pizza was so delicious and I ate way to many slices!

I must apologize to Kevin because I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful cake he made for us. 

While we were enjoying lunch we kept hearing all the wonderful whistling Palm Cockatoos make. At one point Kevin was looking around to see where it was coming from and Katy pointed out the speaker on one of her shelfs. The monitoring system is fed into the house where Katy knows what is going on outside in the aviaries. 

So we finally made it out to the aviaries where there's a perimeter fence topped with electric hot wire to keep unwanted vermin out and off of the flights. 

Because of the harsh winters the building is made out of cinder block, when doors are closed the building is heated in the worst of winter. The birds still have the choice is of going outside through small access doors. 

Kevin and Katy admiring a pair of Gang Gangs. 

Katy telling me why I need to get back into Palm Cockatoos!

Katy flocks babies together once they go out into the flights which helps them to grow and mature knowing they are birds. 

Palm cockatoos are very friendly naturally but don't let that fool you because they can bite you hard if in breeding situations. 

If you have never seen a closeup of the inside of a Palm cockatoo beak here it is. They can't close their beaks all the way because they have been adapted to crack their food consisting of hard nuts and fruits. 

The indoor flights are large and filled with toys, perching and natural branches. 

The open top nest boxes allow the pairs to sit on the edge and splinter the natural branches and drop them in as nesting material. 

One of the highlights was being able to see a beautiful pair of Gang Gang Cockatoos. They are absolutely beautiful in person. This species is getting harder to find in American Aviculture. Thankfully there's a few dedicated aviculturists still working with them. 

The male is just so beautiful with the red cap. 

One thing I learned about the Gang Gangs was that the females are larger than the males and it's them who are the dominant partner in the relationship. This little girl was very curious about us and what we might be offering her!

They keep their eyes on us and followed our movement wether outside or inside the flights!

Katy raised the white cockatoos for many years before starting to work with the black cockatoos. She still keeps many of the whites including the Greater Sulpher Cresteds. 

Major Mitchell's 

And others. We weren't able to see most of the whites because some of them were nesting and we didn't want to disturb them. 

She also has Red Tailed blacks. 

And Hyacinth Macaws that were camera shy!

After coming back inside I made friends with a baby Major Mitchell's baby. It was time for his feeding and I got to enjoy him while Katy prepared his food. 

The look of contentment after a good meal!

As we sat in the kitchen we looked out the window and a female wild turkey appeared out in the driveway with her three babies. 

She was curious about us inside and came closer. 

After satisfying her curiosity she went back to her brood and then disappeared into the forest for the night. 

Thank you so much for the opportunity Katy and Jim to visit your beautiful home. I will be back to pick up my Palm baby someday!