Technician Tales: Residents’ Stories

I have learned that residents at the facilities where we put aviaries all have different ways of interacting with the birds and interpreting their avian responses.  At one particular facility, a group of four kindhearted ladies have dubbed themselves “the faithful ones”. They each make it a priority to go and visit the aviary at least twice a day where they will speak softly to the birds and have named each one. They deeply cherish the little creatures and get so excited with each new baby that hatches. More than once I have heard them expressing their wish to move the aviary into their own rooms, no matter what furniture had to be sacrificed to do it!

A gentleman living at the same facility told me the birds reminded him of his boy scout days, when he would have to identify different species of birds while out on trips. He noticed that sometimes the male society finch would bring the female finch a twig, as if to impress her saying, “look! We can build a home with this”. He laughingly described how the female usually would ignore the attempted wooing and let the twig drop to the ground. However, the man one day discovered that the two were sitting on eggs together; it seemed the female finch was finally won over and decided to start a family with the male. She must have found his persistence charming!

At a different facility, a sweet resident described how she used to work at a pet shop with macaws and cockatoos that would scream all hours of the day. She never could have imagined wanting a bird of her own, thinking they were all as vivacious and loud as the ones where she worked. Now, she never fails to stop by when I am cleaning, saying hello to the birds and telling me how much she loves their adorable little personalities and songs. She is especially fond of the vibrant canaries, who will trill back when she whistles tunes to them.

One of my favorite stories came from a man living temporarily in a skilled nursing facility. He told me that he had bought a bird when he was a young boy, but it had taken to his dad instead and never left his side. The man recalled that even after the bird died, his dad brought it with them to their new home in a different state, so he could bury it nearby in the backyard. From this memory arose a whole cluster of others and I could tell how much they meant to the man; his eyes were twinkling as he spoke.

That’s what makes having the aviary at these facilities so special.  Its not just the visual presence but the joy and magic.  The twinkle in the eyes of the residents and the resident’s families too.  The joy that children show when they sit and stare at the aviary.  The relationship built with not only the birds but the bonds built between mother and child, grandparent and grandchild, aunt and nephew, or in the case of the faithful ones…friends.

The impact that birds can and have had on people’s lives are more than I ever could have imagined from such small creatures. They bring with them more than a song they also bring a sense of peace, all just by being birds.