TASC Midwest Bird Expo - 2010

The TASC Midwest Bird Expo 2010 was a huge success as always. We ran into some terrific old friends, and made quite a few terrific new friends as well. Sy Montgomery, author of "Birdology" which had a chapter on Snowball, sat at the booth next to us. Patricia Sund of Bird Talk and Parrot Nation joined our cozy group and wowed us with her talents for cinematography and feather scarves! There's a lot of creativity in that young lady! We were also lucky enough to be placed next to T-W Birds so I was able to meet Traci LaMon in person. A very big thank you to Traci of T-W Birds for all the toys for our rescue birds!

Irena Schulz presented the Music Therapy Studies on parrots, but was upstaged by a funny, dancing bird...none other than Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo. Here is a short clip of him dancing to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" at the close of the presentation. We hope to see you at next year's Midwest Bird Expo.

Please be sure to visit Bird Lovers Only Rescue to receive our brand new t-shirts and books in return for your donations. Your support helps fund our continuous efforts to rescue, rehabilitate, and adopt out parrots as well as allow us to further understand parrots through research studies. Thank you!

Book-signing Benefit with Sy Montgomery

National best-selling author, Sy Montgomery, will be in the Chicago area on May 23 promoting her two books "Kakapo Rescue" (written for children in grades 4 - 9) and "Birdology" (written for adults) which features a chapter on Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo. Sy has also won The Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for 2010. These awards go to authors or authors-illustrators "whose body of work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children."

The Boston Globe once called Sy Montgomery "part Indiana Jones and part Emily Dickinson." Her sense of adventure is evenly matched by her sincere compassion for animals and their environment. Sy Montgomery is an author, naturalist, newspaper columnist, documentary scriptwriter, all-around adventurer, and wrote for the TV show "National Geographic Explorer." Sy travels the globe to research the animals she writes about and enchantingly delivers them to you via her books.

Sy Montgomery has generously agreed to do a book-signing and presentation of her adventures to benefit Bird Lovers Only Rescue on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. Both books will be available for purchase at the book-signing. Proceeds from ticket and book sales will go to fund the continuing care and research of parrots at Bird Lovers Only Rescue. So please join us for an enchanting and fun-filled afternoon with Sy Montgomery.

Please visit Sy Montgomery at http://www.authorwire.com/

WHEN: Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
TIME: 12 noon until 1:30pm
WHERE: Bird Lovers Only Rescue
1448 Tanglewood Drive
Schererville, IN 46375
219-322-0037
EVENT: LUNCHEON hosted by Irena Schulz and Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo. An intimate luncheon with Sy Montgomery to be followed by the opportunity to dance with Snowball. Participants may request songs. Book-signing and photo opportunities with Sy Montgomery and Snowball. Limited seating available so order your tickets now. (Luncheon menu available upon request)

WHEN: Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
TIME: 2pm until 4pm
WHERE: Bird Lovers Only Rescue
1448 Tanglewood Drive
Schererville, IN 46375
219-322-0037
EVENT: PRESENTATION hosted by Irena Schulz at Bird Lovers Only Rescue. An enchantingly fun afternoon with award-winning author, Sy Montgomery. Sy will take you on her "Kakapo Rescue" adventure to be followed by a book-signing opportunity. Finger foods/desserts and beverages will be served.

TICKET PRICES PRIOR TO MAY 1, 2010:
$75 to attend both of the above events (Luncheon & Presentation)
$10 to attend the Presentation only.
TICKET PRICES AFTER MAY 1, 2010:
$85 to attend both of the above events (Luncheon & Presentation)
$15 to attend the Presentation only.
Payment Options (please be sure to state how many tickets you wish along with whether you will be attending both events):
Send check or money order to:
Bird Lovers Only Rescue
PO Box 552
Dyer, IN 46311
Please RSVP to Irena Schulz at birdloversonly@sbcglobal.net or 219-322-0037

Tickets will be held for guests at the door of the events.

Snowball's Rise to Viral Fame

I was interviewed recently regarding the story of Snowball's rise to fame. I had expected, once again, for my words to be edited into a much more glossed over version of the actual story. Much to my surprise, and a very pleasant one at that, my words appeared as I had written them...unedited!
http://bestinflock.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/the-story-of-snowballs-rise-to-viral-fame/

I have had many people ask me if I work in addition to what I do at the rescue. I have to chuckle to myself because I work over 80 hours per week at the rescue without a break even for weekends, holidays, or other special occassions. My duties include everything from being Snowball's manager and a collaborator in scientific research to scrubbing and disinfecting bird cages. At the end of major cleaning days it's not unusual for me to look like Mel Brooks in "High Anxiety" after he's been satirically pooped on by a flock of birds.

I've been judged by some for the content of the tv programs which I have been on with Snowball. But I have never had control over what is edited out and what is left to be shown to the audience. Heaven knows I've tried to emphasize to the interviewers the abuse and neglect that I see and how much I want to do something about this in the form of legislation, but Snowball's charm always prevails and the sad parts end up on the floor of the editing room.

I have recently been able to write, direct, and produce my own videos and have them show up on Jennifer Viegas' blog "Born Animal" which is found on Discovery News. This also happens to be one of my three favorite blogs (and I do follow many), so I was overjoyed at the prospect of having my unedited (albeit rough and amateurish) videos appear there.
http://blogs.discovery.com/news_animal/

So when my words do go unedited and I am able to speak my mind, I am grateful. To those of you who have allowed this...a very, very sincere thank you!

Snowball in Indianapolis, Indiana

Irena Schulz discusses the science, the entertainment, and the high maintenance behind the famous cockatoo...Snowball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIJf4ChKkQw&feature=channel_page

Dr. Aniruddh Patel of the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California will be presenting the research on Snowball in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Biennial Conference of Society for Music Perception and Cognition on Wednesday, August 5th at 1:30pm.
http://music.iupui.edu/smpc2009/programs.html