Have you heard of...

photo: londonist.com

... Budgieman?

Budgieman has "budgie power", he has taught them to fly a helicopter and drive a motorbike, and made a tune that has been number one in the Canary Islands for a long time.
Not to mention a good man, and a good friend to budgies, one that definitely deserves a place in my blog.

People all of the world might have seen the Budgieman performing on the Southbank outside of the Tate Modern in London at the weekens from June - October. He has amazed young and old with his budgies that perform a variety of clever tricks.

Budgieman's beloved dog and budgies

Don Crown (that is his real name) is not just a budgie entertainer, but also a song writer and musician. He has been writing music since the 1970's, plays a number of instruments and composes all of his work in his head. And he's also known for producing very catchy tunes (if you don't believe me, just listen to the Budgieman song!)

Budgieman made a cozy home for the budgies

The budgieman has about 15-20 budgies and keeps them in a very large aviary at his home. Half of them are trained, and the younger budgies learn from the older budgies and Budgieman. He looks very carefully after his birds. He also looks after rescued and disabled budgies. There is even a special hospital aviary in case one of the bugies gets sick. "My first budgie was Fred who I rescued from a pet shop in Ilford. He was tiny, no feathers, not fully developed wings and a bald head. He was given to me."

How Budgieman teaches his budgies, is a special and secret trick. But he can give you a hint: "First of all you have to learn to love and care for your budgies so that they learn and love you. With good training they can master all sorts of tricks within 12 to 18 months. Young budgies, like young humans, play about too much and can't be easily trained. Budgies can start to learn when they're about three years old."
On a good day, his budgies perform 10-15 times. The budgies are given plenty of rest in between the shows. The Budgieman and his budgies can only perform in non-smoking areas.

Budgieman performing with his magical budgies, outside the Tate Modern

Near Christmas, Budgieman works as a window painter, painting reindeers, Fathers Christmas and other scenes. He also does charity painting for hospitals and children's homes. He still looks after his budgies all the time to make sure they're okay. They live in a special aviary with heating control, so it never gets too hot in the Summer and never too cold in the Winter.

His real interest in budgies came when he was still a child. He used to visit pet stores and markets in Newcastle and was fascinated by budgies. He was told they could talk and he loved their pretty colours and shapes.
Budgieman has always felt a connection with budgies that I too can feel. He calls it "budgie power":
"Many people get bitten by budgies or they scare them away. When I come to them they are friendly and relaxed. I think this is because I have "Budgie power". This is not just my budgies, but if I go to a pet shop I can relax them within a few minutes."

Content and images are (c) budgieman.co.uk
Also check out the interview with budgieman by Londonist!