LOOKOUT LIVING
Polly want a cracker? How about a home?
In Lyerly, Georgia
If you like your lips, don't try this trick at home.
David first became interested in parrots when he was in art school in Chicago, so he’s always been fond of the talkative psittacines, the technical term for what others call hook bill birds. There are about 350 species of parrots.. At the Parrot Education Project (PEP), the Mott’s provide a permanent home for about 100 parrots that arrived from all over the United States. Many of the parrots come from homes where the owner has grown tired of them or can’t care for them any longer. The parrots also arrive here for many other reasons. Some of the owners choose to place their beloved pets in a situation where they will continue to receive the love and attention they need and require. Other circumstances that can cause a bird to be given up include changes in the life style of the owner, failing health, or the death of the owner. Many people who purchase these often quite large birds don’t realize that the bird’s life spans are approximately the same as ours. So when they buy a bird, it’s entirely possible the bird can outlive them!
Left to right, the Mott family:
David, Rachel, and Ellie, with a friend.
Parrots can range in size from the tiny Pacific Parrotlet (at a mere 3.2 inches high and 28 grams) to the Hyacinth Macaw (a whopper at 3.3 feet and 8.8 pounds). Caring for them is not everyone’s cup of tea. But what do you do with a noisy parrot who has worn out its welcome? If you, and the bird, are lucky, you locate a facility like PEP. The Mott’s estimate that there are about 40 to 50 similar rescue facilities around the country, and almost all of them are strained to the bursting point. The number of abandoned birds jumped dramatically a few years back during the avian flu scare. Prices fell drastically, and the number of birds being euthanized by skittish owners spiked.
Clearly, for too many people the thrill of owning a big, loud bird wears thin. Parrots can be both noisy and destructive. “They’ll tear a house apart,” says Ellie. Their talons are powerful, and they use their beaks like a third hand. A very powerful third hand. David chuckles and says, “And believe me, when I get bit hard by one of our birds the novelty wears off just a little bit more.”
Ellie and David got their first parrot about 20 years ago as an anniversary present The collection expanded over the years to include different species, and the Motts eventually decided to create an educational facility. A native of Connecticut, David graduated from the Atlanta School of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Now retired, for years he was a college art professor. Ellie is an emergency room nurse, and it’s her salary that keeps the bird seed on the table, so to speak. It’s an expensive proposition, but it‘s also a passion for them both. During a Thanksgiving holiday years ago Ellie was grazing the internet and became aware that there were hundreds of parrots that needed a new home. Some were abandoned, some were owned by people who were either dismayed at the level of care they require, or tired of the screeching. For her and David, providing a home for parrots in need became a kind of calling. “I also hope the community gets some benefit,” she says. That’s why they started making visits, with their birds, to area schools several years ago.
Recently the Motts took the additional step of becoming a 501 (c) (3)
tax exempt organization, meaning that people who make donations so the
Mott’s can care for the birds will receive a tax deduction. And donations
play a key part in enabling them to 
continue PEP. “We receive donations
from the Rome Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly and Lafeber’s seed company,” say
Ellie. But they estimate that only about 1% of what they need is donated.
And the need for all kinds of things- bowls, fencing, cages, etc.—is great.
The Mott’s, and their birds, are also fortunate to have an area veterinarian, Summerville’s Dr. Bridget Hopkins, to back them up. Dr. Hopkins wanted to become more familiar with avian medicine, and she has been a real asset to PEP as she’s added to her knowledge of hook bills.
Like the dairy business, caring for their birds is relentless; every day they commit 3 ½ hours to feeding and watering their adopted “children.” Their daughter, Rachael also helps out, but she’s a lot more interested in the family’s collection of gigantic draft horses.
Parrots often bond with a single person, or prefer one gender over the other. They can also be picky about the hair color of those they choose to get close to. Some of the birds were once hand fed babies but even a parrot that has been handled can eventually “go wild” if left alone long enough. There have been escapes, but the birds always stay nearby, and eventually return. Parrot Education Project is a permanent home sanctuary because the parrots that have been placed into this program were provided by previous owners so that they could be used for educational purposes so others could have the opportunity to see and learn about them. Previous owners can be assured that their pet will be well provided for.
Mimicking is a key attribute of parrots, as anyone who has ever heard one will agree. It’s not just the sound they mimic, but the context. For instance, one of their birds, Katie, can make the sound of a phone ringing. She then carries on a conversation that sounds exactly like what you’d hear if you were listening to someone talking on the phone in the next room. She will finish her “conversation” by saying, “Ok. Bye, bye. I love you.” Another of their birds sounds just like dogs barking- outside the house!
By the way, if you’re interested in a parrot, the Mott’s recommend African Grays for their big vocabulary, intelligence, and sense of play.LV
PEP is an educational facility with the primary emphasis of learning thru observation and teaching. It is not a petting zoo. Visitors are welcome but do need to call and schedule visitation. To reach them, go to parroteducation@yahoo.com, or go to their website: www.parroteducationproject.org. You can call them at 706-844-8876.
Fishing for a Living
Heaven in a bass boat
Say you like to eat chocolate pudding. Say someone offered you a job
eating pudding all day long. Say, that sounds pretty good! So put yourself
in the shoes (or waders) of Jimmy Caldwell, a life-long fisherman who
has a job that let’s him go fishing almost everyday. Some might call
that Heaven in a Bass Boat. Jimmy does.
Jimmy is the lead fisheries biologist for his company, Aquatic Resource Management (ARM), operating out of LaFayette, Georgia. Since graduating from Auburn University with a Masters Degree in fisheries, Jimmy has operated his company with two other men for the purpose of helping area people design, and manage, their ponds. Auburn is one of the country’s two leading schools for learning about fish biology and management (the other is Washington State University). Jimmy had worked jobs in the food industry, and managing restaurants, when he decided to fulfill his dream of making a living from the world of fishing, not as a fisherman, but as an expert who can help a pond or lake owner maximize their resource. There is only so much of that job one can do from behind a desk. It’s a sacrifice, but Jimmy says somebody has got to do it- get out and go fishing everyday!
A well-managed pond can produce lots of
big fish,
and happy fishers.
ARM has a coverage area of about a 100-mile radius around LaFayette.
Jimmy says that, hands down, Lookout Mountain has some of the best fishing
ponds around. “We’ve got some ponds up here with killer fishing for bass
and blue gill. You wouldn’t think that a mountain would have so many
great ponds on it, but just fly over the mountain sometime; you’ll see
them everywhere.”
If this were a perfect world, Jimmie would get a call about a prospective
pond before it was actually built. “We can help them site a pond so that
it’s more cost effective, and we’ll do a feasibility study to see if
the location they have in mind will work well,” he says. They will determine
if the proposed site can trap as much water as needed to make a sustainable
pond or lake. They’ll decide if a dam will need to be built, and where
it should be located. If the customer doesn’t care about fishing and
just wants a weed-free body of water to look at, that will be taken into
consideration. If the idea is to produce monster 14-pound bass, that
will dictate another approach. In fact Jimmie never predicts 14-pound
bass, but rather says he can pretty much guarantee that if his recommendations
are closely followed, owners can eventually expect to catch 10-pounders.
Close enough for most of us.
Unfortunately, involving someone like Jimmy at the front end of a project
is the rare case. “Usually we get calls like, ‘I just built a nice pond.
Now what do I need to do.’ In those cases we start playing catch up.
We have connections with good engineers who can design just the right
pond for just the right location so that owners get exactly what they
want. That’s the best way to go” Like the phone company says, “Call before
you dig!”
ARM also spends a lot of time responding to upset landowners who find their ponds choked with weeds, who notice a fish kill, or who realize they have a severe balance problem in their lakes between different species of fish. He says that almost any pond can be saved, but he is currently working on one that is presenting a huge challenge, primarily because for about 8 of its 10 acres, the water is only two feet deep. “We’ll have to do some radical work to save it,” says Jimmy.
Ponds can be overrun by undesirable
species,
such as the Gizzard Shad.
In a sense, Aquatic Resources is like a lawn service for your pond. The company’s menu of services includes supplying fish feeders, stocking a pond, fertilizing and liming lakes, removing unwanted species, and monitoring fish growth. Then it’s up to you to follow their recommendations. A well managed, healthy pond is more satisfying to own and interact with, plus it can significantly add to the value of a piece of property.
On a typical call to determine whether a pond’s fish population is healthy and in balance between species, Jimmy and a partner will put their large aluminum John Boat in the water and then using an on-board generator, momentarily stun the fish in part of a pond or lake. As the fish swirl lazily to the surface, they are quickly scooped up in a net, placed in a live well, and then taken to shore for a closer look. The species of each fish is quickly noted on a chart, and their weight and length are noted. The proportion of one species to another is also important to know, since recommendations often require owners to use some means of reducing one specie’s numbers or promoting an increase in another’s. Then the fish are returned to the water to be caught another day. A report is written telling the landowner what is recommended to fix their body of water.
There is usually about one month in the summer and one in the winter when Aquatic Resource is pretty landlocked with inactivity due to inhospitable weather. But during the rest of the year, you’ll find Jimmy Caldwell and his mates doing what they love to do: fishing in the waters of the Lookout Mountain area. And showing pond owners how they can manage their water resources for the maximum pleasure and enjoyment. LV
