Billings Farm Aviary

28/12/2023

Photos from my aviary❣️

24/11/2023

New to my aviary Black-faced Firefinch🖤
Very feisty with lots of personality. They spend a lot of time on the floor and are very friendly. 

04/10/2023

Peters Twinspot❤️
 This is Teddy Bear he is very friendly and confident. He likes to get his photo taken. He is one of my favorite birds. 

11/06/2023

Views from my aviary❣️

17/05/2023

My Violet-ear Waxbills are  the most friendly bird in my aviary. They land on my lap daily and come to see me as soon as I walk in the aviary. 

21/04/2023

These are some of my group photos. When you have multiple species in an aviary it is very difficult to get them in the same area close enough together to get a good photo. I use their favorite foods to encourage them to eat together. Also, very difficult is getting several of the same species to eat closely together at the same time. Then when you do get a photo it’s hard to get everyone looking attractive, and orderly however, sometimes you get lucky and they don’t disappoint. I so love the mix of colors of all the different birds together. They are some of my favorite photos. 

06/04/2023

It has been a long, cold winter in Central Oregon with record snowfall in our mountains. It is so nice to go in my greenhouse, where it’s warm, bright and tropical to spend time with my birds. I am looking forward to some warm weather so I can let my birds outside. They’ve been living inside since October. 

19/03/2023

Fresh plants and pine chips in my greenhouse for spring.

16/03/2023

My Pekin Robbins❣️

03/02/2023

Recent photos from my aviary❣️

17/11/2022

These are my orange and yellow Bishop Weavers. They change color in the winter and turn to brown with black striping and then in the spring they turn into their vibrant orange and yellow colors. They are very hardy and Iove live mealworms. Weavers are aggressive and territorial during mating season so I do only keep males in my mixed aviary.
I have had them for several years. I so enjoy how much color they add to my aviary. 

05/11/2022

I recently added a pair of Pekin Robbins to my aviary. They are a Softbill in the babbler family. These birds are very hard to find in the US and I searched and waited a long time to get them. They eat insects and fruit and are extremely smart and active.
This is a young pair and I am so hoping to have a clutch early next summer however they are hard to breed. They dominate the space in my aviary with my other finches so I am keeping them separate even though they are not mean. Pekin Robbins are cold hardy birds from China so I have been able to let them outside even on snowy days as long as they don’t get wet and and are protected from thewind. I have gotten them to eat out of my hand they are super friendly and beyond the smartest birds I have ever had. I am committed to them long-term and they have taken a piece of my heart. I love them. 

25/10/2022

Fall is my favorite time of the year. It is bittersweet for my birds because they cannot go outside again until the spring. Our temperatures have fallen into the 20s overnight and winter is right around the corner. I like to bring fall branches into my aviary to give a little of the outside to them. The color of the fall leaves brightens their day🍁

20/10/2022

When I saw this photo I couldn’t quit looking at it I had to share it. It doesn’t look real but it is!

This is what a rainbow looks like when it breaks into pieces...
It's actually being refracted by the scattered raindrops reflecting off the clouds behind it, if those clouds knew to go away it would be a normal rainbow.

20/10/2022

This is my indoor heated Aviary where my birds live in the winter time. It is a section of our porch that we built in and you enter it from inside our house. It is also where my breeding pairs have nests and new chicks fledge. I spend a lot of time in there during the cold months watching my birds. 

14/10/2022

I have always had Canarys in my aviary. I love their song and all of the beautiful colors that come in. They get along great with all of my birds and they teach them how to eat vegetables. They breed very easily and often that is why I only have males now🕊

07/10/2022

These are photos of my Gouldian finches. I love having them in my aviary because they get along so well with all the other birds and come in so many striking colors. Gouldians are quiet in comparison to my other finches so they are easy to photograph. They feed and roost in colonies and are easy breeders however they are fragile and and become ill quite suddenly die. There are many passionate breeders of Gouldians all over the world. They are truly a gift from mother nature🕊

03/10/2022

I love having Parrot Finches in my aviary. They come in several colors and are such characters. I have found them easy to breed and quite hardy. Bathtime is taken very seriously and they stay in the bath a long time and get extremely wet from head to tail. Several of them will take a bath at the same time it is so fun to watch.

30/09/2022

My Diamond Firetails are very confident friendly birds that I’ve had for a long time in my aviary. They have had several clutches and are very resilient as well as their chicks. They have landed on my lap and will sit and look at me with such an intelligent eye. They always look like they are dressed up for a formal event and I love their spots❣️

27/09/2022

This is my Greenhouse Aviary. It is a favorite place for my birds because it is so tropical with all the plants and flowers. It is also a good place to photograph my birds because the lighting. I have a heat pump in there that keeps it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I like spending time in there because it’s so light and being with all the plants and birds brings me joy. There is a pond just outside the windows and the mountains are centered in the background. 

22/09/2022

This is my sunroom aviary.  I like having a room that is all white for my birds. It is built off our family room and I can look at my birds through the windows in our house. It has a propane stove for heating so it’s very warm in the winter. In the center I put a antique bed frame to plant ferns and succulents in for the birds. Above the bed are perches and landing areas and I can hose it all off when I water. I also have high shelf that goes around the room with limbs above it for the birds to land and perch on and all their droppings go on the shelf. Therefore it is very easy to keep it clean in there.  Looking out the windows there is a creek that runs along the outside and a view of our pond and beautiful mountains.  I enjoy spending time in there🕊

21/09/2022

Lavender Waxbills are favorite in my aviary. I have been keeping them for a long time and will always have them. They are difficult to breed and need little bugs that they get in my outdoor Aviary to have a successful clutch. They are the most graceful Finch and have a beautiful velvet smooth feathering. I also love the black eyeliner around their eyes.

16/09/2022

14/09/2022

My bearded Reedlings are a joy to have in my aviary. They are a softbill and like live meal worms and other insects. They get along extremely well in my mixed aviary with all of my finches. They are also very cold hardy. 

12/09/2022

I so love my strawberry finches. The males sing a beautiful song. They build a beautiful nest down low in a very hidden area and are excellent parents. Great birds for a mixed aviary❣️