Hello there, I have a new favourite nut, here is me eating one, though you can't see much of it as it is quite small, and really, really hard to crack.  Hmmm...  a hard nut to crack - I am sure I have heard that saying somewhere before. 

To make my new favourite Nut easier for you to see, I found this picture below for you all.  I am thinking of asking Janie to make it really big and printing it out so I could put it up in my bedroom.  Then when I am feeling hungry I can just nibble on the poster as a snack

So what are these wonderful new nuts I here you ask...  well let me introduce you to Cedar Nuts, which are the seeds of the Swiss Pine.  See how knowledgeable I am?  And do you know what the very best thing about them are, that whenever Stuart and Janie are watching a program on the telly, if I make enough noise, they give me one to shut me up.  Tee Hee !!!

Stuart and Janie think they are making me be quiet, I think I am getting a Cedar Nut whenever I fancy one...  what do you all think?

Nibbles Darwin xx

Don't Try This At home....

Hi Grey Fans, well it has been a long time since my last blog, I could tell you how long, but seeing as I am only a bird I can't count, so have no idea really.  It was passed on to me, by Stuart, that some of my fans were getting a little restless as they hadn't had an update from the favourite African Grey, so here I am blogging just for you...  you know who you are.

Well have no fear, I am fine and dandy, and beginning to look quite smart again, my feathers are beginning to grow back in nicely, though I am STILL losing the occasional one or two.  As you can see I have to remain vigilant in my grooming habits, and have absolutely no trouble in reaching those hard to reach nooks and crannies that we all have.

I also have to keep on top of things as Stuart keeps using me as a feather duster by turning me upside down and spinning me around on the table on my back...  most undignified.  So keeping clean is number one on my list of things to do these days... 

Well actually number two after eating - I love to eat as you know...  and possible three after playing...  oh and four after making lots and lots of noise.  Oh well, keeping clean is on my list somewhere...  toodle pip !!!

Nibbles Darwin xx

Size does Matter!!!

Hi Grey fans, hope all is well in your world, because it isn't in mine.  Strange things are happening, strange and disturbing things, strange, disturbing and slightly scary things.

I am falling to bits !!!

Janie keeps telling me that I am making a mess with my very first moult, but just look at the size of that feather in the picture, 20 cm's long, I can't afford to lose something that big from my body can I? I am going to end up naked, how embarrassing.

This morning, Stuart caught Welly, the Cesky Terrier chewing on yet another feather of this size!!!!  He told Welly off, that he shouldn't eat Darwin !!!!!!!!!!  Welly was eating me.. Wah !!!

Breath slowly in - out - in - out...

I am falling to bits !!!

What am I to do?

Can't write any more, it's all to much.

Nibbles Darwin xxx

The Pink Incident

Hi Grey Fans, are you sitting comfortably as I want to tell you a story and yes, as you can see, this story has a picture to go with it.  It also, as the best stories do, has a moral as well, I know, I know, it's so exciting!!!

Are you ready?  Then let us begin.

One day, not so long ago, Janie decided that as I loved Pomegranate (Pom Poms) so much, she would buy me a whole fruit, instead of the usual seeds in a tub she buys from the supermarket.  She carefully, yes knives can be sharp boys and girls - not a sharp as my beak - but that is a different story, cut the fruit in half, stuck  half on one of my fruit hanging skewers and hung the fruit in my cage.

She then, wheeled my cage into the front room, as she was going to do something or other on the computer, and proceeded to leave me to it.

I ate my Pom Pom.

Janie sat at her computer.

I ate my Pom Pom some more.

Janie sat on her computer some more.

Repeat until bored.....

Finally the Pom Pom half was gone and Janie got up to check on me...  the photo above is a recreation of what she found.  Or as she said after, 'The Crime Scene'.

The curtains were covered in Pom Pom pink, the net curtains were covered, the wall was pink, the paintwork was pink, so was the radiator, the fish tank, my whole cage and even the window itself.  I had done a good job of spreading Pom Pom around.

Janie quickly moved my cage and got down the curtains and the nets to wash them before they stained, she cleaned the windows and washed down the paintwork and the radiator... I have never seen her work so hard...

All the time she kept saying... 'Oh Darwin!!!'  As if it was my fault!!!!!  Was I the one who gave me the Pom Pom in the first place???

Oh yes the moral of the story...


Never give Pom Pom fruit to Darwin's inside the house.

I think by the look of Janie's face it is a moral she will never forget.

Until next time,

Nibbles Darwin xx

For Me?

Howdy Darwin fans, I am in a really good mood today, want to know why?  Of course you do, because I know my good mood will make all my readers feel 100% better about not having me in their lives on a daily basis.  Well let me tell you a story...

Sunday was Stuart's birthday, he got lots of presents and lots of cards, and then he and Janie went out for the day and left me all alone, well apart from my radio, which you all know how much I love listening to.  There was a lot about something called the Eurovision, something called Blue did not do as well as they had expected.  I could of told them their mistake, should of called themselves Grey, and they would of been a runaway success.  Honestly, you can't tell people sometimes!!!!!

Anyway, I digress, it seems that Stuart was born on the same day his Mum was, which confuses me a little, as I am sure that would make them brother and sister, but maybe humans think differently about such things, they are very strange you know.

Anyway, I digress again, the next day Stuart went to work, and he came home with a surprise from some very nice people called Val and Jonathan, they had given him a card AND TWO presents.  Stuart opened the card, and I thought, 'WOW, that looks good for a nibble or two later'.  In the card, Val or Jonathan had written, 'P.S. Pressie really for Darwin, but I'm sure he'll share'.  There was some other stuff written but that wasn't important, I did my impatient dance as Stuart opened the first pressie, a packet of flaked almonds, my favourite nuts, wow weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!  

The second pressie was a huge bag of mixed nuts and dried fruits, which I soon stuck my head in to see what was what. As you can see from the pictures, Stuart gave me a huge dried apricot, it was as big as my head, he then tipped the rest of the bag into one of those horrid plastic containers with a lid.  I can chew open bags, but not those containers, yet!!!!  Stuart says that my pressie will keep nice and fresh in the container, but I think he did it so he could sneak one of MY nuts or fruits when he thinks I am not looking!!!!

The pressies were very nicely wrapped, thank you very much, and I particularly liked this nice cream coloured bow, that was on top of one of them.  The other had a bow as well, but it was red, I don't like the colour red, it clashes with my bum, but, this one, the cream bow was lovely.

It tasted good too!!!

Thank you very much Val and Jonathan for my lovely pressies, but please remember in future,

What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine too.  Darwin's don't share.

It's written on a blog somewhere, so it's got to be true.

Nibbles Darwin xx

Oh Nuts !!!

Hello Grey Fans.  I totally enjoyed the wedding, you know of William and Catherine.  I was listening on the radio, I have my own, a little DAB that I listen to all the time.  I like Radio 2, and I often sing along.  I REALLY liked it when the sang 'Jerusalem', at the wedding, I whistled and squawked along.  Janie was most impressed I can tell.  She even gave me an almond to show how pleased she was.  Of course I couldn't sing along while eating my almond, and I do truly love almonds, they are a favourite of mine. 

I ate my almond very quickly so I could start singing again, but I didn't get another almond, even though I sang as loudly as I could.  Ah well, maybe next time.  I can't wait for the next wedding on the radio, such fun.

Nibbles Darwin. xxx

Hide and Go Seek

I enjoy to play, I often make  a lot of noise when I am having fun, and sometimes either Janie or Stuart run over to see what I have done to myself as I scream so loudly they think I have hurt myself.  Sometimes though I like to be very quiet, and I play Hide and Go Seek, no one can find me as I am so sneaky.  Can you see me in this photo?

Try squinting, or closing one eye, or blinking very quickly... 

Nope, can't find me still?

Yoooo Hoooo, here I am...

I told you I was sneaky....

Shhh, don't tell anyone where I am, Janie and Stuart are still trying to find me.

Nibbles Darwin xxx

Oh Woe is Me

See that!!!  See what happens when you don't look where you put your feet?  Ripped part of my toenail off... and it hurt!!!!  You know the saying that 'a little blood goes a long way'?  Well it certainly does when you have wings, on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, furniture, curtains, carpet, Stuart and Janie!!!  You name it, I splattered it good and proper.

Despite Stuart and Janie's best efforts, my foot kept bleeding so it was off to the vet, she was very nice, said that I should not worry, and that I was a big bird and I hadn't lost to much blood.  She fixed my foot by rubbing a tiny stick on it, weird huh?  Not that I forgave her for the big bird comment, I am not big, I am just well muscled, all that flying I do.

Anyway, it's all forgotten now, well by me anyway.  I am busy getting on with my very first moult, which takes me a lot of time and effort, especially making sure my feathers fall all over the place.  I love seeing Janie vacuum, in fact I love it so much I went for a ride while she cleaned and pooped on it.  Took Stuart and Janie ages to clean it off.  Such fun.

Nibbles, Darwin xxx

First Post of the New Year

So here we are again, been a while since my last blog, but been very busy.  As you can see I have some new toys to demolish, I had great fun unwrapping my Christmas presents, to be honest they were more fun than the actual things inside, but you have to keep up appearances don't you or they might stop buying me stuff.

I spent some time with Stuart's Mum and Dad over Christmas, my large holiday cage had been set up for me, it was wonderful.  I even gave Janie and Stuart a couple of presents myself, two new phrases that I had been practising especially for them...

'Look at you'  and 'What ya' doing?'

They seem pretty happy, doesn't take much, good job I didn't recite the book, 'War and Peace' to them or I am not sure what might have happened.  I shall keep quiet about that until a later date.

Until next time,

Nibbles Darwin xx