About Feathering Crest Aviary
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Welcome to Feathering Crest Aviary! My name is Pat Tucker and I have been a serious student of Aviculture for most of my adult life, focusing on Psittacines.
I met my first parrot in 1973 when my sister gave me a Peachface Lovebird as a gift. She brought him to me in a small cage and handed me a bag of sunflower seeds, saying proudly, "This is what they eat." He was a parent-raised, sexually mature, unclipped bird. I named him Bernie. A few days later, after he had settled into his new environment, I opened up the cage. He promptly climbed out and began to fly around the room. I put up my arm; he landed on it, ran up to my shoulder and bit my ear....HARD! I Immediately began to buy and read all the books I could find, learned about bird behavior, proper nutrition, provided a larger cage, toys, and lots of love and patience. Bernie was a wonderful companion for 25 years, and was the beginning of my love affair with parrots. I still miss him.
In 1978, when Bernie was 5 years old, I married my husband, David. Bernie adored him and the feeling was mutual. One day, David came home with news of a bird show being held in the next town. We brought Bernie to the show and entered him. He was always a fully flighted bird and with his new diet, a very robust specimen of his species. However, what was to happen that day far exceeded my wildest expectations. He won his class, then his section, then Best Lovebird in the Division. After that, he went on to win 3rd Supreme Best- in-show. Needless-to-say, I was hooked!
That very day I joined the local bird club that ran the show, met other bird fanciers, and became involved in local aviculture. It was then that I met my first cockatiels. Two years later, Feathering Crest Aviary was 'hatched' with the purchase of 3 breeding pairs.
Since that time, I have bred many species in addition to Cockatiels: Cockatoos, Conures, Macaws, African Greys, Senegals, Bourkes, Plumheads, and Lovebirds. It has been a truly rewarding exerience, however in 1996, I placed all my breeding pairs in good aviary homes and re-focused my passion on breeding Cockatiels for exhibition. Since that time, I have been richly rewarded on the National Cockatiel Society Show bench with a high national ranking each year, including the Top Exhibitor's Award in 2002. Through this process, I have earned Champion and Grand Champion status for many of my cockatiels, and made many life-long friendships along the way.
In 2006, I applied for Judgeship through National Cockatiel Society, fulfilled the requirements and am officially an NCS Panel Judge as of January 2007. Please visit the National Cockatiel Society website for more information on our organization and the work that is being done to promote excellence in our cockatiel.
Since I believe strongly in educating myself and others with regard to our 'feathered friends', I have written many articles for this purpose. As a result, I have been published in local and national specialty publications since the mid-1980's. Look for some of these articles on this web site.
On a more personal note, I proudly share my life with 16 beloved pet birds: 2 Umbrella Cockatoos, 2 Lovebirds, 4 Cockatiels, 1 Yellow-sided Green Cheek Conure, 1 Sun Conure, 2 Golden Conures, 2 Caiques, and 2 Red Bellied Parrots. They are my 'feathered children', and I share them with the general public through my church, local schools, and community events for the purpose of educating people about 'living with parrots'. Please visit the 'Family Photos' section of this web site to meet them.