Abstract
A visit to Lee and Roland's is a step into a tropical garden, the likes of which I have never visited except at the more remarkable of public botanical gardens. One comes to see the birds and, as interesting as they are, one leaves marveling at the rare palms, bamboos, aloes, and other exotic flowers and shrubs. The combined effect is the sense one is in a forest far away. Just around the bend in the trail appears a Slender-billed Cockatoo peering at the intruder from behind a palm. There on the hill is a Greater Vasa Parrot in a tree aloe, shy but curious. This is truly what bird keeping should be all about - the pursuit of beauty for its own sake. This garen soothes the frenzied soul and washes away the grit of modem civilization.
Lee began his interest in birds back in 1949 during high school and, by graduation time, maintained approximately five hundred lovebirds and show budgies - all on a typical city lot in Westchester, California, 60 by 100 feet. We don't know exactly what the neighbors thought, but Lee was engrossed in the genetics of the budgies and at the opportune time when many new mutations were rapidly appearing. In 1952, he joined the A vicultural Society of America, where he was quickly introduced to some of the great names of twentieth century American aviculture, including Mrs. Gilbert Lee, Jerome Buteyn, Dave West, the Rudkins, and Mrs. T. M. Towne, who signed him up as a member.
In the mid-sixties Lee moved to Rolling Hills, California in an effort to expand his hobby. While there, he acquired the first of the Blue Peachface Lovebird mutation from Bob Berry. He soon was working with all the new lovebird mutations, applying his experience with Budgie genetics.
In 1970, Roland joined with Lee in a partnership that has seen the bird collection grow dramatically. In fact, a new move to even larger facilities was ordained, which led them to their current location in Vista, on three-plus acres they call Agapornis Acres, after the generic name for lovebirds for which they are best known. The move was completed in 1972 after Lee sold his businesses in Manhattan Beach, California. The new property also gave them the opportunity to enlarge their significant plant collection of rare palms and aloes.
During this period, Lee and Roland entered into partnership with a third party to manage and maintain their growing collection of large psittacines, many of which are kept off premises to this day. That is not to say the large parrots are not in abundance at Agapornis Acres. Rather, they are kept in a manner that compliments the garden instead of intruding upon it. The cockatoo collection includes: Goffin's, Bare Eyes, Galerita Galeritas, Galerita Trttons, Umbrellas, Moluccans, Slender Bills, Rose Breasted, Red Vented, Mediums, and Eleonoras. The macaws include: Hyacinth, Blue and Gold, Scarlet, Green Wing, Military, Yellow Collared, Severe, Red Bellied, and Hahn's. They also maintain Red Sided, Vosmaeri, and Grand Eclectus, African Greys, and Greater Vasa Parrots.
The lovebirds have not been neglected in the wake of large parrot breeding. On the contrary, they have expanded in scope and many new mutations have been pursued. They bred the first lutino, albino, and blue cinnamon peachface from specimens obtained outside the collection and established these strains.
In 1972, they imported Nyasas, Black Cheeks, and Red Face lovebirds direct from Africa and, in 1974, acquired Abbysinians from a U.S. importer. Most of these birds didn't do as well as expected. The Black Cheeks dwindled down to three birds before they cracked the nut. Now they have 28 pairs of Black Cheeks in their collection.
They are presently working on "eye-ring" mutations and have established a separate strain of pure lutino Fischer's Lovebird. The emphasis is on pure. They also are working on Masked mutations including lutinos, albinos, blues, whites and fallows.
All of the birds are well-cared for, as is obvious by their great condition and the immaculate flights in which they are housed. They are fed a basic seed mixture, one specifically designed for lovebirds, and the other for the large parrots. These mixtures are supplemented with apple, orange, and corn on the cob. The Electus, however, are on a diet consisting of 80 percent fruit and vegetables. And, the lovebirds receive grated carrot, dusted with Super Preen, whenever they have babies. None of the birds receive grit, but are provided with oyster shell and cuttlebone. They all receive fresh water daily and the big birds are given 10 cc Nolvasan disinfectant solution per gallon of drinking water as a preventative measure.