Abstract
The perfect location for an aviary
would be as far away as possible from
your neighbors, maybe three quarters
of a mile away. Surround yourself
with 3,500 acres of abandoned
phosphate mines, 1,600 acres of
county parkland and you can do
what you want. Such are the surroundings
of Cindy and Mac Sharpe,
whose 40 acre citrus grove with
home and aviaries 20 miles east of
Tampa, provide them with all anyone
could ask for. Just think! Your job,
your hobbies, and your getaway all
without any commute whatsoever!
In 1958 at the age of five, Mac
encountered his first bird, a Bantam
chicken. It wasn't long before he
knew he wanted to be a farmer, and
was soon an active member of 4-H
and Future Farmers of America (FFA).
By the age of nine, Mac was working
for the J .C. Smith Gamebird Farm.
There, Mac learned how to manage
ornamental pheasants and began to
acquire his own. He also became
interested in the strange family of
Megapodes, whose eggs are incubated
in a mound of decaying vegetable
matter, attended by the male bird,
who tests the mound temperature at
regular intervals, adding or removing
material to maintain proper temperature.
Mac's collection grew until he
went off to the University of Florida,
where other interests got in the way.
The collection was dispersed and he
was out of birds until his senior year,
when he obtained a pet Screech Owl.
After graduation in 1977, he moved
to Brandon, Florida, where he began
raising ornamental chickens . By
1981, he was raising ornamental
pheasants, Java Green Peafowl and
Jungle Fowl. That same year he met
Lyn Ash, the artist at Busch Gardens,
and Rodney Michael, a Java Green
Peafowl breeder, both of whom
inspired him to become more involved
in bird breeding. By the mid-
1980s, he was also working with
cranes.
In 1987, while visiting Busch Gardens
to trade some pheasants, he
noticed the beautiful variety of toura
cos, and was moved to acquire
some, and thus began his love affair
with softbills. His first touracos were
purchased from Joe Longo, who had
one of the best collections of touracos
in the U.S., and who had developed
very successful techniques for
their captive breeding. Shortly thereafter,
Mac met Richard Schmidt, who
also lives near Tampa, and they
fueled each other's interest into an
addiction.
Mac's first aviaries were a couple of
chainlink pens 8' x 12' with attached
prefab sheds of wood 10' x 16' for
shelters. He kept his pheasants and
peafowl in these. As time went on,
he built more and more pens, until
he now has over an acre completely
under wire.
One of the more curious pens is an
enclosed swimming pool. It seems
that Mac's first wife, whom he
divorced in 1983, liked to swim.
Against his better judgement, he borrowed
the money to build a pool he
didn't really want. When she left, he
was faced with a useless reminder of
her that he had to continually make
payments on. So, he converted it into
an aviary by constructing a Quonset
hut-shaped framework above it and
over which he stretched wire. The
pool itself was filled halfway up with
soil and planted. It contains a number
of softbill species including Grey
Wing Trumpeters, Coletta Mynahs,
Indian Rollers, Abdim Storks, Fairy
Bluebirds, and White Breasted Waterhens.
It is the only aviary known in
the U.S. to have its own custom, one
meter diving board.