I just finished noshing on some overdone, over-breaded chicken tenders and greasy french fries which my body will punish me for later when I’m 38,000 feet in the air. But the fries were sprinkled with sea salt so I think some part of that lunch may have been good for me.

I got to thinking about chickens as I dunked the tender into a ramekin of wing sauce. They’re a very versatile bird which us humans have managed to exploit completely. We use their eggs in cholesterol raising breakfast delicacies, enjoy their breasts, legs and thighs “original” or “extra crispy,” slather their wings in 20 different sauces and put our heads down at night on pillows filled with what used to keep them warm.

But what about the turkey?

This bird tends to only satisfy our craving for meat on Thanksgiving or if you happen to be at Disney World and have an intense desire to chew on a turkey leg. You can’t go to the golden arches and order Turkey McNuggets. Burger King has yet to introduce a Turkey Whopper. And I don’t see the Asian Turkey Salad on Wendy’s menu. Almost every good Asian-inspired restaurant has bird on the menu – duck and chicken – but no turkey.

Bad news for the chicken.

As we consume more and more chicken, the demand goes up. Someone said to me yesterday, “did you see the size of the breasts at KFC lately?” Not knowing whether I was stepping into a trap or not, I proceeded with caution. Unfortunately as the demand for chicken goes up, the chicken farmers need to rely on artificial means to get the birds to optimum size quickly and that may result in some chickens who are less bosomy than others.

I for one, enjoy turkey and look forward to the once a year treat complete with plenty of gravy, stuffing and instant mashed potatoes (as they taste much better than the peel-and-mash-by-hand type). Maybe it’s best we keep eating chicken and save the bigger bird for those special occasions.

After all, pumpkin pie just doesn’t taste as good with chicken as it does with turkey.

While shutterbugs in south Florida trying to snap photos of visiting celebs on Super Bowl Sunday, a large pellican enjoyed a few minutes of stardom as he made a unexpected appearance on the pool deck at the Boca Raton Resort & Club‘s beach club. After spending a minute in the pool, the large bird paused for photos as the paparazzi snapped away commenting on his unkempt quoiff of hair and noticibly worn coat of feathers.

Not wanting to be upstaged by any of the activity just down the road in Fort Lauderdale and South Beach, the big bird delighted those who were watching him strut around, obviously proud of illuding security and sneaking in through the front gate. Some spectators commented that he sneaked in almost as casually as Tareq and Michaele Salahi at a White House dinner.

After a few minutes of working the crowd, our feathered friend walked out of the beach and in a matter of seconds, flew due south. No word on whether or not he will play interference during tonight’s big game.

If you have an interest in wild birds, or just want to keep your feathered friends happy, visit my wild bird store! Come on, do it!

I grabbed my trusty Canon PowerShot and headed over and started snapping away. What I captured was several green parrots. You might be wondering, “are parrots native to Florida?” Well, the answer is “no.” According to one report:

In the 1960′s pet parrots became quite popular and there was a huge business importing parrots that were caught in the wild elsewhere. It is thought that the wild parakeets in Florida originated from these birds that somehow got loose before being sold off. Since these birds were not domesticated and already had to fend for themselves in the wild, it was easy for them to adapt to life in Florida and multiply to the flocks present today. (http://www.epet-center.com/wildparakeetsinflorida.html)

Up the road in Palm Beach, parrots have been on the island since the 1940′s when they were imported. The famous Breakers Palm Beach hotel is home to several endangered wild green-cheeked Amazon parrots. Occasionally, some scally-wags will attempt to steal the parrots and sell them at a pet store, but as this article from The Palm Beach Post says, parrot theives face a stiff fine if caught:

Trapping birds on the island can result in a $250 fine for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses. Whoever trapped the birds could also face arrest on trespassing charges for going onto Breakers property without permission.

While I enjoyed the beauty of these afternoon visitors, I hope you do as well in the photos that I’m sharing with you below.