WEIMAR - Al Camilleri turned a talent for woodworking into cash to fuel his golf habit.

The 69-year-old retired salesman transforms branches from wild manzanita into perches for parrots.

"I wanted to make an extra $100 a month," Camilleri said. "Joyce (his wife) said she could use another $300. If I sell two to three a month, I'm happy, she's happy."

He has a plentiful supply of manzanita on his own two-plus acres in Weimar, but has also taken to helping neighbors clear their property of the evergreen shrubbery.

"Some of my neighbors have helped out (with supply)," he said.

The hand-made perches, which range in height, most hover around five feet, can take up to seven or eight hours to make from start to finish.

First Camilleri must harvest the branches and use a power washer to remove the natural red bark or skin.

"In May or so the skin will come off like a banana, now it's more like a coconut," Camilleri said.

The long-time woodworker secures the branches that will become a perch, to a handmade rolling stand, which allows him to maneuver the heavy wood as he works.

"I build them on rolling bases because they are very heavy," Camilleri said. "If you had to move it by hand you'd give yourself a hernia."

Manzanita wood is the sixth hardest in the world, he said. It can be shipped nationwide and because of the solid wood, it's impenetrable to bugs.

He makes sure his creations fit into an 18-inch by five- or six-foot box to keep shipping costs to a minimum. Even so, shipping can run $60 to $100, depending on the location.

Camilleri charges from $150 to $200 for the perches on e-Bay.

Once the perches are complete, Joyce Camilleri takes over.

"It's her job to do all the e-Bay stuff," he said.

A lifetime builder, he's built and hand-painted birdhouses and crafted furniture, some of which decorated the hillside home he also designed and built.

"He's an artistic person. He's always doing things with his hands," Joyce Camilleri said of her husband. "I look at the manzanita and see tree limbs - he sees something else."

Since May 2006, Camilleri estimates that he's sold about 30 perches. One sits at Pet Xing in Auburn.

"We just sold it," said Suzy Logan of Pet Xing. "It was the last one we had."

She said the perches are the perfect size and strength for birds such as parrots.

"It's the perfect size for a red belly parrots," she said "But birds like a Macaw are extremely destructive and would tear it up in seconds."

http://www.auburnjournal.com/article.../01perch21.txt

I don't know if this is the guy that made Buster's stand but man, is that thing great! It fits the description of the way these are made and it is on casters so it is easy to roll around to clean. Buster's manzanita house is 2 feet wide, four and a half feet long and five feet high. Quite a house for one little cockatiel, but she's worth it! I bought mine through my local bird store but the owner wouldn't give me the name of the guy who made it. Afraid I would go direct next time, I guess! And of course, she's right!

I had the same problem with a local pet store her. The owner wouldn't tell me who made the manzanita perches she was selling either. I didn't want to buy one from him, I wanted to find out how he made them. hehehe so I could make my own!!!

Next time we go visit my in-laws I am going to bring home more manzanita only this time I will get smaller pieces. I have no idea what I was thinking last year when I brought home these logs I got!! hmmmmm, I bet they would give even a Macaw a run for their money!!

Yeah, the store where I bought Buster's stand had several large play areas for macaws, amazons and cockatoos. Although they had been in use daily for several years, none were heavily chewed or destroyed. They don't call manzanita "iron wood" for nothin'!

It's illegal to "harvest" here in California, but if you happen to have a "friend" that has some on his property and it was burned ...
I know folks that go out and "collect" the stuff all the time for other purposes of course by the pickup truck load.
Just have to make sure it's not directly from the roadside where they were probably sprayed with ... stuff, but rather a bit further in.
The hard part is finding a place to sandblast them for you if you can't do that yourself of course (which I can't.)
They are very expensive here in the stores but fairly affordable at the markets/mart/meetings when they have them.
And they last for flipping ever. All mine have their playgrounds made out of the stuff and even Cleo our Sennie likes to chomp on it, but at the rate that she goes at it, it'll be her great grandchicks that finish it off, lol.

They are doing construction at the in-laws and clearing it all away......... or other wise I gotta break out that old black cat suit..........