Between 200 and 300 people walked by their house this summer and lingered long enough to look inside the windows.

Some people would pull their blinds. But not Brad and Tammy Goble. When you turn a game room into an aviary with nine exotic birds flying around, you're bound to attract a little attention.

"Hello," said Larry Bird, a sociable greenwing macaw who kept repeating himself from his perch, a tree limb wedged between two walls.

Two years ago, after a house fire, the couple decided it was time to find new homes for their 35 iguanas. The largest one, a 5-foot lizard, had already escaped, clawing its way through a screen door. It was never found.

The friend who sold them the iguanas had a parrot and that got Brad thinking.

After dropping $900 on Lucky, a mini macaw, he found an opera-singing Amazon named Elton and then Freddy, who turned out to be a bullying cockatoo who picked his lock and gnawed a four-inch hole in the wall.

But it was Lucky who made the greatest escape. While Brad was distracted by a visitor, he flew out the front door. With Lucky's cage in one hand, Brad climbed onto the roof of his one-car garage, stood on his tip-toes and started ringing a bell.

"The neighbors probably thought I was crazy," he said, but he spotted the bird 200 feet in the air, flying from limb to limb. "It was crazy unsafe, but with $900 in the air, I wanted to get him back."

It didn't work. The next morning, he was back at it, whistling and waving a net. The hungry bird finally flew close enough he could cup his hands around him.

Although Brad allows the birds to fly freely every day, they're now limited to the high-ceilinged bird room, closed off by pocket doors. The room used to house a bar, Jacuzzi and pool table but has been turned into a fuchsia-walled rainforest with a stucco tree, rocked walls and emerging waterfall.

The self-employed carpenter plans to replace the wall separating the bird room from the family room with glass so he can watch the activity from the sofa. Already, he's invested between $8,000 and $10,000 in the birds.

As they perch overhead, screeching and squawking, droppings plop to the wood floor, which is nearly covered in green and white splotches. Twice a day, it's scrubbed.

"You have to watch your step," Tammy said.

A pile of folded blankets sits in one corner. At night, the cages are covered so the chirps and chattering stop. But the birds don't go quietly.

"We'll hear, 'No,' or 'Ow,' when we cover them up," Tammy said.

Occasionally, the curved beaks that crush seeds and nuts catch a slice of human flesh. Brad turned to show a fading head wound. The macaws, the largest parrots, are the most dangerous.

"If one of these big ones gets your finger, you're going to have to get it sewn back on," he said.

Once a month, he trims their nails and every couple of weeks, the shower-loving parrots are carried on a dowel rod into the family's bathroom. That's where Elton sings.

Because they're social creatures, they need intellectual stimulation. Brad leaves the TV or radio on during the day. Their favorites? Dora, Animal Planet and the Home Shopping Network.

If they worked at it, they could mimic what they hear, he said.

"Whatever," Elton cracked.

The birds pick through seeds and nuts but also nibble on the family's leftovers, especially marshmallow-laced sweet potatoes. And they love ice cream. Just like the bird watchers who look in the windows of their Bloomington home. The Gobles live right across the street from Carl's Ice Cream Factory.

A homeless man walked by nearly every summer night to tell the birds goodnight, Tammy said. He finally knocked on the door one night, asking if he could come in and take a closer look. The couple invited him in.

The bird house is for everyone, Brad said, but mostly, it's for the birds.

"I want them to have someplace to live in Central Illinois that's as natural as it can be."

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Local veterinarian: Exotic animals don't make the best pets

By Kate Arthur | karthur@pantagraph.com

Before you think about getting an exotic pet, veterinarian Matt Fraker suggests you sleep on it.

Birds are intelligent, curious creatures that need to be kept busy. Socially complex, they may develop frustrating behavior problems, have difficulty bonding and can be picky eaters.

"It's like inviting a bunch of behaviorally challenged 3-year-old's into your house," he said.

Do your research. An African grey parrot, known for mimicking the human voice, may be a better fit than an Amazon, which, in his experience, are the most difficult.

Take a close look at lifespans, which may be as long as 10 to 15 years for a parakeet, 15 to 25 years for a cockatiel and 50 or more for a macaw, the largest bird in the parrot family.

"You have a really good chance of some of these pets outliving you," he said. "Dogs and cats allow us a lot more room to make a mistake."

The majority of the problems he sees in his practice at Prairie Oak Veterinary Center are behavioral and he has to play bird psychologist to figure out what's causing it.

If a bird has plucked out most of its feathers, it may be an emotional problem; the bird may be having trouble bonding with its owner. Or the distress could be caused by any of a dozen other things in the household.

Rather than allowing birds to fly freely, Dr. Fraker recommends clipping their wings, which makes it impossible for them to fly but also may lessen their urge to dominate and make them easier to train and handle.

A proper diet is just as important as socialization, he added. And it's not as simple as opening a 25-pound bag of bird seed. Avoid seed-only diets. Birds need fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, even pasta for larger birds. Like kids, they may pick out what they like and leave the rest but their health depends on proper nutrition.

Only buy a bird from a knowledgeable, quality breeder who shows more interest in placing the bird in a good home than the money, Dr. Fraker said.

And if you're looking for a quiet pet, run, don't walk away from the bird cages. Occasionally, he boards birds and it unnerves the other boarders, and staff, when a macaw lets out a rainforest screech.

"If they want attention, they start screaming and owners tend to respond to that," Fraker said. "It's another behavior problem."

It's not that he's against birds as pets, he just wants owners to understand the commitment.

"The people who get to the plate knowing what they're in for, it's great, they love these guys and they would never ever think of getting anything else. But if you're just thinking it'd be good to have a blue and gold macaw sitting on your shoulder, don't get involved."

The birds have powerful beaks that can cause serious harm.

"They can be flat out dangerous. We've had our close calls with the big parrot beaks and it's not fun."