THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408250200
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUXTON LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
BORED WITH sunbathing or shopping? Worried about what to do when it rains? Hang with Fern, Blue and Joshua for awhile and you'll be sure to chirp up.
The threesome are part of a household of colorful creatures waiting to entertain you at the Double L Bird Ranch on Back Road Buxton, just off N.C. 12.
``We started out with one pair of birds in our house. Now we have one pair of humans in our house,'' said Lee Carangi, who runs the business with his wife, Linda, out of their brick ranch home.
For $1 or $2, depending on your age, you get to visit the Carangi home and about 200 of its noisy - and sometimes nosey - residents.
First stop is the petting zoo located, like the rest of birdland, inside an enclosed wooden porch added to the housefront.
Pick a spot inside the 12-by-12-foot room, stand still and within no time a lightweight finch, budgie, rosella or cockatiel will come over to say hello, usually right in your ear.
Some really want to meet you; some just want to walk all over you. One couple of parakeets used a little girl's head as a dance platform. A few view an extended arm or finger as a landing pad in between flights across the room.
And then there are those who will ``yuck yuck'' on your shoulder if you aren't careful. Just remember that sort of thing is supposed to be good luck.
Think this exchange is a bit nerve-wracking? Think again.
``There's no need to be in fear in here,'' the trim and tanned Carangi said, giving a peck to a favorite rosella.
A Vietnam veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder was sent here for successful therapy. A 9-year-old boy with a bird phobia was holding a huge macaw by the end of his fourth visit.
``I had one woman come in and tell me, `This bird's given me more thrills than the last date I had,' '' Carangi said.
The Double L is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. every day except Sundays and Tuesdays, when it's closed.
Beginning Sept. 7, afternoon hours will change to 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and be closed Sundays and Mondays. Saturdays will remain 10 to 1 with no evening session.
The birds take a siesta during afternoon closings, while the Carangis run errands or rest on the beach.
The Richmond couple moved to the Outer Banks in 1982, where Carangi works as an off-season house painter when he isn't selling or showcasing his birds.
``This was not a planned business. This was just a hobby,'' he'll tell you at the opening of his 30-minute bird show at the other end of the porch.
A friend suggested they mate a pair of birds and agreed to pay for any offspring.
``He bought the first seven. Then he bought the next nine,'' Carangi said. ``But then he didn't want to buy the next 30.''
So the Hatteras Island couple gave up their living room and started selling their own. Prospective buyers would sit in a 5-by-8-foot room and wait to see which bird wanted to be friendly. That's the one they'd bring home.
``I guess we did a lot of praying and money opened up, and we were able to build this addition,'' he said. Soon as a new house is completed out back, the birds will really have the run of the place.
For now, though, they entertain on the porch, which creates, as you can imagine, a very informal and relaxing atmosphere for their daily presentations.
Fern, a fickled parakeet, likes to suck her thumb, play dead and hang from her beak. Her tendency to trim human nails has earned her the title ``Hatteras Island's expert manicurist.''
Sweetie is a red masked conure who befriended Carangi ``after six bites and one broken pencil.'' Fourteen months of nightly training later, the two are best friends.
Another conure named Andy likes to pray and do headstands in guests' hands. And the very affectionate Blue, a beautiful macaw, is actually potty-trained. Well, almost.
The Carangis may own the business, but the birds run the show.
Suspense comes not from spectacular stunts or charming tricks, but from waiting to see if the stars will perform on cue.
Praise and affection are the birds' only reward, and for a group that doesn't get a cracker or special seed, they do a very good job.
Should you decide to take a bird home, the Double L has plenty of food and goodies you can purchase to make your own bird paradise.
And when you leave, you feel not like you've seen another tourist attraction, but more like you've visited an islander's home.
Three little girls were leaving about the time we entered the zoo. It was their third trip to visit their feathered friends.
``Our record is five times in one week,'' Carangi said, coddling tiny Choker, an incredibly docile zebra finch. ``They tell me this is the kind of place you can't visit just once.'' MEMO: DOUBLE L BIRD RANCH
Where: Back Road Buxton, just off N.C. 12 in Buxton's village
When: Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Closed
Sundays and Tuesdays. Beginning Sept. 7, hours change to 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Saturday hours will be 10
to 1; closed Sundays and Mondays.
Features: The bird ranch includes a petting and feeding zoo,
30-minute bird show and birds, seed, toys, supplies and cages for sale.
Admission: $2 for adults; $1 for children 12 and under.
Parking: There's only room for about five mid-sized cars in front of
the zoo, and no road shoulder for additional parking. But there is
another lot across the street if space is tight.
Restrictions: No eating or smoking inside the zoo areas. The place
accommodates up to 12 people, and admission is given on a first come,
first served basis.
For more information: Call 995-5494 during petting zoo hours. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Lee Carangi, who runs the Double L Bird Ranch with his wife, Linda,
out of their brick ranch home plays with some of their birds.
by CNB