Dirk Jan Leeninga has been offered help from various corners of the bird world. Earlier this week, he found his tropical bird aviary virtually empty when it was – probably – deliberately opened. The help moves the Enkhuizer. “That is beautiful.”
A few days later, but he still can’t reach it. His collection of tropical birds, largely gone. Only a few birds are still flying around in the loft that had just been rebuilt. Including a male variant of a Japanese nightingale, which is missing its female. “Probably she’s around here somewhere, but try and find her. And then catch it. The male most likely hears her and then starts singing out loud. That’s heartbreaking.”
Dirk Jan is a bird breeder. Emphasis on grower. “There is indeed a difference between a breeder and a breeder. A breeder is looking for certain color mutations, pure hobby. Breeding is done for the masses.”
happy chirping
It is rarely quiet in his garden. A cheerful chirping greets you the moment you pass through the gate. Because in addition to the loft of the escaped tropical birds, he keeps the more common species – such as canaries.
He practices his hobby fanatically. He spent a lot of time especially in his tropical department. “You spend years breeding a certain color variety and mutation. With one type of bird I was very close. Now I can start again, that really hurts.”
borrow birds
Dirk Jan recently underwent back surgery and had just completely renovated his bird cages. The bird world sympathizes with Dirk Jan Leeninga. He has already received several offers from colleagues to borrow birds to breed again. “Those are birds with different colors, but that is so beautiful”, it sounds emotional. Typical of the bird world, he knows. “If you have something beautiful, you also want to share it with someone else. And that it can also go further.”
Leeninga still has hope that some of his tropical birds will find their way home. “Those who have done this don’t know what they’re doing to the birds. They can fly, but these tropical birds certainly don’t last long.”