Colleen Zenk On The Cover of Bird Talk Magazine

Now this is a cover I can endorse. For those who don't know, I am a bird lover with two parrots -- Nimbus, an African Grey who says "I love you" and kisses while I'm watching the soaps, and Logan, an Eclectus who squawks like it is pure torture. Anyway, one of those few magazines mentioned earlier that I am a subscriber for is Bird Talk. They have very interesting articles on a variety of subjects including how to train your birds. Their methods, unfortunately, are lost on my "kids".

What a pleasant surprise to see longtime As the World Turns actress Colleen Zenk (Barbara) sharing the cover this month with a couple of conures. I had no idea she had or liked birds. I've been a 30 year fan and now I like her even more!

Along with Shetland sheepdogs, a Somali cat, an African pygmy hedgehog, Zenk has a large aviary with Lady Gouldian finches, orange cheeks, cordon blues, owl finches, shaft tails and diamond doves. She also has Sydney, a rose-breasted cockatoo.

Zenk credits her birds with helping her get through the trying times in her battle with oral cancer.

Her aviary started with Leonardo Da Vinci, a red-factor canary that needed a friend. She thought, "This might be really fun; having different finches living all together."

She got a large aviary flight cage and introduced more finches and canaries pair by pair. "My kids were ready to kill me," Zenk said, when she described how her family reacted toward her newfound love of birds. "They used to say 'Mom, you can't even play with them!'"

It's easy to tell why birds hold such a special place in Zenk's heart. "The day after my initial surgery [for my cancer], three little chicks were born," Zenk shared. "The birds helped me up every morning to cook their food. They gave me purpose."

When she is busy with ATWT, her husband and kids help out. "The birds are my job. But when I am at work, my husband chips in to help."

Zenk's ATWT character, the one and only Barbara Ryan, is no stranger to animals as well. Former cast members include a puppy, a goat and a rabbit. There was also that bull ring scene in the early 80s and her run in with a black bear on the 50th anniversary show.