Larry is another one of our volunteer group. Lately he's been assembling the frames for the new Macaw flight cages:

Getting there...

Here's a video of the ongoing construction in the Macaw House. During the filming, I was helped by two very able assistants: a talkative Amazon named Lou, and everyone's buddy, Esther. Enjoy - Grant

What an eventful and wonderful week it has been! We have many thanks to give to some wonderful people who are helping to make a real difference by providing a home for life for our psittacine friends.

The very generous benefactors who donated the money for the new Macaw House visited us again and made another incredible donation! These dedicated bird lovers, who wish to remain anonymous, have changed the lives of so many birds. We are so grateful and indebted to them for their kindness.

Al and Ria - two of our special volunteers who come in five nights a week from 5.30 pm to 9 pm to hand feed more than 100 incoming and special needs birds, and then take those who cannot fly out for a walk in the evening sunshine - made another huge commitment. They donated $2000 to pay for Chi Chi Macaw's surgery. They are now her virtual adoption sponsors. Thank you so much, Al and Ria.

We also received a further $584 from the great people at Postal Depot 4, Langford, and Postal Depot 1, Victoria. These funds are the proceeds from the goodie stores that these special folk operate on behalf of Ben, Maggie, and Andy Macaw. Well done and thank you, everyone!

The owners of the Century 21 Real Estate office in Slave Lake, Alberta, came to visit the four birds that they have rescued over the years and brought to the sanctuary to live in a flock lifestyle. They were thrilled to see how well the birds are doing. They also donated $500 for each bird for their annual virtual adoption support. Thank you - you are fantastic!

In more wonderful news, Teko, the Citron Crested cockatoo, has a new virtual family. Heather Clarkson - the full virtual adoptive mom of Moses the Greater Sulfur Crested cockatoo - is now paying a further $20 a month towards Teko's support, and supplying all the peas he can eat! Huge hugs and thanks to Heather.

Christa Kangas has taken on the incredible responsibility of assisting with the cost of supporting Joey, the Congo African Grey. Thank you, Christa! You'll be thrilled to know that he has beautiful red tail feathers now. We'll post a new picture soon. Joey is so happy about it that he wants to show them off to you all!

Jane and Carmen, our volunteer webmasters, are now full virtual adoption sponsors who are helping to support our huge flight of beautiful lovebirds, including the fourteen new lovebird arrivals. This monthly pledge goes a long way towards all the food and cleaning care they need.

The staff, volunteers, and the parrots of the World Parrot Refuge send a huge thank you to everyone, and hope to see you at the Refuge soon!

Two very generous donors have contributed the funds required to make the permanent flights of the Macaw House a reality. This video shows the early stages of work on the Macaw House, and is hosted by Esther and Frodo.

Many thanks to Grant Corriveau for creating the video for our enjoyment. Grant, a dedicated volunteer at the World Parrot Refuge, makes a cameo appearance as personal assistant to Esther and Frodo.

2 January 2007

As always, at this time of year we reflect upon the 12 months we have left behind. Naturally there are some days that I would rather not have endured. The day that Revenue Canada seized the bank accounts of the Refuge and the Gift Shoppe was, I think, the most emotionally disastrous day of my life. Although Horst and I had personally donated thousands of dollars to pay for food and heat for the birds as well as five months' wages for our valuable employees, we just did not have any money left to pay Revenue Canada.

Read more »

Recently the refuge was subjected to another beating: this time from the weather. In the recent storms that flooded parts of the west coast of Canada, coming at the end of a day without power, a storm tore out of the darkness on November 15 and ripped a huge section from the roof of the Macaw House.

In the virtual twilight of the buildings, the sound of the roof being torn away piece by piece sounded like thunder, scaring many of our residents. Pieces of steel roof were twisted and thrown everywhere. Sheets of tar paper followed, like ribbons dancing on the wind. One of the sliding doors was smashed by a panel of flying steel. Moreover, torrential rain destroyed the insulation in the Macaw House before we could get tarps in place over the gaping hole. Miraculously, the storm hit the part of the refuge that was empty and undergoing restoration. No birds were injured, although they had been chilled by the lack of heating and light throughout the day.

Whilst waiting for the damages to be assessed, the refuge is left to carry the costs of replacing the steel panels, tar paper and insulation. If you can help contribute to the repairs, please click on the "Donate Now" button below to proceed to the CanadaHelps.org website to make a secure online donation via credit card, or visit the Donations page for other options.

Every donation helps, no matter how small. Thank you.

Please click on the thumbnails below to learn how you can help some special birds have a home for life through our "Virtual Adoption" program! More stories coming soon!

Birds who are now partly sponsored, thank you!

Birds who are now fully sponsored, thank you!

"This is, in a word, a great place and these miraculous creatures deserve no less, but few places can deliver it this well. It is, indeed, 'world class'."

– Stewart Metz (author and Director of the Indonesian Parrot Project), after his visit at the Grand Opening of the Refuge on August 13, 2005.

"The World Parrot Refuge is a true sanctuary where parrots live out their lives in a loving, spacious and happy environment under the guidance of extraordinarily caring people. The many visitors destined to pass through the refuge will come to understand that parrots are not toys or trophies, but beings with needs and emotions as real as our own."

– Rosemary Low (author of more than 30 books on parrots)