It's September and some of our bird-keepers are returning to the school books. One such employee recently dropped in to say "bye for now" to her feathered friends.

Carley saying 'see ya later' to her new friends.

If you'd like to work for the World Parrot Refuge, please check out the job information on this website. We need energetic, reliable, hard-working people who would enjoy this unique job experience.

Nikki is a precious Moluccan Cockatoo who came to live at the Refuge as a result of a seemingly innocent environmental change at her former home. Nikki had been comfortably settled in her home for ten years, until one day her human owner installed a new linoleum floor. Many people are unaware that parrots are particularly sensitive to environmental changes. When parrots are in the vicinity of many synthetic substances, e.g. teflon pans used in cooking, and in Nikki's case, the toxins given off by new linoleum, they can become very ill and in some cases, die.

Nikki didn't know how to explain the toxic overload on her system to her human owner and began to self-mutilate. She over-preened herself in her distress, plucking out her feathers and tearing at her sensitive flesh. Her owner turned to the Refuge for help. Nikki now has a new home and is beginning to heal. With time, we hope she will learn that she is now in a parrot-safe environment, and no longer needs to pluck.

If you want to Virtually Adopt Nikki and contribute to her care, you may do so in a few ways:

• Click on the "Donate Now" button below to make a secure one-time, annual or monthly credit card payment with CanadaHelps.org, the national non-profit organization that collects charitable donations on behalf of Canada's registered charities. This very safe method is our preferred choice as it reduces overheads and helps us focus our efforts on caring for the parrots.

  
• OR Visit our donations page to learn about other payment options for contributing to virtual adoption.
• OR Click on the button below to fill out a simple virtual adoption form. We will contact you as soon as possible by means of the contact e-mail you provide, if you have further questions.

PD has been fully sponsored by the wonderful people at Family Games Inc. Thank you so much - it's great to know that there are so many people who care!

PD is a beautiful Green-Winged Macaw who has just arrived at the refuge. PD's great tragedy is that while he was cared for by his human family, the family were afraid of such a large parrot and his enormous beak. So for ten years he sat in his big cage, alone and completely untouched. Can you imagine how isolated he felt - without sun, touch, or companionship? Wendy, our founder, has already won his trust and is able to scratch his head. Birds can't preen this part of their own body, so their new feathers - the pin feathers - can remain bound and itchy. Wendy has been able to preen most of the feathers on his head, and you can see in his picture how handsome he looks now!

He is surrounded by lots of activity in the Incoming Section and is starting to climb around and explore his environment. I'm sure it won't be long before he has made lots of wonderful friends for life!

We've been so fortunate to have the Refuge featured prominently in the media recently. Our founder, Wendy Huntbatch, appeared on television on CTV Canada AM this morning to discuss the problems associated with keeping intelligent, long-lived parrots as pets, and the work we do at the Refuge to care for these birds who, through no fault of their own, can no longer live with their human flock and have nowhere else to go. The CTV Canada AM feature, with a link to a video of the interview, may be found here.

Last week, the Refuge also featured in a wonderful article in the Life section of the Globe and Mail newspaper. You may read Cinda Chavich's article online here.

These features have been terrific for raising the profile of the plight of our parrots, but there is still so much to be done to secure the future. Please visit the help us page to see if there's anything you can do to help the beautiful birds of the World Parrot Refuge. Together, we are making a difference.

Daisy is now fully sponsored, thanks to the generosity of Elizabeth McIntosh. Thank you!

Hello to you all! My name is Miss Daisy, but please call me Daisy.

I can't tell you how happy I am to be at the refuge. Before I got here I was so lonely. My human flock was out all day and I had no-one to talk to or return my calls for company. When they got home in the evening, my human flock was tired and weren't interested in talking to me. I thought it was better to be quiet, so I just sat in my cage and began chewing on my feathers. It gave me something to do and kept me busy. After a while, I didn't even notice I was doing it. When I got to the Refuge and saw many other birds with chewed feathers, I was surprised, and I was even more shocked to realize that my once lovely plumage was almost chewed away.

Here at the Refuge, I learned that it was not my fault. We aren't meant to be alone all the time. Well, that's not a problem anymore. In my new home in the Special Needs Unit, I'm never alone. I always have someone new to talk to, and people are always visiting and telling me how beautiful I'm looking. I've forgotten about chewing my feathers so much because I have so any other things to do, and birds and people to see and visit. I've even invented a bit of a dance to show off how my new feathers are growing back in. If you haven't seen Grant's video, have a look now!

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!

Birds who are now partly sponsored, thank you!

Birds who are now fully sponsored, thank you!

"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)

"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.