Thanks to the hard work of a few enterprising volunteers, our cockatoos are able to spend the last days of summer enjoying the sun in their very own outdoor flight! Not only did Larry and Anne Neil; and Doug, Val, and Erin Jones; raise the money for the flight by holding their own garage sale at Doug and Val's home (with the support of Quality Foods), but Larry and Doug worked many long days to construct the outdoor flight. Many thanks to these incredible people who love the birds so dearly, and to all the people who helped them to make this first flight a reality.

Doug and Peaches add the finishing touches

Larry and Rusty hard at work under the blazing sun!

Dale lends a hand with the outdoor flight

Perches in outdoor flight under construction

Sasha gives an interview as feathered supporters look on

Wendy helps shy birds take their first outdoor venture

Evo has the first taste of freedom

Happy to be in the sun!

Pictures from the successful garage sale!

Val and Doug, whose generosity made the garage sale possible

Larry helps set up goods for sale

Erin and Barney work the tent at the garage sale

Garage sale

We would like to thank Robin Horemans for sharing his experiences, and also the Calgary Parrot Club for permission to reprint this article from their publication, Calgary Psittascene, on our website.

The World Parrot Refuge Visit, April 2008
By Robin Horemans

I was fortunate recently to take a vacation on Vancouver Island. There, I visited the World Parrot Refuge, in Coombs BC. It's about half an hour from Port Alberni. To be honest, I've never really been a fan of 'sanctuaries' or 'forever' aviaries. I've always thought some birds can be rehabbed and live happy and healthy lives with humans. Sure, sanctuaries have their place, but save those places for the birds who really need them.

Make it the Insane Asylum, the Rehab centre. Let the 'normal' birds move to a new, fantastic family. Little did I know what I was about to experience! I have worked with rescues before, so I'm familiar with the trauma, heartbreak, suffering and healing that is involved. I was mentally preparing myself to see 700 birds that have been given up on: who are sad, grieving and torn up inside. I was expecting to see self-mutilators, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, screaming and sad eyes of creatures who have given up hope.

I walked through the aviaries of macaws first, then the amazons. I was amazed at the large spaces the birds were given. The aviaries were the size of a house, filled with trees, perches and every kind of toy. A large set of aviaries just for the cockatoos, filled with many different species of 'too. There was no sad eyes, no grieving, no depression.

Instead what I found was a vibrant community. A thriving flock of souls who had been through the worst the world could offer and were healing together. They preened together. They played. PLAYED like children: throwing and destroying and screaming and flapping for the fun of it.

I saw large flocks of 50 of their own kind, with all the intricacies. There was a sentry, watching. There was a couple, oblivious to the world and cuddling together. There were the Jokers, getting into trouble. I saw squabbles for perches, food, toys, attention. I saw birds, being birds. It was fantastic!

Then, at the end of the aviary was the 'Transition Room'. The newcomers to the rescue were getting used to their new-found freedom. This is where MY education began.

In this room, the birds are caged separately to begin with. They come to the rescue knowing only their cage, and their humans who have given them up. They need to get used to the 'new' way of doing things.

Slowly, the cage door is opened and the birds are left to venture out on their own. A large set of branches and trees intertwine around the room, allowing for clipped birds to experience more freedom. Eventually the wings grow out and they start to fly and become part of the flock.

I started going cage to cage, saying hello and giving head-rubs. I soon found myself with two African greys who had waddled over and were now chewing on my shoes. I reached down and both demanded head-rubs. The overwhelming sense of healing was everywhere. The amazons looked exhausted and slept. The cockatoos demanded petting, or solitude. Everyone screamed. They were all learning how to be birds again.

Then the most moving part of my experience happened. A man came in to surrender his bird.

It was a cockatoo: it was plucked and had a wound on its front from mutilation. But the bird was friendly and sociable, sitting on the man's shoulder and getting attention. The man was crying as he took his bird out of the carrier. He was facing the difficult decision to surrender his bird.

She sat on his shoulder as he walked around the room, tears in his eyes. She had a firm grip on his shoulder. They toured the room, saw the cage she would be living in for the first few days, and a volunteer explained how life would carry on after that. The man nodded. The bird stared.

Being introduced to the 'locals', the bird made a surprising decision. She suddenly jumped off the man's shoulder onto the cage top perches in front of him. Fully alert, crest up, she marched over to a high perch, and right up to another bird of her species. The new friend looked at her, obliged, and started preening her head. She leaned over and closed her eyes.

The man stared at her, tears rolling down his cheeks.

She was home.

She refused his hand for a step-up. She refused a head-rub. She moved away from him to a higher perch. She put up one foot and started preening.

I was crying watching all this go on. I can only imagine how that man must have felt. Sad, deserted, alone, yet happy to provide this creature with what she needed. A flock of her own!

I have sincerely readjusted my view of rescues. I was profoundly moved by not only what I saw at this fantastic facility, but how the birds were happy, healthy and comfortable. I am so proud of what this rescue does for the birds. The life they live is as close to natural as we can provide. I hope they continue with their heaven-on-earth for the birds. I can't imagine a place I'd rather Quentin go.

Joey, the Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo.

Please note, beautiful Joey passed away on May 11, 2007. She was loved by all and shall be missed.

When she was caught in the wild, approximately 40 years ago, Joey became a caged household bird. In those days, it was perfectly normal to keep a bird in a cage that you spoke to now and then, and treated like a piece of furniture that moved from home to home with you. In Joey's case, moving house included moving from country to country.

Joey was never allowed out of the cage, because her owner was afraid she would fly away and die. Joey didn't have toys - no one in their right mind gave toys to birds in those days - after all, she was just a bird. Joey's diet consisted of sunflower seeds, but the loving lady shared her daily toast and tea with Joey, so she would be happy.

Thirty years passed and Joey had a stroke. She lost the use of her legs, but was able to pull herself around the cage using her beak. Her wing muscles had atrophied long ago, so she could not use them to move herself. Needless to say, she had no body feathers.

Her elderly caregiver suddenly realized after the stroke that Joey could no longer fly away. She opened the cage and started to take Joey out on long walks in a baby carriage. Joey enjoyed the attention and the desperately needed natural light.

The years passed until finally her caregiver was too ill herself to look after Joey. The family thought it would be kinder to euthanize Joey since no-one had the time to dedicate to her, or allergies would be a big problem. The veterinarian telephoned us and asked if we would be prepared to provide the care that Joey needed. After a discussion with the family, it was decided that Joey would be transported here.

On her arrival, we checked Joey for abilities and possible problems. Poor Joey had apparently spent her time hanging from the bars of her cage to hold herself upright. The local vet had made sure that her beak was trimmed regularly as it was growing abnormally due to the manner in which she used it to hold her body weight. Her feet were totally crippled and the heels were badly infected from standing for periods of time in her own very acidic feces. Joey has a gastro-intestinal bacterial infection for which she is now receiving antibiotics. She also received vitamin shots, because her previous diet had not provided much.

In only 5 days, the difference in Joey is startling. A regular volunteer, who was a registered nurse before retiring, has dedicated several hours each day to massaging and exercising Joey's legs in warm water. Joey can now move both legs. The use of her right leg was apparent in only 2 days, but today she moved her left leg totally unaided, both in and out of water. She does not live in a cage but in a three foot square aquarium resting on a big stand. The bottom of the aquarium is covered in thick blankets and sheets and we built a perimeter of rolled towels to support her body. She can see everywhere. She has teddy bears as supports for the sides of her body so that she does not roll over, although she can now hold her right side up very well with the power of her right leg. She has discovered the joy of walnuts, and yesterday she ate cheese and grapes after much tempting. Joey is chatting away in English and her own special language, which I am sure you will be able to decipher as time goes by.

Needless to say, Joey's vet bills are already large and we know that this will continue as she is a very "special needs" bird. She is one of many already here and, goodness knows, of how many more to come.

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.