It’s been a while since my last post because we have been away on a fantastic Vancouver Island vacation! I have lots of great, fun photos to share but I will start with a post about a day near the end of our trip because I wanted to share my visit to the World Parrot Refuge, home to over 800 different parrots of over 50 species. They are open every day of the year and the admission for adults is only $12 which goes towards helping the parrots.
After our visit, I wanted to do my part to help by sharing their story and encouraging everyone to stop in for a visit whenever they are on the Island. I am also offering to do all Pet Mini Sessions booked before the end of August by donation to the World Parrot Refuge. Please contact me for details or to book a session.
Coming in, there were loose parrots greeting us at the door. These were the birds that needed medical care. Most were sick or injured due to human abuse or neglect. Some had had their legs and wings broken purposely during their capture from the wild to keep them from escaping. Others were starved or locked in dark rooms for years being fed improper diets and left alone. Many of them are critically endangered in their natural habitat. It was hard to take photos through the caging so some of these pictures may be a bit blurry. This beautiful Lesser Sulfur Crest Cockatoo was the first one we saw.
A few of these parrots stories were posted above their cages. The stories I stopped to read brought tears to my eyes. You can read more about them on their Virtual Adoption Page. Many of the birds have psychological damage and self mutilate, pulling out their own feathers including this African Grey.
African Greys are considered one of the smartest of all animals. They can learn hundreds of words and associate simple human words with meanings. This fully feathered Grey was showing off for visitors.
My heart jumped when I saw this little Macaw. I thought the worst….
It’s ok, he was just sleeping!
This is Caesar. She is a Catalina Macaw, a hybrid mix of Blue and Gold Macaw and Scarlet Macaw. She lost the sight in her left eye due to being slapped clear across the room by a man who had already killed two other parrots. She has since lost all sight due to cataracts.
This is another Caesar and Sally, Eleanora Cockatoos. They were captured in the wild at least 30 years ago and crippled during this process. They came to the sanctuary at different times; both were in very poor health. While recovering they met through the bars of their hospital cages. Now that they are better they spend all their time together.
This is Bart, an Orange Winged Amazon. I think of Amazons as the clowns of the parrot world. They are great at doing tricks and most of them can learn many words. Bart is missing most of his beak due to being left in a cage with another parrot that attacked him.
There were many, many Macaws. They are the largest species of parrots and the largest of the Macaws are the magnificent blue coloured Hyacinth Macaws. They are an endangered species due to overcollection for the cage bird trade and habitat loss.
There were many more opportunities to interact with the birds which was surprising. Those who were wanting to were allowed to pet the birds. I held a few of the parrots, and one little curious Goffin Cockatoo and a Black Headed Caique jumped on my as I walked by their cages! The neat part was when my husband, Jeremy made friends with a Cockatoo who wanted to reach out and say hello.
These Macaws also slept lying down, this Great Green Macaw was sleeping holding this stick in his mouth reminding me of a baby with a blanket. His buddy behind him is a Blue and Gold Macaw.
Cockatoos are the teddy bears of the parrot world. They love to be cuddled and are very gentle. They have soft, sweet voices when they talk. In the room where all the parrots are loose, one attached himself to Jeremy’s flip flop. I shooed him away say “No”. He looked at me sadly and said softly, “I love you!” and then walked away repeating himself over and over. I felt so bad! I went over and gave him a long cuddle until he felt better. One of my favourite parrots is the Moluccan Cockatoo and as I was wandering around, one came waddling up to me along the floor. When he got closer, I knelt down to say hi and he leaned up against me so I could pet him.
For your donation to the World Parrot Refuge, you will get a Pet Mini Session which includes a 30 minute session, online gallery of all your image proofs (minimum 25 images), a creature feature right here on my blog and an 8×10 print of your favourite image. Contact me for full details or to book a session and help out this fantastic organization.