POLLY WANT A KISS?
They’re well cared for now, but some need new homes
Jan Robson gives Bob the Moluccan cockatoo a kiss on Wednesday at the Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary in Vancouver. The sanctuary rescued nearly 600 distressed parrots and other similar birds last year and still has about 170 that need homes .
Aviary little thing they do is magic at the Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary.
Inside the nondescript building on East 8th Avenue in Vancouver is a collection of birds rescued from the World Parrot Refuge in Coombs on Vancouver Island 16 months ago.
Of the 586 rescued birds, about 170 are still looking for homes.
“It’s a sad story, but it’s a happy story because they’ve improved so rapidly,” Greyhaven’s Jan Robson said. “If you saw where they came from, this ain’t sad.”
The birds were found in filthy, rat-infested cages, many of them sick and malnourished, many of them injured from fights or selfabuse.
One lovebird Robson adopted is emblematic of the shape most of the birds were in, she said: A damaged beak, two missing toes, a drooping wing, a tendency under stress to peck herself to the point of bleeding.
“And today there are so many happy stories,” Robson said.
The one, for instance, about Ruby, a green-winged macaw, and Dexter, a severe macaw, a duo that had been living in what’s called the intake area when they were rescued from the World Parrot Refuge.
“It was the worst spot in the entire place,” Robson said. “They were in rusted cages, the smell of ammonia just about knocked you over.”
Any time anyone opened the door to their cage for food or water, Dexter would drape his little wings and body over his mate.
“Ruby was quite ill and Dexter, who is a quarter the size of Ruby, was absolutely taking care of her. Today, they are a wonderful happy story.”
Then there’s the one about Iago, a self-mutilating Moluccan cockatoo.
“He was our poster boy, if you will, of how rough the birds looked,” Robson said. “Now he’s come out of
his shell, he is interactive and outgoing now, he’s living the life.
“You see the picture of him taken just over a year ago, then you see him swinging joyously in his home where people love him, it’s just ohboy.”
Parrots are famously smart. One named Tomasina managed to dislodge a bar from her cage and was trying to squeeze through the space when she was caught; another, Barney, has used small pieces of wood as tools and unscrewed the nuts and bolts in his cage.
“They have all day to sit there and figure out ways to try and escape,” Robson said.
Greyhaven needs people to adopt, it needs donations and it needs volunteers. Surgeries, overhead and staff at the temporary quarters at Main and 8th cost $40,000 to $50,000 a month, Robson said.
The lease runs out in December, with the building facing demolition.
“If anyone knows of space available at a reasonable rent that can accommodate 100 parrots, drop us a note, that would be fantastic.”
Despite the hard work, Robson said — and she feels she speaks for all the volunteers — this effort has been the biggest privilege of her life.
“Just spending time with these birds and seeing them blossom under love and care,” she said.