A Delta-based bird shelter for wild birds such as cockatoos, macaws and finches is facing the crunch with people returning the birds they adopted during COVID.
Just as many decided to adopt a furry friend during the pandemic, many also brought home birds hoping they would chirp away their isolation worries, as per Linda Mah, a New West resident and volunteer with Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary since 2016.
Turns out, many of the adopted birds didn’t end up with their forever humans, and are now being brought back to the shelter.
“A lot of people don’t know that parrots are very difficult animals to have. A lot of people get the birds because they’re cute. And then they discover that these birds are very difficult to keep, because essentially, they’re wild animals,” said Mah.
“They’re not like dogs and cats that have been domesticated for thousands of years. They are only a couple of generations away from being wild. So they still have their wild characteristics like biting, getting hormonal and aggressive around spring time when they breed.”
As per Mah, it's important that people do their research and not go by just the “cute videos” of the birds on the Internet before deciding to adopt.
Because if they don’t, they’ll soon realize that birds are hard to manage, and end up returning them or, worse, abusing them, she said.
The shelter wants to help out all the birds, but it's filled to capacity.
They currently have about 120 birds rescued and waiting for a home — like Mango, a male Moluccan cockatoo who wears a collar and likes to go on walks in his harness; Sonny, a hybrid scarlet and macaw who likes a good shower; and Rupert, a cockatiel who cannot fly.
Some have been at the shelter for seven years.
Since the birds don't easily adopt out, there’s a waiting list for new birds to get in, said Mah.
“One month, they had 20 birds waiting to come in, but we couldn’t accommodate them,” said Mah.
There is limited space and limited volunteers; in contrast, there are a lot of birds out there that are “not wanted.”
“The operating costs are very high,” said Mah — the monthly cost comes to around $20,000.
The shelter needs money to provide food for the birds and to hire staff to take care of them. As of now, it’s run mostly by volunteers, she said.
Which is why Mah decided to organize a plant sale to raise funds for the shelter.
The fundraiser will include the sale of indoor and outdoor plants, baked goods, garden décor, backpacks, stuffies and book signing by Nicholas Read, author of A Home Away from Home - True Stories of Wild Animal Sanctuaries.
This is the third year of the fundraiser — the previous two editions helped raise about $7,000 each, she said.
Through the event, Mah hopes people get to know about the parrot shelter, and about birds as pets in general.
A mom to a Goffin’s cockatoo called Grumpy for 35 years, Mah vouches for the fact that birds can be “messy” and “destructive.”
But despite all the challenges, Grumpy has made her "more compassionate towards animals.”
Now, she understands that the bird, while in the wild, is flying and foraging with its mate.
But when you bring it home, it thinks of its owner as its mate.
And the best you can do for it then is provide a comfortable space, she said.
The plant sale fundraiser is on Saturday, May 6, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 1522 London St. Check out Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary website to see the birds that are up for adoption.
