Parrots are descended from dinosaurs. Today, they face threats from illegal trade and habitat destruction. World Parrot Day is May 31 and aims to draw attention to such hazards.
Mandy Stangeland is like a bird whisperer. She seems to speak their language. Or sing their language.
Which is just as well, as she’s surrounded by parrots of all kinds at The Plumery. She's the Facilities Manager at Ventura County’s first parrot sanctuary.
"We currently have nine parrots in rescue, and we have a wait list for parrots that need a home. Parrot rescue is definitely a very real problem," she told KCLU.
The non-profit, which is based in Newbury Park, gives a home to parrots whose owners can no longer take care of them.
Stangeland said people relinquish their birds for a number of reasons, but often it's because they are very noisy.
"One of the reasons is that people get birds as pets, and they don't realize just how loud they are," said Stangeland. "Cockatoos tend to be relinquished often because of how loud they can be. They can reach decibels that are beyond even a concert. And they scream morning and night. It's part of what they do. It's a part of their routine."
"They're also very messy animals," she added. "The other big reason why people give up their birds is that the birds outlive most of their owners. The birds can live anywhere from 30 to 80 years or more. And oftentimes we get phone calls from family members who have a loved one that's passed on, and now they have no idea what to do with this animal. It [the parrot] is mean to everybody because it's going through something emotional, it just lost its person. A lot of times, the animals will start to self-destruct and they'll pluck their own feathers."
She's also been caring for a parrot with a broken wing, probably part of the wild flocks of parrots seen in the area.
"This is a bird that came to us wild, and he had a broken wing. But he has a loud little screech," said Strangeland.
"We evaluate them for several months. We make sure that they are very healthy. We get them vetted. We have tests run. We make their blood work look good. We get their diet where it needs to be. Then we would start looking for either fosters. And fosters could then have the first opportunity to adopt if the bird becomes adoptable. But we also recognize that many of these birds have such special needs that we might not find the right family, or some of these birds might not do well in a family environment or a home environment. So we're prepared to keep them with the Plumary for the duration of their lives, if that's the case."
Strangeland has some advice for anyone considering a parrot as a pet. Don’t!
"If you're really interested in adopting a bird, adopt an older bird," she counseled. "You're going to know what you're getting. Do not adopt a baby. A baby bird, by the time it becomes mature after five or six years, is going to become a very different bird. They do go through a sexual maturity period, much like teenagers, and they're spicy. They backtalk, they bite, they do all the things. And a lot of times, people will relinquish their birds for that reason, the biting and the behavior.
Rescues are full. The bottom line is...don't get a parrot as a pet. They belong in the wild. We can't meet their needs in captivity. We just can't. We can try and we can do our best, but it's never gonna be enough."
