Parrot and Bird News

Parrot and Bird News

Volunteers Work To Save Yacolt Quaker Parrots
Bird rescue groups take action to help find a solution for birds
By Crystal Apilado


Quaker parrots perch in Yacolt, Wash. Photo by Garth Noggle

A group of bird rescues and volunteers worked together to put finishing touches on 24 nest boxes set up on private residential areas to provide immediate shelter for the feral quakers of Yacolt, Wash., while the community debates over different solutions for dealing with their large nests over utility transformers.

The Yacolt City Council asked Clark Public Utility to hold off on removing the birds for four months as they work with various bird rescues to look for a solution, said Lena Wittler, customer communications manager with Clark Public Utility. According to Wittler, the nests on the transformers are their main concern. “We’ll continue to remove the nests as they are built,” Wittler said. “Most likely once a week we’ll go out and remove anything that is visible.” Wittler said Clark Public Utility will continue to remove the nests as they are built until the Yacolt community comes to a final solution. “Most likely once a week we’ll go out and remove anything that is visible,” Wittler said.

Yacolt city has invited local rescues to get involved in proposing different solutions to the community.
In effort to provide immediate warmth and homing for the four months, one group placed twigs, molted quaker parrot feathers inside the next boxes. The purpose of the twigs and feathers is to make the birds think they’ve found an abandoned nest, said the group’s representative, Christopher Driggins, founder of N.W. Bird Rescue. The nest boxes will help keep the birds alive while Yacolt decides on a solution and long-term goals for the birds.


Nest boxes are set up on homeowners land to provide a home for the birds.
Photo by Garth Noggle

Driggins’ group received permission from homeowners to place platforms on their land to place the nest boxes. The boxes are set up with hinges to help capture the birds in the chance that the city decides to relocate them. But, if the city decides to leave the birds in the area, the boxes will serve as housing units. Driggins said if the decision is in favor of the quaker parrots staying, then more nest boxes will be needed to account for new babies.

The hopes of the group and the community members supporting this effort are that the 24 nest boxes will not only provide immediate shelter from the harsh winter elements, but that they will also serve as a future place for the quaker parrots to build their nests.
According to Driggins, one of the challenges with the nest boxes is that the quaker parrots are imprinted to the sound of the transformers because when they were babies that is where their nest was. “They’re like homing pigeons,” Driggins said. “Quakers know where their homes are.”

With Clark Public Utility’s regular removal of nests from transformers, the group hopes the quakers will go to the alternative nest boxes and feeding areas.

For more information on this effort to help the Yacolt quaker parrots, visit
http://www.nwbirdrescue.com





Keep your pets Safe and Secure inside, at home where it is quiet and out of harms way.


If you insist on having pets to the barbecue,Do Not feed them foods such as onions, chocolate, coffee, avocado, grapes and raisins, salt and yeast dough which can be toxic to companion animals.

Keep your pets on their normal diet. Any change, even for one meal, can give your pets severe indigestion and diarrhea.

Do not apply any sunscreen or insect repellent product to your pet that is not labeled specifically for use on animals. Ingestion of sunscreen products can result in drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst and lethargy. The misuse of insect repellent that contains DEET can lead to neurological problems.

Always keep matches and lighter fluid out of your pets’ reach. Certain types of matches, for example, contain chlorates, which could potentially damage blood cells and result in difficulty breathing.

Click Here for more Info about 4th of July Pet Hazards.



Parrot Mocks Fire Alarm, Saves Family


MUNCIE, Ind. -- A noisy parrot that likes to imitate sounds helped save a man and his son from a house fire by mocking a smoke alarm, the bird's owner said. Shannon Conwell, 33, said he and his 9-year-old son fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie. They awoke about 3 a.m. Friday to find their home on fire after hearing the family's Amazon parrot, Peanut, imitating a fire alarm. "He was really screaming his head off," Conwell said. The smoke alarm had activated, but it was the bird's call that caught Conwell's attention. "I grabbed my son and my bird, and got out of the house," he said. The fire destroyed the home's dining room, kitchen and bedroom, Muncie fire officials said. It remains under investigation. Aside from Peanut, Conwell said the fact that he and his son fell asleep on the couch helped save them. They may not have heard the alarm or the bird if they were asleep in their bedrooms. Conwell said he runs an air conditioner and a breathing machine in his bedroom and they drown out a lot of noise around the house.



Gifted Research Parrot Dies at Age 30

Hi everyone this is very sad that such an amazing parrot died. He was an African Grey, 30 years old and very smart!!! I already know birds are smart, but Alex proves it in Birds Health and How much your bird is like a human child! These are very imformative and important for you to read.