Parrot Sanctuary

I almost forgot about the bird sanctuary. It’s on Vancouver Island close to the butterfly sanctuary, but in every other was is it’s opposite.

Where the butterfly gardens provided a calm atmosphere with beautiful scenery and great lighting, the bird sanctuary was housed is a tin building with concrete floors and poor lighting, and provided earplugs.

There are hundreds of birds there. Most of them are parrots that lost their status as pets through a wide variety of situations ranging from outliving their owners to surviving natural disasters. There are also love birds, macaws, and parakeets with similar histories.

The owner explained to us before we set foot inside that they have a room set aside for new arrivals. Only after the new arrivals have “made a friend” will they be moved into the cages housing their respective type of bird.

Each year they grow larger and larger. They are funded by visitors like us, donations, and the sames from a second hand store which doubles as their sales office.

In the first room, the new arrivals are able to interact with you directly. This can be quite scary when a bird the size of a toddler decides to eat the zipper off you fanny pack. Nor were the people working there particularly interested in rescuing the hapless tourists. The claws. I’ll never forget the claws.

Most of the birds had lost some of their plumage. At lease one was completely plucked. Apparently this was a result of nervous disorders or boredom. At one point we was a macaw repeatedly placing what appeared to be one of his own feathers across his own back, then pluck it off again. It seemed to be a game.

It was quite the experience, but I’m not sure I can recommend it.