Here I Go, I Hope I Don't Sound Like An Idiot...

[LorelaiVIP]

Hey everyone,

I've been thinking.

I inherited a really large amount of money a while back & now I know what I'm going to spend it on. Saving parrots. I'm still trying to figure out a system though. I don't like the idea of exactly just donating it all away. I would like to see where the money is really going.

One thing I would really like to do is contribute to the Hyacinth population. If I bought a pair of Hys and gave them to a really good zoo, where they could be happy & bred, that would be great.

I would also like to help people take in unwanted parrots. I'm not going to go into details on that right now, on account of I can't properly explain it & I know how some of you are. I will try though soon.

I know one or two of you might be wondering why I don't just start a rescue myself, at my home. The truth is I already have my hands full. Not to mention I probably don't have enough experience.

I currently have a deposit on two Macaws. They're just babies right now & so I have a long time until they're fully weaned. Want to know know their species? It's a secret! So I'll just have to surprise y'all with pictures then. YEAH I'm getting one of them from a breeder. It's a unique species though so it's not something I could easily find on Hoobly. The other is coming from a friend. She's giving it to me free, because she wants it to have a great home. So I dont know if yall would consider her a breeder or not.

Alright, well I just wanted to let you all into a little bit of my world. I will reply to this thread but I wont be on here as often. If you're going to leave me rude replies, then don't bother.

[JoT]

I don't think your an idiot. I think you have a wonderful and very generous idea. It probably just needs some fine tuning and working out of details. You'll figure it out. I have never seen a hyacynth in person but have always wanted too. Congratulations on the babies! I can't wait to hear and see what they are. How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Can we have another clue?

[Alexp]

it sound like a great idea! Keep us posted on how it's going!

[birdlady49]

If I inherited a large amount of money and wanted to donate some to a group educating the public about birds and the rehoming of birds relinquished by owners for whatever reason, I would definitely consider The Gabriel Foundation. They're a nonprofit, formed 12 years ago, and they're well known and well loved all over the United States, Canada, and possibly beyond. Animal control organizations, law enforcement groups and zoos will call The Gabriel Foundation for their help.

Most of their income goes to food for the birds. They're not offered a minimal diet with the expectation that the birds will be moving to new homes. They are fed a diet from day one that would make a grown man weep with delight. They are housed in cages or flights that offer them maximum enjoyment with a huge variety of toys and perches. In other words, the birds are treated as though they are permanent residents in a loving home.

Here's their website if you'd like to help: The Gabriel Foundation®.

They would be THRILLED if you helped.

[greencinacheeks]

i think your idea is amazing!!! i like it! the gabriel foundation is a great. I can't wait to find out what species your birds are!!!


~N

[Abyssinian1]

Saving parrots is a big, sort of blanket goal. I agree that fine tuning is probably in order. Opening a rescue is not for the faint of heart or the light of wallet, as these things have a tendency to grow out of control if you let them.

One of the ways that you could make a difference as far as saving these parrtos is to look beyond just the birds themselves. Why are parrots disappearing from the wild. What would parrots who are reintroduced to the wild need (i.e. habitat, food sources, nesting sites, a poacher-and predator free envirionment, monitoring). One of the things that the Gabriel Foundation does do, in addition to taking in abandoned, relinquished and unwanted birds and offering them sanctuary as well as medical care, behavioral training (for the humans, moreso that the birds) and adoption services for birds deemed ready to family life, is education. They have an international program that helps those folks in other countries who are trying to save the parrot's habitat, and trying to monitor nests. The aviary also serves as an educational base, with tours of the facilities for groups like Boy and Girl scouts, school groups and such. There is such a great deal of ignorance regarding parrots as pets that it's a little like trying to use a flashlight to light up a pitch-dark ballroom and the sooner kids learn about why a parrot sometimes doesn't make the best pet, and why they are worth saving in the wild, the better. I'd love to see the day when the root causes of parrots ending up in shelters, abandonded and neglected, were addressed.

There is also parrots international, which is trying to save the parrots that are left in the wild via legislation and lobbying and grassroots action and I know that they could also always use a few extra dollars.

If you are thinking of joining a breeding program with the intention of saving an endangered species (as with the Hyacinths), you might want to search around and find out where those breeding programs are being conducted and then volunteer to see what goes into such programs and the huge commitment in time and money such things entail.. Some are private, like the one going on for the Blue Throats and the Spix macaws, and are being conducted with the idea that when the captive population gets to a certain level, they will begin releasing the birds into protected areas, much like the wolves that were reintroduced to Yellowstone. For these things to succeed, these parrots will need a great deal of habitat, monitoring equipment, volunteers, etc. It's another thing you might want to look into.
If it were me, I'd do some serious, hardcore research before deciding what to do, to make the most efficient use of the funds and to make sure that they could do the most good.

[birdsnreps]

honestly, i think the hy's are prob gonna be ok. their numbers have really been bouncing back with all the efforts that the governments and conservation groups have been giving them!! i really do think that the blue throats and especially the lear's, and the spix's could REALLY use some help though!! they are much more endangered than the hy's. lear's are like much smaller, mini-hy's too :) the Glaucous macaws are part of the "blue macaws" group, they are extinct already, and the lears are very close to extinction, but the wild hy #'s have been growing lately. the lear's need alot of help, especially to help preserve their habitats and nesting areas and support captive breeding programs.

here is a link to some drawings and pics of the blue macaws, i think its really awesome!! make sure to scroll down and go through all of their links, it isnt easy to find pics of these guys!!

Images of the Glaucous Macaw

ways to help the wild ones.....you should really help the locals that live where the parrots do. they have turned parrot poachers into tour guides, and since so many people wanna go down to s. america and go bird watching, they have hired those former poachers to give tours cause they know where all the best sites to see the birds are. they also see them every day, their activities, etc, they really do know their birds!! i think one of the best ways to help parrots is to support these locals. they make better livings as a tour guide rather than a poacher, the money for them is more stable and they are better able to provide for their families.

also when you do get your macaws, you can save up their moulted feathers, and give them to US groups that send all the parrot feathers down to the local tribes in s. america so they dont have to hunt parrots just to use their feathers. they have shops down there that have racks and racks just full of parrot wings and tails for sale :( all they want is their feathers for their fans and head-dresses for ceromonies :(

personally, i like parrots international :) they have a bunch of articles and the most awesome pics of wild parrots :) i just love looking at their macaw pics!! i have a friend who also supports the amazona society, she says they are awesome too, and she knows the poeple who run that one, and she has gone on trips with them too :)

anywho, these are just some of my ideas :) we really need to think about the lear's and spix's macaws :( we already lost the cuban macaw and the glaucous macaws, and countless others due to poaching and destruction of habitat :(

[rockybird]

I think it is a wonderful worthwhile thing to spend money on. I cringe at the thought of parrots in bad homes. Here is a sad tidbit, my mother is in Senegal right now. She says men sell parrots on the street in horrible conditions. It's not right.

[LorelaiVIP]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I definately will consider the Gabriel Foundation. My only worry is that the money wont go to the parrots. That why I didnt want to donate to rescues.

Yeah a LOT of fine tuning is in order. Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

Its sad what the world has come to.

[kellywess]

If you want to help there were about 30 Macaws seized in Orange County Virginia that were abandoned and guess what... some of them are HYBRIDS! There are also a couple of Hyacinths, they are mostly breeder birds and will not be able to be rehomed. All but a few who are being boarded at a vets office and the rest are being sent to a Bird Sanctuary in Louisa. You say you want to help people who want to take in unwanted parrots... well how come you knock on people like me who have taken in HYBRID macaws. Well here is your chance to walk your talk Ms. Macaw Advocate.