Your tax deductible donation to Companion Parrots Re-homed will make a real difference and help a bird in need.

Cuban Tody

What an experience! As I shared last month, board member Leslie Wieser and I were participating in a humanitarian, ecological study in Cuba, to conduct a survey of the wild birds of Cuba. Final numbers are being tallied, but approximately 170 species of birds were seen and/or heard during our two week trip. Several endemic species were seen, such as the Cuban Tody shown here. Of course, a personal highlight for me was the Cuban Amazon.

As always, I was hit with both excitement and sadness. Once you see a parrot flying free in the wild, you realize there is nothing in captivity, short of a massive aviary, that would begin to compensate for their being in our homes.

Please join Leslie and me at Parrot University on Sunday, April 7 at 2 pm, as we show highlights of our trip and observations of a country still in the 1950s.

Barbara Heidenreich

SAVE THE DATE!

World famous animal trainer Barbara Heidenreich will be visiting us on August 10 and 11, 2013.

You won't want to miss this extraordinary opportunity to hear Barbara speak and demonstrate her amazing skill with some of the birds of CPR. What she has contributed to the companion parrot world and the zoo community is immeasurable. Your relationship with your own birds will forever be changed by attending this event.

Please take a quick survey to help us learn about your interests and how we can best utilize our time with Barbara. Please complete the survey by March 20, so we can finalize plans and open registration.

Click to take the survey.

To learn more about Barbara Heidenreich, go to www.GoodBirdInc.com.

Debbie at Natural Encounters

If you heard somebody whooping it up earlier in the month, it was probably me as I was training again at Natural Encounters, Inc. with Steve Martin, Dr. Susan Friedman and the wonderful trainers at the ranch. This experience was so amazing that I wanted to stop at Parrot U on the way home from the airport so I could put to use what I learned!

For this column I asked our "trainer trainee" David Rettew to give you his impressions of the ranch and the training he experienced.

David's story:

Another week at Steve Martin's Natural Encounters, with Dr. Susan Friedman, learning to read "tells" on birds. There is truly nothing to match this experience. Think of it as playing poker with parrots.

David at Natural Encounters

The training course is based on the latest research in what works in animal behavior. The best techniques are positive ones, for many reasons. It is more effective and less likely to bring unwanted results, such as aggression.

The posted motto at Natural Encounters is, "What's in it for me?" All nature works for what it needs and wants, and using that information is the basis of all positive training.

I worked all week with a Red-fronted Macaw. At first it was very slow, and I was afraid she and I would be school drop outs. But patience was rewarded and she and I learned to work together quite well. By the end of the week, she flew a 360 around a pole for me, the highlight of all our work for the week.

I hope to use everything I have learned, and continue learning, not only with my own birds, but to support Debbie's training at Parrot U.

Watch a video of Debbie training and a video of David training and Train Away!

Gipper, Conure

Eleven birds needed to go to the vet in February for their annual checkups, and we had terrific response from our volunteers to help with this project.

Lindsay Boardman started off the list with Angel and Poe. Then Lynne Goodwin took Birdie, Gipper, and Max. Next was Steve Hrisikos with Precious, Charlie and Pepper. Finally, Connie Thompson and her mom took Jas, Bos, and Stormy. What a haul! Thanks to all of you for helping!

We had several volunteers who visited the bird fair held in Belmont on February 16-17, still trying to see if we can catch sight or get news of Emmy. Thank you to Sharon Thiele, Lindsay Boardman, and Connie Thompson. The search continues.

Coming up: On Saturday, March 30, CPR will be at an Easter Egg Hunt in Fort Mill, at Walter Elisha Park, thanks to an invitation arranged by Sharon Thiele. It's always fun to have an opportunity to show off some of our favorite "feathers" and let people learn more about CPR.

Please contact me at volunteer@companionparrots.org if you would like to help the birds and CPR. There are many opportunities available to fit your talents and experience.

Thank you for all that you do.

Lynda Rettew, Volunteer Coordinator

volunteer@companionparrots.org

Joe & Linda Smith

We mourn the loss of Joe Smith, one of our dearest friends and volunteers. 

Joe and Linda Smith were our very first quarantine home and did so for dozens of birds joining us. They ultimately adopted Sumo, Sydney, Cleo and have fostered Gabby, our Scarlet Macaw, for several years.

Joe installed all of our wall display racks, bolted all the shelves to the wall and wired the store for the computer system.