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A very happy ending indeed.

December 19, 2011 By 4 Comments

Sunday the 11th of December while working here at M.A.R.S., a knock brought me to the front door. A bird was found at the beach crossover in Indialantic and they were wondering if we could take it in. Since I assumed it was a sea bird I explained that we only do exotics, but there is a place that does near by. To my amazement the comment was made that this bird has a red tail. 

Yes you guessed it an African Grey parrot, and a friendly one.

So they brought him here to Melbourne Avian Rescue Sanctuary. Now it just so happens that I was boarding my friend Lindas’  Blue and gold Macaw, and she was due to pick her up at any time. Linda works closly with South Animal Care, and is an Aloha Animal Hospital associate. The wheels are as you see already in motion.

Our volunteer Shelly had mentioned, that are two really good sites for lost animals, Brevard Lost Animals, and Space coast lost animals. I pulled up the sites and looked at the posted pictures. Now here is where it gets interesting. The bird in the posting pictures did not look like the bird we had, and was using the opposite foot to eat all the treats.

To finish up this story Linda made the contacts, said we might have the lost bird here and Shelly followed suit with her contacts. The next day the owner who resides in Palm Bay came to M.A.R.S.and was happily reunited with her bird Matu.

If there is knowledge to be learned from this story one might think it’s to clip all birds wings. But, as most visitors to M.A.R.S. know we allow free flight  to certain birds.  What we learned, is there are great websites to use in Brevard Co. for lost pets, with an amazing network of people.

Thank-you to all who helped unite Matu with his owner Debbie.

Last, my next blog has to be about this. Is your bird left footed when taking treats, stepping up, or preforming other tasks or right footed? Or possibly ambidextrous?

Filed Under: Parrot knowledge Tagged With: adoptions, African Grey, aviary rescue, exotic birds, M.A.R.S., Melbourne Avian Rescue Sanctuary, VOLUNTEERS

Charlie, Congo Grey, rules the day.

June 21, 2011 By 6 Comments

This is our newest addition to M.A.R.S.. Charlie is available for adoption at Melbourne Avian Rescue Sanctuary. He is 20 years young, has a  great personality, and is ready to find his forever home. Charlie was relinquished due to owners personal reasons.

Please submit inquiries to www.marsparrots.org via our contact form. All inquiries will be answered on a timely basis.

Filed Under: Bird Of The Week, Uncategorized Tagged With: adoption, African Grey, Donations, florida parrot rescue M.A.R.S., M.A.R.S.

Babs, an African Greys journey to America.

May 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Passport picture
This is her story as told by Babs and her previous owner.
Hello, my name is Babs. I am an African Grey. My first memory was living with a Spanish lady in Riyadh, Arabia. I had a friend with me, a really big white Cockatoo.
One day there was a lot of commotion, people running around, then there was silence. It was quiet for a long time. Breakfast time came but no food came. Where was everyone? Some men came in later and put our cages outside the Villa. It was pretty hot out there and still no food. A lady came along, looked at us and started telling those men off in a loud voice. She put us in a car and we went on a journey. I liked the house. It had a big outside aviary with little birds with plenty of food and a bath pool which felt good. We were very happy there and treated very well. 
One day, my friend the Cockatoo left. I heard them say he went to live with a veterinarian who lived on a dairy farm. The Cockatoo had a good life for a few years.
Suddenly, things started getting very noisy. Loud explosions and airplanes were flying overhead. I was then moved indoors and kept in a small cage. I shared the room with two cats.  The veterinarian came back to see me. He put a ring on my leg and a chip inside of me. This to me was not pleasant. I was in the car again. This time, the cage I was in had wire all over the inside, so I could hold on for the journey. My owners came and told me they’d see me in London and left. I was in a large warehouse and then a worker came in to put me in a corner behind some boxes. Why? I did not know. I stayed in the corner for a day or so. I heard the voice of the veterinarian. He was very angry. He picked up my cage, cleaned it out and gave me food. He took me to the airplane and handed me over to be boarded. When I arrived in London, one of my owners had been waiting for me to arrive.
I understand the worker in Riyadh had hidden me to sell me to a pet shop later. He did not count on my owners to keep track of me. I went from London to Miami. There I was kept in quarantine for a long time. Finally, I was released to my owners. They have been very good to me, but they work overseas and there is no one to care for me while they were gone. My owner looked around for a long time, to get me a good home while hiring sitters while they were away. This is how I ended up living here at M.A.R.S.. Melbourne Avian Rescue Sanctuary.
 
Look for further updates on Babs in the very near future. Her amazing story will continue…………

Filed Under: Bird Of The Week Tagged With: African Grey, avian rescue, cockatoo, florida parrot rescue M.A.R.S., M.A.R.S., Melbourne Avian Rescue Sanctuary

“The 9/11 Greys”

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Danny Boy
Danny Boy 004
Pretty Boy

Pretty Boy

Katie girl
Katie girl

Eight years ago, terrorists attacked our nation. This event effected us immeasureably and changed us forever. Our securities were breached, our defenses were compromised. We were vulnerable.

Historic records tell of the events that unfolded that fatefull day of September 11, 2001. What history won’t record is the legacy of the animals that survived. I will now tell the story of “The 9/11 Greys”.

Pictured above are our three feathered members of history, three SURVIVORS of the World Trade Center attacks.
The apartment building was located not far from the collapsed towers where they survived for days without food, fresh water, and their human caretakers. Their enviornment had windows blown in and the rooms were filled with smoke and toxic dust.
How were the birds found?  The city was using rescue dogs for live animals, different from the  cadavor dogs which I guess is self-explanatory. The bird’s owners all died in the attack.  The lady that rescued the birds was named MICHELLE RODGERS, it was her dog who actually found the birds. She said she found M.A.R.S. on the net and after meeting with me said that she could tell that I  feel the same about birds as she does.
M.A.R.S. is proud to have been chosen by their rescuer to provide safe haven and re-homing to the 9/11 Greys.
What could be a more patriotic gesture than to donate or adopt one of these little troopers!
To all who perished, and all who survived, we will forever remember 9/11.
And M.A.R.S  proudly salutes Pretty Boy, Katie Girl and Danny Boy and we hope you do too!

 


Filed Under: Bird Care, Newsworthy Birds Tagged With: 9/11, African Grey, M.A.R.S.

8 Great Factoids About Parrots

February 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment
African Grey Parrot

African Grey Parrot

If you’re a Parrot lover then here’s a few things you will love to know! BTW, check out one of my favorite information websites Wikipedia.org for more Fun Factoids!

  1. Did you know there are roughly 372 species of parrots?
  2. The greatest diversity of parrots if sound in South America and Australiasia
  3. With few exceptions, Parrots are monogamous which nest in cavaties and hold no territories other than their nesting sight.
  4. While parrots have the distinction of being able to mimic human speech, studies with the African Grey Parrot have shown that some are able to associate words with their meanings and form simple sentences
  5. Not only have parrots demonstrated intelligence through scientific testing of their language using ability, but some species of parrot such as the Kea are also highly skilled at using tools and solving puzzles
  6. Parrots do not have vocal cords, so sound is accomplished by expelling air across the mouth of the bifurcated trachea. Different sounds are produced by changing the depth and shape of trachea. So, talking parrots are really whistling in different variations.
  7. Sayings about parrots colour the modern English language. The verb “parroting” can be found in the dictionary, and means “to repeat by rote.” There are also clichés, such as the British saying “sick as a parrot.”
  8. Parrots are used as symbols of nations and nationalism. A parrot is found on the flag of Dominica. The St. Vincent parrot is the national bird of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a Caribbean nation.

Got a another great parrot factoid you’d like us to know? Send us your suggestions via our contact form, we’d love to know and share!

Filed Under: Parrot knowledge Tagged With: African Grey, facts, Parrots, species