Hello Everyone!

Your club President is currently out of town visiting the Oasis Sanctuary in Arizona. If you are un-familiar with this sanctuary, visit www.theoasis. org. Leanna is helping them with making bird toys and trees and doing a volunteer week there to help out where she can. They are seeking volunteers for week stints, so if you have some vacation time and don’t know where to go… consider a week at the Oasis! It’s hard work, but it’s wonderful work.

What Sybil and her staff does for the unwanted and estate birds left in their care is commendable. On one of my trips down, after having researched other “sanctuaries” that had hundreds of birds, I was concerned about the ability to evacuate that many birds, especially since the tragic incident back east where a “sanctuary” was unable to evacuate during a hurricane and lost many birds as a result.

I was most pleased to see the appropriate travel cages and travel trailers (with its own air source) parked and ready to go and the staff to get them gathered in a timely manner. It was amazing to see a barn with that many cages stacked and ready to go, but it is such a necessary thing! The Oasis Sanctuary is a 501c sanctioned sanctuary and one of the first bird sanctuaries to have dual accreditation from the American Sanctuary Association (ASA) and The Association of Sanctuaries (TAOS). It was refreshing to see a sanctuary with a plan and a vision. They are moving to huge enclosures, getting away from individual cages.

They are encouraging parrots to flock together again, amongst trees and yet still be protected. It’s heartbreaking to hear how many birds she has to turn away or are on waiting lists, but it’s the right thing to do. They know their limit. If a sanctuary is quick to take your bird, without having to provide current vet test results and “promises” to take care of them, please consider this a red flag.

Consider sanctuaries for what they have in place, not what is in their hearts. Ask the questions that are necessary…. Do they have a board of directors? Do they own the land they are on? Do they have a vet? Are they staffed with full time employees? Do they have an evacuation plan? These are some of the questions I suggest.

Leanna Rein and I firmly believed that in order to consider a lifetime care facility for your bird, or a sanctuary you con honestly recommend or refer people to, we’d have to physically go and see the facility and that’s what we did.

We encourage you to do the same if you are setting up trusts for your birds or making your estate planning. Our care for our little feathered friends must continue even after we are gone since a lot of the bigger birds are starting to live 70- 80 years in captivity. Plan ahead. Do your homework. And in the meantime, have a great month and be kind to your birds and yourself and enjoy each other!

Lin Westgard, Vice-President
The Alaska Bird Club

Webmaster’s Note: This article contains opinions of the author and may not reflect the views of The Alaska Bird Club in general. It is our intent to provide information and education whenever and wherever possible so that the reader can make informed decisions.

The Alaska Bird Club • P.O. Box 101825 • Anchorage AK 99510
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