Recently at the Canal Street Recreation Center, parrots, parakeets and even a visiting crow were squawking and flapping with their parents.
The Pet Parrots and Their Parents Club, formerly known as Parrots R Us, held its first meeting under its new moniker.
Karen Orlando has taken over as the club’s head, organizing a new name and advocating for a new educational series during meetings.
New and former members returned to the club with their bird cages and pets perched atop them or on their owners’ fingertips or shoulders.
Throughout the gathering, bright and colorful feathers kept the recreation facility alive.
Clare Faber, a lifelong member, was there with her 31-year-old yellow nape Amazon parrot, Pearl. Pearl has been on her owner’s shoulder for the past 16 years, and the two have become quite a couple.
“We go practically everywhere together,” Faber said.
Faber carries an umbrella as she travels through The Villages’ pathways, more to protect her avian companion from larger birds of prey waiting in the treetops than to protect her from rain or the sun.
They even went on a road trip to San Antonio, Texas during a snowfall, recently. During the storm, Pearl crawled “under the covers,” according to Faber.
The two returned to the meeting full of joy and eager to get back to the club meetings.
A new series titled Caring and Sharing Our Bird Knowledge is incorporated, in which individuals discuss what they learned about their hobby and species.
Another aspect of Orlando’s new approach is the organization’s commitment to providing new and enlightening speakers for its members.
Terri Jones runs the P.E.R.C.H. Parrot Educational Resource Center and Habitat, a privately owned exotic bird sanctuary in Citrus County. Jones runs the sanctuary from her home, but it includes dozens of birds and cutting-edge infrastructure for keeping animals safe and healthy. Jones, a veteran bird rescuer in New Jersey, resumed her work in Florida, taking in parrots whose owners no longer want them or is unable to care for them.
Parrots are long-lived birds with many living to be 80 years old or more, which means they can have nine to 11 homes throughout their lifespan, according to Jones.
Jones learned to keep birds from her father, who raised parakeets.
“There’s a saying – they say parrots are like potato chips,” Jones said. “You just can’t have one.”
Jones’s lecture included a wide range of topics, from her personal experiences to her facilities. The attendees at the bird club meeting, according to Jones, were “experienced bird owners,” but they still had lots of questions.
Call 732-995-8562 for information on how to give or assist the sanctuary.