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Voting wraps up this week for parrot aviary grant By STACEY ROY sroy@perfprint.ca
EMC News - With the help of the voting public the Gallipeau Centre’s newest and most unique residents will have a home they can stretch out and call their own. Until May 6 the public is being asked to vote on the (http://loveourlocalbusiness.com) website, select the most loved wishes button and cast their free vote for Judith of Parrot Partner. “We’re doing well,” said Judy Tennant of Parrot Partner, who is currently ranked about 7th in the competition. The local initiative is among the most loved projects with over 5,500 votes so far. If successful, Tennant will use the $5,000 of funding to build an aviary for her feathery friends at her new location inside the Gallipeau Centre. “They really need to be outside. It will be good for them,” Tennant said of the aviary. “We’re really looking forward to go to the Gallipeau Centre.” Tracy Gallipeau is pleased to have Parrot Partners join them at the centre as well. “It will be an attraction for the public to come in,” she said. Parrot Partners hopes to be moved into their new home by this July 1. Gallipeau explained the new addition to the facility will be located on the right side of the main entrance of the former institutional facility. The aviary itself will be built on the other side of that wing where a barbecue shelter structure will be transformed
into the new aviary. Visitors to the centre will be welcome to interact with the birds through the chain link fencing enclosure or by walking in and getting a real hands-on experience. Inside, there will be water features and branches from top to bottom for the birds to perch on. “We’re trying to make it as much a natural environment as possible,” Tennant explained. The online competition would provide $5,000 for the aviary to be built and will be in addition to the 2,100 square foot space they will be renting indoors (an expansion of 400 square feet from Parrot Partners’ existing home in Ashton). Tennant is hoping to use the new space to offer more programming. Currently, Parrot Partners offers Parrot Trooper training for teenagers. This program trains humans to interact with the parrots (who are highly intelligent creatures) using positive reinforcement and is open to children aged 13 and up. In the end, the Parrot Troopers would be eligible for paid hours at the training centre when birthday parties and other programs are being offered. “There’s a lot of neat things we can do with the community,” Tennant said. A new addition to the programming options is the introduction of parrots and pool parties. This will be an extension of Parrot Partners existing birthday party options and incorporates their new water features. The parrot training centre is funded entirely through donations and fundraisers. As such, they are
hoping to add a new fundraiser to their list by renting out the gym at the Gallipeau Centre for flight lessons with the birds. This will be an opportunity for the public to come out (for a small fee) and view the birds in flight while they get much needed exercise. “I think people are going to enjoy it,” Tennant said. Currently, Parrot Partners have 17 birds, many of whom are on the watch list for potential extinction, including Boo, a cocotoo. “I always knew that he was special,” Tennant said. Boo has recently become the first cocotoo in North America to have cancer treatments. He also had male and female reproductive organs until recently, making him extra special. The medical community is interested to see how Boo responds to treatments, but this care has come at a cost estimated at about $10, 000 so far. Experts expect cocotoos like boo will be extinct in 50 years due to the lose of their habitat through clear cutting of trees. Tennant hopes her new facility will help to educate a new generation of earth’s caretakers about the real cost of activities like clear cutting in hopes that action will be taken to restore these animals for future generations. “They’ve got a face of what the consequences are” when they look at Boo, Tennant said. Parrots have only been domesticated for the last 500 years leaving more questions than answers on their behaviours and the best way to care for them. That being said, Tennant noted
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and parrot-to-parrot socialization. “When they talk they’re starting a conversation,” Tennant said. Some of her birds also enjoy playing whistling games with people. They will whistle a tune and wait to see if their human visitor will mimic it before attempting a new rhythm.
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