My love for parrots
“Hello!” I say to all parrot heads! It is also the first and most common word spoken by our most beloved avian companions, parrots. My name is Lisa Nichols. Parrots are my passion! I have an extensive background with parrots spanning over a decade (16 years).
I have a deep-rooted love of birds that started when I was a child as far back as I can remember. Parrots came into the picture when my parents took my sister and me to a parrot show at an amusement park.
Then as a teenager I acquired a budgie from a nature center located in my hometown of Erie, PA. I attended Edinboro University of PA for 2 ½ years and then took some classes at Maryland after I moved to this state when I was 21, majoring in zoology. It wasn’t until my mid-thirties that I finally became a zookeeper, and of course, I was to be the bird keeper for a multitude of avian species at Catoctin Zoo. I worked there for almost three years. At the time, more than half of the birds I cared for were parrots. The number of psittacine species was very diverse, including Goldie Lorikeet, more lorikeets, Amazons, parakeets (ringneck), cockatoos, macaws (smallest hahn’s to the second largest, green-winged), cockatiels, conures, etc. The rest of the avian population at Catoctin was just as varied: emus, cassowaries, cranes, ibis, pheasants, water fowl, mud hens, pigeons, and yes, chickens, too. Occasionally, I cared for some mammals, such as dingoes, ringtailed lemurs, the griz, kangaroos, and last but not least a coatimundi!
Parrot Rescue & Volunteering
From there, I turned another chapter in my life and joined a parrot rescue. For four years, I was a very dedicated volunteer. There is not a task that I would not do to help the plight of the companion parrot. The many duties I performed included care and cleaning, fundraising, bills, other office duties, public relations including newspaper and radio interviews. The last two years I was the head volunteer.
A year after I started volunteering, I also worked varied hours for a pet sitting company, Luvapet Sitting for four years. For Luvapet I cared for dogs, cats, birds, lizards, and even a hedgehog.
I then worked for Pet and Home care. Most of my time for P&H was spent at the resort (an alternative kennel) or some pet sitting for the company. I worked with this company for nearly five years. I also volunteered at the East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue for 5 years.
Through my work at the zoo (where there were many previously-owned parrots) and obviously the parrot rescue, I have encountered many reasons (some from neglect or abuse) why parrots are frequently being re-homed. It is my intention to help those people who want the assistance of an experienced bird person to avoid having to part with their birds.
