The sounds of a tropical rain forest filter through the home of Rebecca Salmon, where she and her three sons look after nine exotic birds. Salmon currently cares for four budgies, three cockatiels, one 15-year-old lovebird and a black-capped conure named Suzi. Suzi 'feather picks' due to stress but otherwise she is a healthy bird that is mending nicely under the supervision of Salmon and her children. For Salmon this is more then just owning pets, "we decided as a family what we were passionate about and gave our time and our resources to care for these birds who were bred in captivity. I don't believe in breeding exotic birds for pet stores so it's about teaching my children about generosity, passion and responsible ownership." states Salmon. All nine birds have been adopted from a rescue sanctuary called Greyhaven located in Surrey and Salmon's mission is to educate people about owning birds, her core message is, "don't buy birds from a pet store, if you truly want birds as pets, adopt them."
Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary is a non-profit society that rescues exotic birds. It specializes in parrots and houses on average 40 birds - a number that can increase at any given time. Hundreds of pet birds are brought to Greyhaven each year for many different reasons. Perhaps the owner becomes ill and can no longer care for the bird. Changes in lifestyle is a common reason and neglect and abuse unfortunately are realities seen far too often. "People don't realize birds can live for a long time," says Salmon. Greyhaven provides a safe refuge and works hard to find appropriate homes for most of the birds. Unfortunately, not all of them can be adopted so they become permanent residents of the sanctuary.
The facility relies heavily on volunteers. Salmon's family understands this first hand. They volunteer their time cleaning anywhere from 25-30 cages and provide socialization for the birds. At times, they have transported birds to and from the vet. They also foster one of the larger breeds, an African Grey named Cody who stays at the sanctuary.
Salmon has also taken on fundraising for Greyhaven as part of her volunteer duties. On Sunday, December 2, at the annual craft fair located at BICS, her sons Bret, Chai and Jay will set up a table with donation tins for Greyhaven.The Community School Association (in partnership with community school coordinator Sarah Haxby) provides free tables to support young entrepreneurs, artisans, crafters and kids who are fundraising to support charitable organizations. If people donate a toonie or more they will receive a "feathered friend", a plasticine feathered creature made by IPS students who recently visited the Salmon's home base aviary and were educated on responsible bird ownership. A $60 donation will sponsor a parrot for a year, anyone who donates this amount will receive a colourful tail feather from one of the larger breeds.
The boys will also be selling greeting cards from the Victoria-based company Hand and Beak, owned by Mary McQueen. Her pet lovebird Luigi shreds paper which she then turns into greeting cards. McQueen was featured on the hit show the Dragons' Den and a portion of sales will be donated to Greyhaven (www.greyhaven.bc.ca).
