I watched the PBS Nature Series documentary film Parrot Confidential on Netflix in January 2015. I cried through most of it and found my heart leaping into action. At that time, I had Claire for two years and she had become the heartbeat outside my body, my strength and my reason to take better care of myself.

The following year, a client’s wife impressed upon me that I should visit a bird shop called “Menagerie” in Summerland, CA, about a half hour from Ventura.

The first Saturday of February 2016, I was out for a drive with Claire looking for new opportunities and future homes. I decided to explore Summerland and came across a sign with a picture of Black Palm Cockatoo that caught my eye. I realized this was the bird shop that Hilary told me about.

As Claire and I opened the front door, I realized we were in Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary, the place I had been dreaming about for the past year. Claire was elated to be in such a beautiful tropical setting with so many potential birdie friends. I tried to hold back my happy tears on a quick tour with warm and friendly introductions, as well as an invitation to attend their Sunday Birdie Bagel Brunch the following day.

At the Bagel Brunch, I met Jamie from Parrot Confidential. We danced with the birds to a live Parrothead Concert by Unkle Monkey. Within a week I was doing everything from social media, newsletter writing, grant writing, correspondence, photo editing, parrot socialization, program development, administration, treasury accounting, outreach and held a seat on the Board of Directors.

It was an amazing 20 months and it all started with the PBS Nature Series documentary film Parrot Confidential.

You can purchase the full documentary on the Shop PBS site, click here.