Here at Paradise Park, we have the privilege of working with parrots every day, so we know how special they are. They were always favourites of the Park’s founder Mike Reynolds, who had several pet parrots and kept aviary birds, even before he started the Park in 1973.
As he came to know more about them, Mike realised that many species were in danger of extinction. Determined to help, in 1989 he started the World Parrot Trust to promote the conservation and welfare of these fascinating and intelligent birds.
At Paradise Park you will see many of the diverse members of the parrot family, from all over the world: South American macaws and vibrant green Amazon parrots; little African lovebirds and their talkative neighbours the African Grey; Australian cockatoos and nectar-eating lorikeets.
Australia is also home to well-known parrots, budgies and cockatiels. In New Zealand there is even a species of flightless parrot – you can see its cousin, the Kea, here at Paradise Park.
Parrots in the wild
Since 1990 Professor Carl Jones and his many enthusiastic helpers have brought the total number of Echo Parakeets in Mauritius from 8 to over 300. We gave much support to this project (over £100,000) and provided volunteers to assist the work.
The Blue-throated Macaw in Bolivia, is now on the brink of extinction in the wild. It has faced a dramatic and well documented crisis due to capture for the pet trade. There is, however, every reason to believe that orchestrated action now will lead to a substantial recovery. Six young macaws bred at Paradise Park travelled to Bolivia in February 2013, the first to join the World Parrot Trust’s captive breeding and release programme. Read more here.
Parrots in our homes
Members of the intelligent and charismatic parrot family have been kept as pets for centuries. We publicise the special needs of companion birds and encourage high quality diet, housing and care. Read more here.