Tag archives: parrots

From the Parrot Perspective
By Leslie Rugg and Erica Brege   |   October 24, 2023

by Leslie Rugg and Erica Brege The saying goes, “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Leslie Rugg, Board of Directors President of The Plumery, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating a haven for parrots, would add, “and if you go ahead and do, it just means someone else has to act responsibly!”  […]

Bird Talk — Abandonment: When Bad Things Happen to Good Birds
By Leslie Crane Rugg   |   May 17, 2022

Relinquishing an exotic pet bird is rarely ideal, but an owner admitting they have run out of options to handle the full-time needs of a mature parrot is honest and very real. Most people are unprepared for the possessive commitment a parrot exhibits toward its owner or other beloved family member. When that commitment can’t […]

Feeding the Flock
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 3, 2022

The COVID crisis has been quite a challenge for nearly everyone in the world. But for Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary – the nonprofit founded in 2004 by director Jamie McLeod to rescue and often rehabilitate unwanted and displaced companion parrots – the pandemic really has been for the birds. Or rather, not so much, as […]

Virtual Vacation to Honduras
By Leslie Westbrook   |   November 19, 2020

We could all use a virtual vacation. Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary board member Leslie Rugg reached out to me enthusiastically via email to get the word out about the parrot haven and rescue center in Summerland whose director of the Sanctuary is longtime Montecito resident Jamie McLeod. Birds with chronic conditions remain at the Sanctuary […]