Volunteers care for parrots in Orange County

In the latest part of KPCC's "Season's Givings" series, Susan Valot visits a bird sanctuary in Orange County where volunteers help care for neglected parrots.

Bird: Hello!

Susan Valot: I'm Susan Valot with "Season's Givings."

Dan Hill: I'm Dan Hill and I'm the managing director of the Lily Sanctuary. And we've been doing this for almost 20 years now.

Bird (playing on bars): What are you doing?

Valot: Hill and his wife have turned their Westminster home into a haven for neglected parrots.

[Double yellow-headed amazons squawk]

Valot: About 45 birds, large and small, spend every afternoon outside while volunteers get to work amid the labyrinth of cages inside.

[Bird squawks, other bird whistles]

Patrice Marcks: I just finished washing all the food and water dishes. Now, I'm going to clean a few cages.

Valot: Volunteer – and bird lover – Patrice Marcks of Riverside lays down fresh newspaper in a cage.

[Sound of rustling newspapers as cage is changed and bottom of cage is shaken out]

Marcks: Oh, it's just very fulfilling. There's such a need. And you know, you can sit at home and say, "Oh, what a shame. So many birds are in really bad shape." But it's nice to get out and do it.

And everyday, every time I come here, I start out going "Ew, I don't want to go." And on the way home, I'm going, "Ah, that was great!"

[Marcks sweeping out cage and rustling newspapers] Ugh, lots of poop.

Valot: Lily Sanctuary is full. It has to turn away about 100 birds a month.

[Bird 1 squawks]
Bird 2: Butter!
Bird 3: Hello!

Valot: Bob Owczarek of Santa Ana is a long-time volunteer.

Bob Owczarek: Oh, there's naturally a sense of accomplishment and you're filling a definite need. Absolutely, a definite and distinct need. There aren't a lot of parrot rescues out there.

[Bird squawking]

Valot: Lily Sanctuary's Dan Hill says volunteers are the wings that keep the rescue afloat.

Hill: Well, if it wasn't for the volunteers, we wouldn't be able to maintain this. It'd be virtually impossible. For me to do it myself – or my wife and I to do it – it would take us probably 10 or 12 hours a day every day. It would just be impossible.

[bird squawking]
Marcks: I think he wants you to come back. (laughs)

Valot: For more info on volunteering, check out LilySanctuary.org.

Bird: Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye-bye.