Cosmo came into Free Flight when his previous owners decided they could not handle the combined work load of having a newborn baby and a parrot. He settled in with our flock and became re-socialzed quickly. He was eager to be handled and given attention, which made him one of our visitors' favorite birds. A sweet couple came in wanting to adopt an African Grey parrot because of their high level of intelligence and the wife had had one growing up. They met Cosmo and continued to visit him every Saturday for over 3 months to ensure that Cosmo liked them as much as they liked him. After we felt like the bond was evident between them, they made the next step and welcomed him into their family. To their delight, Cosmo continues to surprise them with new and amusing verbalizations frequently.

Moe and Pepper joined the Free Flight flock together. Moe was a very friendly male Solomon Island Eclectus, and Pepper was a less friendly female Solomon Island Eclectus. We promised the prior owners that we would adopt them out together- and we waited until that special person would come around looking for two birds. Several years later,  a very friendly couple came in looking to adopt a bird into their family. They had a large outdoor cage in their covered courtyard, and could easily accommodate two birds. After multiple visits they fell in love with Moe and Pepper and life has been wonderful for all ever since!

Sweet Zeke,  a White Bellied Caique, came into Free Flight fearful and untrusting of people. It took many months living here to begin to trust humans again. Slowly through our gentle socialization process,  he became more comfortable being handled. Zeke lived in the sanctuary for over a year before we had a kind couple come in looking to give a home to a smaller bird. They decided that Zeke was the one! They continued to visit to ensure that he trusted both the husband and the wife. Once we felt that the timing was right and their bond was formed, they took Zeke home.

Ernie is a beautiful little Yellow Naped Amazon whose beloved owner passed away and left her without a home. She became a loved addition to our flock, and in spite of her clumsy perching ability,  enjoyed handling by many people. A friend of Free Flight who had adopted a macaw from us previously fell for her sweet nature and adopted her into his family. Ernie especially likes his grandmother!

Scarlet Macaw “Mona” came to Free Flight in 2015 when her prior owners had to move out of state. While she settled into life at the sanctuary quickly (she loved chatting with visitors, often saying hello in English and Spanish!), it was apparent that missing her original ‘flock’ was a taking an emotional toll as she began to barber her feathers. We soon learned she was also extremely nervous about grooming and visiting the vet. It was going to take a lot of kindness and patience to make sure this girl received the love and care she’d need to thrive - not only with us, but in any future adoptive home.

Enter Sara. Sara became a Free Flight volunteer soon after her first visit because she completely fell in love with the flock and wanted to be around them all the time. Meeting Mona was love at first sight - for both of them! We watched their bond grow from the sidelines with cautious optimism… could this be the right fit?

To find out, we needed to meet Sara’s longtime partner, Jon. With relatively little prior experience around parrots, it was important that he learned how much life could change with a parrot in the household and for Mona to decide if she trusted him as much as Sara. Bringing home a parrot is like bringing home a child! It’s a lifelong commitment, after all!

Jon came to visit the sanctuary and took to the flock like he’d been amongst parrots his whole life. In addition to Mona, he formed a particularly special bond with resident amazon “Precious!” who he still visits to this day.

After some time, Jon and Sara knew they were committed to bringing Mona home - and to committing to each other! Shortly before her adoption day, the happy couple got engaged - and once Mona came home, their happy family of three was complete!

Since her adoption, Sara and Jon have given Mona an incredible life. She’s become more accustomed to towels and grooming, she’s gone on multiple cross-country road trips, and even learned to sing along to Jon’s songs as he sings and plays guitar! Although she continues to have hormonal spells where she barbers her feathers from time to time, her feather condition has improved drastically, as well!

“Fawkes” (yes, named after the Pheonix in Harry Potter!) came to Free Flight in 2019 and immediately became a fan favorite among our visitors. Known for his cute personality, common vocalizations (“Whatya doin?, Fawkesy!, Baby!), and great love of water (seriously, no sink or water-bowl was off limits! In his world, it was ALWAYS bath time!), he was a charmer!

But, he won over one very special person in particular: Seth. Seth came to Free Flight several years prior to Fawkes’s arrival as a member of our Parrot Camp and Junior Docent programs. After a few years away, Seth rejoined our community, now 18, as a sanctuary volunteer - and quickly grew besotted with Fawkes’s hilarious antics.

We watched the pair’s bond grow throughout the months as Seth continued to volunteer… and were positively delighted when Seth inquired about adoption!

Since going home, Fawkes has taken over the household! While he maintains a strong bond with Seth, he’s also become particularly fond of Seth’s mom, Amy! We have the pleasure of seeing him every once in a while for maintenance grooming and we’re happy to report that Fawkes is happy and healthy as ever. We wish him and his adoptive family many more happy years together!

Green-Cheek Conure Mitya joined the flock in 2021 when his prior owners were no longer able to provide him with enough time and attention. Though he was tiny, we learned quickly that he had a HUGE personality! (and a deep love for bath time!)

Mitya adapted to sanctuary life in no time at all. He loved being surrounded by all the other parrots (especially the conures!), meeting new people, and splashing about in his water bowl on sunny days!

Shortly after his arrival, some special humans came along: Lauren and their partner Robin! The pair had one male green-cheek at home already; and when they met Mitya, they just knew he needed to join their flock! Sure enough, Mitya made it known that he agreed. He absolutely loved Robin and Lauren. The minute they walked through the sanctuary gates, he’d let out excited beeps and start fluttering his wings in their direction! Once he got home (following his exciting adoption day in Summer 2022), he became fast friends with his new conure brother, as well!

Sunny came all the way from Texas to join the Free Flight flock when his prior owners grew worried about whether deployment and childcare demands would prevent their ability to provide him with all the attention and enrichment they felt he deserved. From the moment we met him, we learned he was an adventurous little spirit! He loved exploring, meeting new people, taking baths, and trying to climb into staff member’s clothing! He was also an absolute blueberry and mango fiend!

As an attention-loving little fella who seemed to thrive in the hubbub of sanctuary life, any prospective adopter would need to be committed to sharing endless hours of love, playtime, and healthy snacks with him. Lucky for Sunny, Rick was more than ready to do just that!

Longtime member Rick and his partner Kelly know how to care for high-energy parrots! Together, they shared their home with an adorable caique named Tiago for many years! After his passing, it was clear their home was too empty without a companion parrot’s screams and shredded mess all over the place. In no time at all, Sunny completely won them over!

Unfortunately, their meeting occurred shortly before the COVID-19 lockdowns. Like most places, Free Flight was temporarily closed to the public, and could not permit public visitation for quite some time. Nevertheless, Rick and Kelly persisted. Throughout those early days of lockdown, they’d set up facetime calls to visit with Sunny remotely; and, when they had a free day, they’d ride their bikes out to the sanctuary to say a socially-distanced “hello!” from outside the entry gates. Even from a distance it was clear that Sunny wanted to be with them; so, under careful protocols, we coordinated this very special ‘quarantined ‘gotcha’ day!’ and the little guy went home for the very first time in Spring 2020.

Since then, we’ve been delighted to welcome Sunny back for visits as a boarder and for maintenance grooming. He’s still doing GREAT and loves his life alongside his adoptive humans and rabbit sibling, Melissa.

Sparky joined the Free Flight flock in 2017 when his previous owners grew concerned that their lack of free time to spend with him was contributing to his bouts of screaming and feather pulling. He adapted quickly to life among the resident conures - growing especially fond of sun conure “Mezzy!”

As staff got to know Sparky better, they discovered he had some unique vocalizations and characteristics! For example, Sparky loved to quack like a duck, and would occasionally call out “luv ya!” And, IF he wanted to step up, Sparky would lift his foot up as high as he possibly could, then puff his chest up proudly once safely perched on the intended person/stick as if to say “see? I did it!”

Staff also discovered that little Sparky was quite scared of dogs and moving vehicles - which would prove to be critical information when vetting prospective adopters over the next few years.

From 2017-2023, a number of individuals expressed interest in Sparky…. but they just weren’t the right fit. Not until Jupiter, anyway!

Jupiter and her mom, Claudia, came to Free Flight as husbandry volunteers. Once a week, they’d assist morning staff with cleaning the flock’s nighttime sleeping enclosures and their dinner food/water bowls. Along the way, a mutual fondness blossomed between Sparky and the pair…. and the rest is history! After successfully completing the visitation process, Sparky was finally able to go home in 2024!

Macawli came to live at Free Flight in 2011 when his prior owners needed to dedicate their time and energy to caring for an elderly relative. As their time with him grew more limited, Macawli became more loud and house-proud, often unwilling to leave his enclosure.

In his time here at Free Flight, we were more than happy to let Macawli discover his voice…. but we did help him work on his manners! He’s still no “early bird” (and he’ll let you know if he needs more beauty sleep before it’s time to come out!). Nevertheless, as he gained trust with the staff, he learned that going outside was a good thing! (Outside = yummy snacks and dance parties with visitors!). As a staff, we also learned a few things about him!

1) Macawli had chronic GI issues (often lovingly referred to as ‘birdy IBS’). He required a specialized diet, probiotics, and careful symptom management.

2) Macawli LOVED music - especially Bob Marley!

3) He refused to learn entire words. Only the ends of words were acceptable! His favorite (his version of peekaboo) was to lean really close to someone’s face, look them closely in the eye, and whisper “Boo!”

4) With his favorite people, this dinosaur could become the most gentle giant around. We love him so much!

There’s no doubt that Macawli’s a special fella….. but his GI challenges and unique dietary needs made finding him the right home particularly tricky. Thankfully, a special soul came along in 2024 that proved to be just the right fit! When Georgio fell in love with Macawli, he committed to the visitation process straight away - even though it required multi-hour commutes. He gained Macawli’s trust and affection over time, and proved to staff that he could handle Macawli at his best (sweet, dance-party-lover)…and at his worst (upset about early mornings).

There wasn’t a dry eye in the sanctuary the day Macawli went home. We were SO happy to see him find his family after 13 years in residency - but of course, we were all going to miss him! Thankfully, though, it wasn’t goodbye - only see ya later! Knowing how much we love Macawli, Georgio has been kind enough to bring him down to visit his feathered (and human!) friends every few months ever since!

Gatsby joined the Free Flight flock in 2020 when, amidst the COVID 19 lockdowns, the boarding facility she stayed at when her previous owner traveled for work closed down and the owner was left without reliable boarding options.

While Gatsby was a little more introverted in nature than most of the cockatoos in residence, her sweet nature quickly gained her a reputation as a fan favorite. In a very quiet, scratchy voice, she’d occasionally say “hello,” or “step up.” Sometimes she’d laugh or blow kisses softly, too. (She’d just melt your heart!) Some of Gatsby’s favorite activities included doing the “side-to-side” dance when she convince visitors to join her, getting head scritches from trusted humans, and delicately biting/eating just one bristle of broccoli off a small stalk at a time while holding it in her foot.

Gatsby’s personality made it clear to us that an ideal home for her would be anywhere where she’d enjoy a calm, quiet atmosphere while remaining in the company of her preferred humans. In other words, she wanted to be able to see everything going on around her, without having to be directly involved and without experiencing anything to loud, crowded, or chaotic. Given the choice, she’d be quite happy to happy to hang out on a hand or perch all day!

Thankfully, just a few years after her arrival, the Tolomeo’s visited Free Flight for the very first time…. and less than five minutes after leaving, they came back to ask whether they might be considered to adopt her!

As they began the visitation process, they also began preparing their home to welcome her. They were determined to make sure she had everything she needed to feel comfortable in her new environment! They studied, consulted staff, researched local avian vets, purchased perches and a sleeping enclosure, and even ordered her favorite foods and toys to make sure everything would be ready to go! We were thoroughly impressed by their commitment as first-time bird owners! After a few home-repair delays, Gatsby was finally able to go home with her new family in Autumn 2024.

Mandy’s story is rather unique. As a youngster, he was found in a community member’s backyard! After unsuccessful attempts to find his owners, they brought him to Free Flight. At the time, no one knew much about him - including his name, age, or even gender! But, the community members named him “Mandy” and the name stuck. To this day he’ll still occasionally say “good girl?”

Alexandrine parakeets like Mandy are special in the parrot world, though. They’re dimorphic! When males reach the age of 5, they grow a ring of black feathers around their neck; and, much to the staff’s surprise, Mandy developed this black ring shortly after his arrival!

For the next 15 years, Mandy helped us educate and inspire thousands of visitors both onsite and as a member of our outreach team! He regularly joined us for school and senior center presentations, and remained a fan favorite throughout every year of Summer Parrot Camp throughout his tenure!

But, over time, we could tell Mandy was ready to settle down. He began to show us he’d prefer a slower pace, fewer crowds, and more one-on-one attention. So, we began the search for a home that would meet his needs.

Ironically, when Staci and Matthew first came to Free Flight, adoption was on their mind - but with plans for an entirely different species! With a previous history with African Greys, they’d assumed they’d want to stick with what they knew….. but Mandy had other ideas. He quickly charmed Matthew with his adorable calls of “Hi!” and enthusiasm for sitting on their food bowl. In no time at all, they were infatuated. With their previous history of bird care (in personal and professional settings), and Mandy’s obvious affection for them, it wasn’t long before everyone knew: Mandy had chosen his people. He was going home!

Mandy celebrated his “Gotcha!” (adoption) day on Valentine’s Day, 2025. Valentine’s Day was a particularly special day for Staci and Matthew - and they loved adding his adoption to their reasons to celebrate each year!

Since his adoption, we’ve received some adorable updates! He’s discovered a deep love for exploring grassy places (carefully supervised, of course), has learned to say “come here!,” and has even taken a special liking to the couple’s adult daughter (who we’ve been told looks quite a lot like one of our staff members!)

Kiri came to us when his owners moved to a colder climate and he made it known that he did not like it! He amused our team from the moment of his arrival with his unique dietary preferences (broccoli stems are the best!), adorable vocalizations (“Hi Kiri,” and “Bye Bye” in the cutest scratchy voice), mischievous antics (like chewing the straps off of unsuspecting visitor’s purses if they got too close to his perch), and unusual method of carving pumpkins (gently chewing off only the rind in circles all around the pumpkin, leaving the interior skin and seeds perfectly intact)! Aside from his clear disdain for cold weather, Kiri had another atypical quirk. He had chronically burst air-sacs on his chest which, while not harmful (according to our avian vet) meant that he always appeared to be walking around with balloons under his chest feathers!

Not unusual for a cockatoo, Kiri was also quick to demonstrate his powerful bite! Though rarely used in anger, Kiri had no qualms about making his opinions known. We knew that any prospective adopter would need to have a personality just as strong as his if they were to succeed in cohabitating. He’s amazing - but he’s a true cockatoo in every way!

About a year ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Collins family to the sanctuary for the first time. As the family got to know our flock, we had the opportunity to learn about theirs, too! It was clear that they knew parrot care well and weren’t afraid of a challenge. Better still, like us - they fell head over heels for Kiri’s mischievous nature!

Since his adoption, Kiri has thrived in his new home. He’s learned to call for various family members and pets, he’s gone on shopping trips for enrichment items, and been treated to all the broccoli stems and snap peas his heart desires! He visits Free Flight fairly often - and we love hearing about his latest antics!

Like a number of Free Flight’s residents, Zowie was first introduced to our sanctuary as an occasional boarder. He became a full-time resident when COVID lockdown restrictions eased, and his owner’s home and work circumstances changed.

Zowie enjoyed his residency at Free Flight! In the mornings, he’d ask “Can I come out?” and in the evenings on the way back inside, he’d often say “such a good boy!” He loved meeting new people, shredding any toys in his vicinity in 5 seconds or less, and showing off his beautiful yellow crest feathers!

When Valerie joined the volunteer team, she was instantly smitten with this handsome fella! Like him, she has a huge, fun-loving personality! They’re like two peas in a pod! Following several months of getting-to-know each other, home preparations, and fun, sweet Zowie got to go home and meet his new red-fronted macaw brother, Atticus!

Since his adoption, Zowie has continued to demonstrate the intelligence, curiosity, and strength of the cockatoo species! He’s delighted in following his mom around (while destroying anything wooden in sight), honking at her daughters for attention, and going on evening walks in his own custom-made stroller!

Buddy Boy is still rather famous around Del Mar. In his three years of residency at our sanctuary, he quickly built a reputation for being the LOUDEST parrot on site! His squawks could be heard over a mile away!

But, don’t let that volume fool you. This pink giant with the humongous voice is one of the sweetest, most optimistic characters we’ve come across yet! In addition to polite greetings like “Good Morning,” and a somewhat drawn out “Hello,” Buddy Boy was a firm believer in positive affirmations! We’d often hear him reminding himself that he’s “Such a good boy,” and a “pretty pretty bird!”

His positive outlook on life extended beyond words of self-kindness. He took time every day to engage in play! His absolute favorite activity was to throw small foot toys up in the air and chase them around. (If he was having a really good time, he’d even laugh and say “woo!”)

While Buddy clearly enjoyed his life here, we could tell that he would benefit from the opportunity to live somewhere where he could squawk as loud as he wanted whenever he wanted, and also enjoy some peace and quiet when he was ready to settle down. Needless to say, when Donna came along, it felt like fate!

Donna adored Buddy from the moment she met him; and, although she lives several hours away, she committed to our visitation requirement and came to see him regularly for a number of months. Buddy enjoyed her company as well! He’d sometimes bounce up and down while saying “Yeah!” in excitement when she arrived!

Better still, we came to find out that Donna would be able to provide exactly the kind of living environment Buddy would need: a loving home with plenty of outdoor space to squawk as much as he liked while enjoying fresh air and sunshine and a comforting home indoor with a calm, quiet atmosphere when he was ready for a calm moment or a nap.

On the day of his adoption, Buddy Boy bounced happily in his carrier as they headed toward the car and called out “Bye Bye!” to the staff. But, we’re grateful to say it’s really only been a ‘see-ya later’ as we’ve had the pleasure of visiting him in his new home a number of times since then. He’s loving life!

Mezzy joined the Free Flight flock in 2017 when her previous owners began a new business venture that left them unable to provide her with enough quality time and enrichment. She quickly adapted to sanctuary life and became a fan favorite due to her sweet nature, beautiful appearance, and adorable “whoop whoop!” cheers of excitement!

While Mezzy loved life alongside her conure comrades on-site, new things were kinda scary! We quickly learned she was not a fan of crowds (especially younger kids), and that she was prone to car sickness.

One day in early 2022, a lovely woman named Marsha visited Free Flight. She had prior experience owning and caring for smaller parrots, and she quickly grew fond of sweet Mezzy. We watched the two of them bond and soon realized Marsha’s calm, gentle nature and quieter home life was exactly the kind of environment where Mezzy was likely to thrive.

The happy pair celebrated Mezzy’s “Gotcha” day together in mid-September and have enjoyed each other’s company ever since!