Our bird rescue efforts started more than seven years ago when we lived in California. As is often the case when people start out in animal rescue, it all started with just one bird, a beautiful and friendly little cockatiel who I spotted outside my office window in Santa Monica.

For the first hour or two, I didn’t think anything of the chirping. ‘Just another bird’, I thought. But the chirping didn’t stop. So I finally decided to look outside and I noticed a colorful bird perched on a balcony of a hotel across the street. He definitely did not look or sound like a wild bird, so I went running over to the hotel to notify the front desk staff that someone’s pet bird must have gotten loose. They explained that they don’t allow pets so it couldn’t have belonged to any of their guests. When I went back outside, he had flown to the rooftop of my building. I ran back inside, up three flights of stairs, and out onto the roof. There he was, obviously lost and scared because when I got within 10 feet of him, he hopped right over and jumped up onto my finger! I spent several weeks posting flyers, doing outreach on social media, and searching for his owner through a multitude of calls to local animal shelters, bird clubs, bird rescues and local veterinarians, but nobody ever claimed that sweet little guy. From there, my life changed forever.

Although I had always been an animal lover, I never intended to own a bird, but I quickly fell in love with him and from then on was committed to his well-being. I own a business doing marketing and graphic design for non-profits, and the day that cockatiel flew into my life, I acquired a large client in Dallas, Texas. So I named the bird “Dallas”, and he is still with us today.

Once I realized Dallas was going to be a permanent part of my family, I began doing research, learning all that I could about proper care and enrichment to keep a cockatiel happy and healthy. Through research, I learned about the often overlooked and unknown plight of captive parrots in the United States. There are thousands of captive parrots living in deplorable conditions, and thousands that are abandoned or orphaned or neglected and in need of a safe and permanent home. It was heartbreaking and the more my husband and I read, the more we knew it was up to us to do something and make a difference. So, we started taking in one more bird, and then another, and another…

Today we provide care and sanctuary to more than 35 parrots of all species, from macaws, cockatoos, amazons, a variety of conures, cockatiels, lovebirds and budgies. In order to sustain and grow what we do, we knew we were going to have to start fundraising at some point, but we needed the motivation – someone who believed in us and our parrot rescue efforts, and someone willing to step up, dig deep and support our cause. We are incredibly proud of what we do, and we are incredibly grateful for Fred Phillips who made a significant start-up contribution in memory of his beautiful partner of 24 years, Electra Churchill. Electra was an avid animal lover who was taken from this Earth far too early, leaving behind her beloved Cherry Headed Conure, Leonard, who will live out his life with us here at A Place to Land. Because of Fred’s donation in memory of Electra, she will always be remembered as an integral part in starting and sustaining A Place to Land and we are honored to be able to continue Electra’s legacy and share her story and love for animals through the work that we do for birds.