By Dez Brooks | Rehabilitation and Operations Director
Hello SoCal Parrot community!
It's hard to believe that it's already September. We've had an incredibly busy summer at SCP, and it feels like the season (and the parrots!) have just flown by. 2026 is likely to be our highest number of admissions in the organization's history: we admitted 125 parrots total in 2025, and we're already at 145 for the year with 3.5 months still to go! The majority of these patients have been Amazons, as it seems the SoCal populations had a bumper crop of baby Amazons this year. One week in June, we took in 33 new patients in just 7 days, all Amazons!
Even with our hands being very full, we celebrated some big successes this summer. We handraised three of our youngest Amazon patients ever, and are looking forward to their upcoming releases. An adult Lilac-Crowned Amazon admitted after being shot in San Diego made a full recovery, overcoming a significant ulna fracture and regaining full flight ability. We've provided care for five Yellow-Headed Amazons, one of the more uncommon parrot species in Southern California. And one of the most exciting updates: we finished construction on three brand new aviaries!
These aviaries were built specifically to expand our capacity for housing parrots confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. We participate in the Wildlife Confiscations Network through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which allows us to step in when parrots enter the United States during smuggling attempts and care for the birds after they've been removed from the situation. An AZA grant helped greatly with the funding for the new aviaries, and we are extremely grateful to have received it! We currently house 44 Amazons rescued at three separate times, including a group of 22 Yellow-Naped and Red-Lored Amazons. Those birds were the first flock to move into the custom built enclosure, and they've been enjoying every inch of the expanded space so far. They are just three years old, meaning they're still boisterous teenagers in parrot years, and will need to be in human care for upwards of fifty years! This expansion has allowed us to make sure we're meeting their needs to the highest standard, and we're dedicated to providing them sanctuary.
As fall quickly approaches, our admissions slow down, but the work does not! Our team is working hard to prepare our flocks of rehabilitated Amazons for their upcoming releases back into the Southern California populations. This includes increasingly difficult conditioning sessions to ensure the birds have enough flight strength and stamina in the wild, physical examinations, and exposure to natural food sources like magnolia pods. Alongside all of that, we continue to care for new patients, particularly juvenile parrots that experience trauma as they start to navigate the world independently. We've also participated in several collaborations with local organizations and filmmakers to highlight these unique parrots! We're certainly enjoying some cooler temperatures in the desert as we look forward to release day for many of these birds.
Keep an eye on our social media, as we're excited to share release stories very soon! Our support and generosity allows us to dedicate our time to Southern California's wild parrots, and we truly appreciate this community.
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