Citizens of Yacolt, Washington, Rally to Save Their Free-Range Quaker Parrots

"Monk Bunkers" Under Construction in Connecticut, January 2006

I spoke today to Joy Tindall, a resident of Yacolt, Washington who recently formed YPPA (the Yacolt Parrot Preservation Association). Joy has been leading the charge to save Yacolt's wild Quaker Parrots (AKA Monk Parakeets) from extermination. Joy and a small band of pro-parrot partisans are working hard with both the Clark County Public Utility Department and the City of Yacolt to provide alternative nesting platforms (AKA "Monk Bunkers") for the wild parrots to build on.

Joy has no Internet access right now and asked me to broadcast the news that this Sunday, December 9th, there will be a nesting platform working session. Volunteers are needed to assemble these platforms. If you're in the neighborhood of Yacolt, have basic hand tools, and are willing to help, you'll be welcome at this session. Here are the details:

When: This Sunday, December 9th, at 2:00 PM
Where: The Yacolt Pentecostal Church, which is at the intersection of Humphrey and Rank, Yacolt, Washington.

Please call Joy at 360-320-9768 for more information on this working session. "Monk Bunkers" have successfully provided wild Quaker Parrots safe refuge for the winter. Monk Bunkers are easy to build and the design for them is not patented, which means that they can be built without any licensing fee. You can listen to a radio commercial created by BrooklynParrots to promote Monk Bunkers by clicking on this link.

I asked Joy how the homeless parrots are doing. The weather in Yacolt is rainy and cold, and the parrots seem to be sheltering in trees. Joy and other concerned residents are doing their utmost to keep the parrots fed. With luck and hard work, there will be human-engineered homes for them to return to before the ice and snow set in.

Note: The Oregon-based news site OregonianLive.com has an updated story recounting the latest developments in the Wild Quaker Parrot Crisis in Yacolt that was posted today, December 7th, 2007.