Hopes Dim for Yacolt, Washington, Wild Parrots

It's difficult following developments on the ground from 3,000 miles away. But I'm hearing only bad news from Yacolt, Washington, where Clark County Public Utilities Department and the U.S.D.A. attempted to eradicate wild parrots against the wishes of Yacol's community late last year.

Although the killing of the parrots stopped more than a month ago, fewer and fewer parrots are being sighted, suggesting the worst, which is that they have died a cruel death in the cold due to the continued nest removals that Clark County PUD has performed during this period.

This terribly cruel situation could have been avoided if the town of Yacolt and Clark County Public Utilities had followed best practices and not removed the parrot nests at one of the most perilous times of the year. Even in the midst of a terrible ice and snow storm, and even after pro-parrot activists notified the mayor, city council, and Clark County PUD of the dire effects of such continuing removals, the crews continued their work, sealing the parrots fate. There may still be a few surviving birds, but so far, none have been sighted in the alternative nesting platforms. So it seems that those who wished the parrots killed at the outset of this sad incident will get their way in a particularly cruel way.

This sad story could have had a much happier ending. But one cannot lay all the blame on the Yacolt politicians and the power company. Community efforts to negotiate a humane solution could have been more effective; from what I have heard from multiple sources, there appears to have been an unfortunate failure of leadership to effectively mobilize individuals, groups, both local and national, that could have stepped in to help avoid this bad ending.

It's tragic and ironic that just as people around the world began to learn that these remarkable birds gave them a reason to visit Yacolt (and provide a new source of eco-tourism revenue to the town and local businesses), it appears that the birds have succumbed to the elements, crushing an opportunity before it had a chance to bloom.

Yacolt Wild Parrots Get Human-Made Homes!

Both photos by Chris Driggins

Here are two recent photos taken by Chris Driggins, of www.nwbirdrescue.com, showing one of the recently constructed alternate nest platforms built in Yacolt, Washington, for the wild parrots displaced by the local utility company. The sticks placed at the top of these nests weren't placed by the parrots, but were put there as an inducement for them to begin construction. With any luck at all, the parrots will soon discover it and begin rebuilding their destroyed homes.

Chris has trying to work with members of the Yacolt Quaker Parrot Preservation Association and the Quaker Parrot Society to keep the parrots alive through the cold months. You can read more about the Yacolt Wild Parrot Crisis by clicking here and you can tell officials in the town of Yacolt and the Clark County Public Utilities Department to end their anti-parrot pogrom by signing our online petition.

Wild Parrot Nest Tests

A wild Quaker Parrot peers out of a nest built on an artificial platform in Boston.

The push to deploy artificial nest platforms for wild Quaker Parrots received new impetus over the weekend when an anonymous NJ resident agreed to house such platforms on his property. This development is important because utility companies such as Con Ed and PSE&G have long sought ways to lure the wild parrots away from their utility poles but neither they nor any research institutes have deployed any funds for such development or testing.


Plans for Marc Johnson's artificial nesting platforms.

Private volunteers, who work without pay or other support from officialdom, are filling this research and development gap. The platforms are cheap to make, and the only real cost is labor. The work is dangerous, and none of us have health insurance, so if we break our limbs while doing such work, our only recourse is "home surgery using hand tools." Still, we are willing to take the risk because we want to do our part for "the world's most persecuted parrot."

It is too early to say whether the planned installation will prove successful. The platforms have worked in the Boston area, but we may find it necessary to deploy several designs and fine-tune them to attract the parrots. This is an ongoing experiment and our findings will be published, in order that other pro-parrot groups can use them.