Thirsk parrot sanctuary holds successful first open day...

A local parrot sanctuary which recently gained charity status held its first open day on Sunday 23 April, welcoming hundreds of visitors and raising over £1,700 to support its work.

Morndyke Parrot Sanctuary, near Thirsk, was set up by Tricia Phillips at the family farm after her daughter, Anna, became interested in birds in 2018 and has now grown to 120 parrots housed in a state-of-the-art, £60,000 aviary.

“We started off with ten pigeons in a wooden aviary in 2018. When Anna went to work in a pet shop, there was a lone kakariki parrot there and I couldn’t leave it, so ended up bringing it home then getting another one to keep it company,” said Tricia. “Now we have a range of parrots including conures, cockatiels, African Greys, Amazons, ring-neck parakeets and rosellas.

The open day was a chance for people to come and see what we do, to learn about parrots and see how important it is for them to be able to express natural behaviours like flocking and flying about.(Photo copyright Liz Falkingham).............

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