After long-running Hamilton aviary closes, team pivots to new model to help tropical birds

It's been one month since Oscar the macaw arrived at his new home and he's already getting used to his new environment, according to his owner, Katherin Ferreira.

He spends his days observing his new family members and already learned to say "bye-bye" to Ferreira's kids when they go out to school.

"He's actually a really well-adjusted bird," she told CBC Hamilton.

Ferreira, who lives in Brampton, adopted Oscar a couple of months ago from Friends of the Aviary, a charity that helps tropical birds, and ran the Hamilton Aviary for more than 30 years.

Ferreira, who already owned two African grey parrots, said she was looking to adopt a macaw when she came across the Friends of the Aviary.

Oscar and three other birds, Merlin, Winston and Sierra — a Meyer's parrot, an African grey parrot, and another macaw — had been living together but came into the care of the aviary team after their previous owner passed away.

"Hearing [the birds'] story … just kind of broke my heart," said Ferreira, who then adopted Oscar. 

Oscar already has a bit of a routine, according to Ferreira, and if he strays from it, he'll "cry like a baby."

Otherwise, he's very quiet, said Ferreira.

"He loves just sitting in the living room with us on his play stand and watches the kids play, watches the dogs," she said.

"He's a really good boy."

22 aviary birds rehomed over the summer

Oscar was the first bird to be adopted under the Friends of the Aviary's new community-based model they started after having to close down their physical space. Under the new model, the group helps birds in the community find foster homes until they are adopted. 

Until September, 2024, the aviary operated for nearly 100 years with its own space. The Hamilton Aviary first opened in 1927 in Dundurn Castle and moved to its last location on Royal Botanical Gardens-owned land at 85 Oak Knoll Dr. in Westdale in 1996.

The volunteer-run non-profit group was hoping to build a new aviary to replace the deteriorating building in Westdale, but struggled to find the funds and lost its support from the city. 

There were 22 birds in the aviary when it closed — 11 parrots, six cockatiels and five zebra finches — all of which needed to be rehomed. 

Chair of the aviary's board of directors, Emily Downs, who started volunteering with the aviary in 2023, said she was saddened by the closure.

"We have strong relationships with the 85 Oak Knoll flock and so, seeing them move kind of felt like losing a pet," she told CBC Hamilton.

The finches, eastern rosella parrot, Rosey, and galah cockatoo, Rosie, moved to the Toronto Zoo. Twelve other birds, including blue and gold macaws Billy and Bubette and father and daughter goffin cockatoos Howard and Snowball, moved to Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Other birds who needed more specialized care, went to the homes of volunteers and board members who applied to adopt them.

One of those is Mya, a double yellow-headed amazon in her 20s, who "can be quite aggressive," according to Downs, who is now her owner.

The two developed a special bond while in the aviary and Downs became one of the few volunteers Mya wouldn't show aggression toward.

Mya is still adapting to her new home and roommates, including Downs's rescue dog, who is now "terrified" of her.

"She makes a lot of fun sounds and we were briefly fostering [Oscar] who would get very annoyed by all of her sounds and yell when she was whistling," said Downs. 

"Now my dog thinks that there's going to be a loud sound every time Mya starts whistling."'

There's "never a dull moment" in Downs's home now, but she said she's glad Mya is integrating well into her family.

Volunteers needed 

In August, the organization started receiving applications from people who needed to surrender their birds. 

Since then, they have received approximately 80 calls from people requesting they take in a bird, but unfortunately, said Downs, they can't take in every bird due to capacity.

Oscar, who's around 30 years old, was part of the first intake of foster birds. The team worked to get Oscar's health in check before he was available for adoption.

Friends of the Aviary also offers consultations for those struggling to keep their pet bird and don't want to rehome.

The aviary's new model is in its early stages still, said Downs, so they're looking for new volunteers and donations to keep operations running.

"We're hoping we can stick around for at least 100 more [years]," she said.