As my husband helped three men and three women tear down old and build new outside aviaries at the rescue from where we adopted Piper, our parrot, I stayed out of the way. There were a lot of moving parts and an equal amount on the ground, I didn’t want to trip and fall, so I spent my time nearby interacting with some of the birds. We had never met the other volunteers before, but an easy camaraderie was formed instantly. They all worked together as if they had been doing it for years and joked and laughed despite the hot sun blazing down on them and the soupy, humid air. Four of us had travelled two hours to reach the rescue and all but one of us share our lives with feathered souls. The non-parront doesn’t particularly care for birds – he has cats – but visits the rescue frequently to help out.
With a chorus of whistling, squawking and cooing as the background music of this project, Habitat For Humanity came to mind. The habitat here wasn’t “for” but “because of” humanity. The enclosures being constructed that day by strangers aren’t for humans to live in, they are for parrots to get fresh air, sun and a change of scenery as they wait for their forever family to arrive to take them home. The individuals building the structures were there due to compassion, kindness and love. Because of their humanity, there is a habitat for birds.
