More than a year ago a moment in time occurred which has haunted my early morning mind-ramblings and has finally forced me to take pen to paper, or more accurately to force arthritic fingers (slightly twisted from chopping vegetables, clamping hogwire to aviaries and more than a few Macaw tussles) to peck at the keyboard. It happened at a Bird Mart in Ventura, California.

Bird Expos and Marts are events which we usually do not relish because we will not participate in the sale of birds, but only go to promote our healthy, natural bird products. Actually, we have raised some eyebrows by displaying posters showing pictures of our babies, snug in their home nurseries with captions "Where are our baby birds??... Certainly not in this environment!!"

Several bird friends, including Loraine Scott, one of our first customers at Parrots Naturally and owner of Calypso, the very first Amazon that we had sold, helped set up a simple booth by setting out sprout jars, supplements and samples of our delectable sprouting mix. Midday, Naomi Sponza, the current president of the Ventura County Bird Club dropped by the booth and while she proceeded to devour most of the sprout samples, between appreciative mmmm's (this stuff is good enough to put on your salad), very thoughtfully remarked..."You know, we really need to go back to our roots, what the bird club is really about... Look at our mission statement...Would you like to come to the next meeting and speak about Conservation? "

Not being much of a public speaker, my response was "Naomi, let me think about it, perhaps I could write an article for your newsletter, instead. I really will work on it, because I feel very deeply that we should refocus on Conservation issues." Later, that day, partly to escape the noise and confusion of the Mart, I felt drawn to the outside of the fairgrounds.

It was a particularly gorgeous Spring day and the sun was sparkling on the incredible Pacific Ocean only a few hundred yards away, while huge seagulls strutted around the fair's parking lot. It was a dazzling sight. And, suddenly it was not the Spring of 1999. It was a magic day in the early 1970Ěs when I had stood at almost this exact spot. My children were not much older than my grandchildren are now, and they had no idea why their impulsive mother and always insightful father had packed them into the new VW van (My trademark, I drove three to extinction) and had driven them to some strange outdoor rally in Ventura.

I remember saying to them "This is something that you will tell your friends about someday." My family and several thousand others had been drawn to this spot to hear Jacques Cousteau, at a time when the word conservation, recycling, environmental pollution and yes "Earth Day" were just becoming a part of our vocabulary. I can still see the grizzled Captain and hear his heavily accented voice imploring us to wake up and take notice of the devastation mankind had wreaked upon the oceans and the planet.

That day changed my life and I'm sure the lives of many others. We all became founding members of the Cousteau Society and the Save the Whales Foundation (now the Earth Island Institute) on the spot. Who wouldn't want to join the cause after hearing such a rousing and inspirational plea?

The seeds of this article have lain dormant for more than a year. Occasionally, I have picked up the phone to talk to Naomi about other things and have meant to ask her if she still wanted that article on conservation. If I hadn't picked up this month's Bird Talk magazine and read Layne Dicker's article on conservation, I might never have written these words.

In his inimitable style, Layne has thoughtfully developed his case for avian enthusiasts to rally to the cause of conservation. He has also challenged people like me, namely bird breeders, to rethink our role in aviculture and to search our souls for an honest answer to the question: "Can parrot breeders be true conservationists, or is the term Conservationist/Breeder an oxymoron??"

Long before Live Oak Aviary had become a reality, the conflict of breeder Vs conservationist had been troubling to me. And, I know that I am not the only one disturbed by such thoughts. Over the years, thoughtful aviculturists have explored this topic and have never satisfied my doubts.

The lingering questions are:

Can any of us have a clear conscience while selling parrots to the public??

Do we truly believe that we are raising birds in order to save them for future generations? Is saving these birds from extinction our primary motivation -- ??

If the demand for parrots is always going to be a factor, are we helping to supply the demand with domestic birds and thereby reducing the role of smuggling?

Are we kidding ourselves, or can we really make a difference??

I think that I am getting closer to the answer. Before we started this incredible adventure, my husband stated simply, "I could not live with myself if we were dependent upon our breeding birds for our livelihood". This has become our basic credo since we both know that the well being of the parrots will always be our primary concern.

Not all birds are endangered. Some are surviving and reproducing very well in Aviculture. There is no reason why we cannot raise and sell these popular birds to a discerning public in order to support the work of perpetuating the more endangered species. Not all breeders however, are this enlightened.

I like to divide bird breeders (or whatever some of them should be called,) into three general categories which I rank somewhat similarly to the CITES Classification of endangered species: Group 1, I call the Greedy Bastards or is it Bustards?? Like the birds on the CITES 1 list but unfortunately for the birds, it is possible that the human equivalent is in danger of imminent extinction.

I have seen facilities owned by members of this group that made we want to rush to join PETA or other animal rights organizations. Those of us that are optimists see this group as facing extinction because their flocks will succumb to deadly diseases, poor nutrition or if they are simply bird brokers as many of them are, buying baby parrots from the nests of breeders without consciences. These babies do not thrive, are not weaned or socialized properly or will succumb to infections and viruses.

Word is out to beware of brokers portraying themselves as breeders and breeders who will sell unweaned babies to the first buyer. Word of mouth and the Internet are providing responsible breeders with some hope.

Group 2: This category of Bird Nuts may also self-destruct. Most of them started out with lofty goals, but were addicted to the urge to add more and more to their collections (another term, which I despise). These people should have joined "Bird Buyers Anonymous" or another 7-step program before it was too late. Most of them burn out and suffer life-threatening illnesses, divorces or financial ruin before selling off their bird "collections" to mostly novice aviculturists.

Group 3: Need to finish this section

So, in the final analysis, who is the real endangered species? Perhaps it is not the birds about whom we are so concerned.

As one of my favorite comedians, George Carlin (flower children of the 60's remember the "Hippy, Dippy DJ"), so brilliantly tells it, though in much more colorful language!

The real endangered species is Homo Sapiens, womankind and mankind is nothing more than a mild irritant on the face of mother earth... one toss of her head, the reversal of the magnetic poles or the landing of another meteor (which, as we now know probably caused the extinction of the Dinosaurs), and we're history.

But what about the birds? If we believe the current archaeological theories, our birds are the modern dinosaurs, and somehow, they survived the same meteor that extinguished most earthbound creatures.

By natural or unnatural means, the human race will either blow itself up or will be unable to adapt to the "brave new world" after the next global disaster. Birds, the exquisite, adaptable creatures that they are, will survive in some form because of their ability to take off and soar above the devastation that man or serendipity will create Lesson of the day: Hug and love your family, your bird friends and your incredible birds—because we're all on a very short ride on this planet Earth.

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