Phoenix Landing Foundation, May 2026

2026 Wellness Retreat, May 30-31, Asheville, NC

Join us in beautiful Asheville for our 8th Wellness Retreat! Here is our draft agenda, built around some incredible speakers with topics to suit everyone's interest. Our attendees represent a blend of the parrot community, so you are sure to find people with similar interests while also making new friends. We always have fun, but our goal this time is to bring you more interactive sessions. Some participants will have a chance to train a bird or look in a microscope, build a playgym, participate in diagnosing medical conditions, or think about how to solve behavior challenges. And we'll have an extensive auction! Dorm rooms available for convenience, deadline for reserving those is May 10th. Online registration for the conference closes May 27th, but you can always arrive in person at the last moment. More info about the topics, speakers, and registration here.

Other Upcoming Events:

May 9th - 23rd: Two online core classes, available to anyone interested in parrot care ideas and information, because there is always something new to learn!

June 13th: Open House at The Landing in Alexander, NC

June 20th Zoom: New Welfare Assessment Tool with Andrea Piseddu, PhD

** Did you miss one of our past Zoom events? Most are uploaded on our website for you to listen to anytime. There is always something new to learn! **

Interested in seeing wild parrots and supporting conservation? We have organized another ecotour to Brazil (Sep 19-Oct 5).
It is one of our best trips for seeing parrots, including the rare hyacinth macaw, Amazons, conures, and quakers - just to name a few!
More details about our 2026 Brazil trip here

Some of Our Adoptable Birds

These are just a few of the birds currently in foster, or previously adopted and now looking for their next home. We also have 80+ still waiting for our help. They are not featured by us until they are actually in our system in a Phoenix Landing home. If you are looking to adopt (not shop!), we probably have some good options. We will work with you to make a good match for you and especially for the bird! For more information about our adoption and education process, click here.

Sidney
Cockatiel

Alexander, NC

Rukhmar

Jenday Conure

Woodbridge, VA

Ollie

Mealy Amazon

Nokesville, VA

Elliot

Canary

Alexander, NC

Pancho and Sunny

Sun Conures

Nokesville, VA

Harley

Yellow-napped Amazon

Chevy Chase, MD

Birds Helped as of May 1st

Adoptions Finalized in April

Sara, Congo African Grey

Oliver, Greenwing Macaw

Martini, Pineapple Green Cheek Conure

Kettle, Green Cheek Conure

Mirey, Cockatiel

Birds in the News

• Wild parrots quickly learn to eat new foods by copying their friends (Science X)
• Bruce the Kea, without a top beak, still holds his own with other males (NY Times) (National Geographic)
• What species are San Francisco's parrots? It's complicated (Bay Nature)
• Scientists identify 230-million-year-old parrot-beaked reptile (Reuters Connect)
• 230 million-year-old parrot-beaked video in Brazil (Reuters)
• The only way a female Eclectus avoids starvation is by being fed by males hoping to mate with her (Discover Wildlife)
• Parrots use proper names like humans to identify individuals (Phys)
• More about Dr. Benedict's work about speech from our Zoom with her and her team
• Harbor seals can 'talk' thanks to their parrot-like brains (CBC)
• The relationship between pet keeping and connection to nature (Scientific Reports)
• How do ringneck and quaker parakeets thrive in cities? (Forbes)
• Huge nest. Small bird. Why quakers are threatening power on Long Island (NBC)
• Ringnecks appearing in Paris now as well (Sortir Paris)

Conservation News

• Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Microbiomes to help stop trafficking (Lafeber)
• Microbiome test aims to help snag smugglers (Audubon)
• Caracas' iconic macaws threatened by vanishing palm trees (NPR)
• Record kākāpō breeding season with 95 rare parrot hatchlings (Mongabay)
• Conservationists celebrating the 105th kākāpō chick to hatch during 2026 (Live Science)
• More about the kākāpō's successful breeding season the from the Smithsonian
• After 15 years, Patagonian conures have reappeared in Argentinia, a return that seemed impossible is underway (EcoNews)
• San Diego man sentenced to three months for smuggling 17 parrots (DoJ)
• Trafficked Amazon parrots rescued, now recovering in North Florida (YouTube)
• The swift parrot’s distinctive call was recorded dozens of times in a patch of Tasmanian forest. Then the forest was logged (The Guardian)
• Nigeria reaffirms its commitment to protecting endangered parrots (PG)
• Exotic pets and wildlife trafficking: why wild animals are being liked to death (IFAW)
• Critically endangered Night parrots detected in Queensland (ABC)

2026 Membership Program

Ways to Help and Wish Lists

• Small monthly pledges greatly help to sustain us!
• We need some memory sticks for our upcoming Wellness Retreat speakers
• Become a 2026 Phoenix Landing member. Shopping discounts good for one year from the date joined.
• Check out our Wish Lists on Amazon or Chewy. We always need in-shell walnuts, pecans, almonds, and hazelnuts; as well as shelled walnuts. Our other highest priorities as listed on our Amazon wishlist are oat groats, buckwheat, nozzles, and paper bags.
• We also have an Amazon Workshop Wishlist for maintenance, repair, and toy-making. We are constantly fixing cages and doing maintenance.
• We have now have Walmart wish list
• Sponsor-a-parrot. Give a little extra for birds that need a little extra from us, either because of higher veterinary costs or because they are have been at The Landing for awhile waiting for the their next home.
• Shop at our on-line store, HelpingParrots.com, another essential revenue source
• "Taxi drivers" are always appreciated! We serve a large area on the east coast, and strive to make the best matches for every bird. If you would like to help transport a bird to their next home, sign up and join us.
• Live in the Asheville area? On-site volunteers are always needed for cleaning cages and feeding birds, if you're interested in helping on a regular basis.
• Monetary donations are always welcome. The parrots appreciate every dollar.
• Have a car, truck, motorcycle, RV, or boat you would like to donate? Perhaps it is in need of repair? Now you can donate it through Pawsitive Impact and have it benefit Phoenix Landing Foundation.

Non-monetary donations may be sent to: 

Phoenix Landing 31 Landing Place, Alexander, NC 28701

Please drop us a note at contact@phoenixlanding.org if you purchase something for us, including if you'd like a thank you note, as vendors rarely tell us who the donors are. Thanks for helping parrots!