by Nancy Vesely
January 20, 2026
My parrots are my world.
My life with my parrots reminds me of a legendary story: “It Mattered to the Starfish”.
Photo by Pedro Lastra, Unsplash
A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along, he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean. “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” he asks. “Because the sun is up and the tide is going out, and if I don’t throw them further in, they will die.” “But old man, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish along it! You can’t possibly save them all, you can’t even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won’t make any difference at all.” The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference to that one.”
Three of my Parrots that I have cared for, Zazu, Holly, and Howie, will always have an extra special place in my heart and memories. They have lovingly taught me so much about the kinds of chop they like best to eat, how they eat it in their bowls, and when they like to eat.
After living with them for a while, I got to know them so well and began to understand them totally. We have such a strong bond! I understand what they do and why they do it. If you have never looked into a parrot’s eyes, you are missing it. You can see the brain working behind those beautiful eyes. There is reasoning happening behind those eyes. They have brains and are very smart! They are smart and know how to push your buttons.
For example, they sometimes get up early in the morning. If I am not awake yet to feed them, their bird room gets really LOUD! They do this to wake me up so that I will come right away to give them their favorite breakfast. They know I will come in asap when they make all that noise. We have such a strong bond.
With all that I can do to help my parrots, there is one thing that I cannot do, which is to help diagnose why they are suddenly not eating, talking, or coming out of their cages. This breaks my heart, and I feel powerless. I then have to rely on the assistance of a vet. Unfortunately, we do not have many vets who specialize in treating parrots where I live. Sometimes, I have to travel three and a half hours just one way to see a vet, and it is worth it!
As soon as I see signs that a parrot is not well, I begin calling vets for an appointment asap. If I am lucky to get an appointment right away, time is ticking as I wait for the results. It always seems like it is a long, painful waiting period. Once we have a treatment plan in place, I begin to relax a little and take great care of following the plan and comforting my parrot as he recovers.
I am always here for my sweet parrots.
Whether they rattle my sanity early in the morning for breakfast or need me to find a treatment to bring their health back to them so they feel better, I am always here for them.
Zazu
Zazu was one of my “Starfish.” One day, he stopped coming out of his cage.
Thank you for reading! Learn more about Zazu in my next blog!