The Gabriel Foundation

05/30/2026

Spa day for Rainbow, our 47-year-old scarlet macaw! 🦜❤️

Rainbow loves when her caretaker helps with her pin feathers. Pin feathers are new feathers covered in a keratin sheath that flakes away as the feather matures. Birds can usually groom these themselves, but the ones on their heads are out of reach, so they rely on trusted flock mates for help!

For companion parrots, a trusted caregiver can step in to provide the same care, making it both an important part of feather health and a wonderful bonding experience. Judging by Rainbow’s face, she’s a big fan of spa day. ✨🥰

05/28/2026

*Tears of joy* In a new conservation milestone reported by The Guardian, blue-and-gold macaws have been successfully reintroduced into Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca National Park after nearly 200 years of local extinction—an extraordinary and deeply emotional wildlife comeback story!

This one hits especially deep for us at here at The Gabriel Foundation, where we care for so many relinquished blue-and-gold macaws. Watching a species tied to our daily work return to the skies of Brazil after disappearing from Rio for generations is nothing short of making us utterly sob over here. 😭💙💛

What makes this story so important to understand is that this was not a simple “release.” These birds were not just opened from cages and expected to survive. Reintroduction is a slow, highly controlled conservation process that can take *years.* Rescued birds are carefully rehabilitated, flight-conditioned, and taught to recognize natural foods. They are gradually prepared for independence in a protected habitat, supported by a full conservation team every step of the way.

Many captive parrots cannot safely be released at all. Birds raised around humans lack critical survival skills, may pose disease risks to wild populations, or face ecosystems that no longer resemble the ones their species evolved in. Habitat loss and trafficking pressures mean that even “good candidates” require intensive evaluation and long-term preparation. Sanctuaries, shelters and similar rehabilitation centers exist precisely because not every bird can—or should—be returned to the wild. But these birds still deserve safety, enrichment, social bonds, and dignity!

For those of us who work closely with parrots every day, we feel so deeply seeing these birds similar to the ones in our care soaring free over Rio once again. It’s a reminder that conservation work and sanctuary care are NOT opposing ideas—they are different, essential responses to the same human-driven disruption. Both matter and both are acts of repair!

When we know better, we do better. And every effort to protect and rehabilitate these birds is part of that long, imperfect, deeply necessary work. Yay for beautiful news.

⬇️⬇️⬇️ Read full article in comments!

05/27/2026

🚨 STOLEN BLUE & GOLD MACAW - AURORA, CO 🚨

Please help bring this bird home safely.

A Blue & Gold Macaw belonging to Christopher was reportedly stolen in Aurora, Colorado. Christopher recently moved to Aurora from Florida, and this bird is deeply loved and missed.

📍 Last Seen:
April 25, 2026 around 9:30 AM
13th & Racine St (near Colfax & Peoria)
Aurora, CO 80011

⚠️ The bird is NOT microchipped and is NOT banded.

A police report has been filed.

If you have seen this macaw, have information, or notice someone suddenly trying to sell or rehome a Blue & Gold Macaw matching this description, please contact:

📞 Christopher: 904-476-9051

🦜 The Gabriel Foundation
📞 303-629-5900
🌐 The Gabriel Foundation

Please share publicly across Facebook groups, neighborhood pages, Craigslist alerts, Nextdoor, TikTok, Instagram stories, and local lost/found pet communities.

05/25/2026

The recent Rolling Stone article on African grey parrots examines how viral social media content can unintentionally fuel demand for the illegal wildlife trade…

Silly, sweet, talking parrots that dance and snuggle. Millions of views. But behind many of these videos is a more difficult reality: wild birds are still being trapped, trafficked, and sold to meet the demand created by exotic pet fascination online and the romanticized idea of living with parrots rather than the challenging reality of their lifelong care. 💔

There *has* been progress. Stronger international protections and trade restrictions for African greys have helped bring more attention and regulation to the species, making legal importation and trafficking more difficult than they once were. That matters. But enforcement is still complicated, illegal trade still exists, and social media can drive demand faster than education can keep up.

As a shelter and sanctuary, this creates a moral dilemma that we here at The Gabriel Foundation think about often when posting videos and social media content of our own birds. We love sharing their extraordinarily unique personalities, educating the public about them, and helping parrots that come into our care find incredible adopters and lifelong homes. But we also sometimes worry about contributing to the romanticized image of parrot ownership that social media can create easily…

A short clip can immortalize a funny or affectionate moment that many people naturally want to experience for themselves. What it *cannot* capture is the full reality: the decades of commitment, emotional complexity, noise, destruction, behavioral challenges, and specialized care these highly intelligent animals require.

We hope sharing both the joy and the reality helps create more informed, compassionate relationships with parrots, while reminding people these birds are far more than entertainment or “content.”

Behind every viral parrot video is a real animal with real needs, and often, a species paying the price for our fascination.

⬇️⬇️⬇️Full article in comments.

05/25/2026

Wishing you all a restful Memorial Day weekend spent with your loved ones, feathered and human alike! We hope that you will be able to join us for this live webinar tomorrow at 10am MT with guest speaker, Dr. Bianca Murphy! If you have not yet registered, the link is in the comments of the original post as well as in the comments below! We'll see you all tomorrow ❤️🤍💙

Oral medication delivery is one of the most common sources of stress for companion parrots and their caregivers, and it doesn't have to be. In this webinar, we'll walk through a practical, step-by-step approach to target training and how that foundation can be transferred to a syringe, spoon, or other delivery tool. Caregivers will leave with a clear training plan they can start at home, troubleshooting tips for common sticking points, and a better understanding of why cooperative care benefits both the bird and the veterinary team.

We hope you can join us for this live session with Bianca Murphy, DVM, next week Tuesday, May 26th at 10am MT! Registration in comments, story, and on our website!

05/24/2026

Feathers here, feathers there, lots of feathers everywhere. With spring in the air, you might be noticing that your feathered friends are in molt. This is the beginning of the season of lost birds - those who’ve gotten out of an open door or window, went outside on someone’s hand, arm or shoulder, then startled and flew away. Or were outside in a cage or aviary with unsecured doors and managed to escape. One truth: Birds will NOT come back just because they “love” you. So many birds panic when they attempt to reach their familiar person and inadvertently climb higher and higher or take off for another location. This is a situation that leaves us all feeling helpless.
Do yourself and your bird(s) a favor. Make note of the bird’s band if it’s wearing one. Take photos of your bird. Note any peculiarities related to your bird. Locate any paperwork that you have that provides proof of ownership. Consider having your bird microchipped.
Interested in teaching your bird recall? Now’s a great time for both of you to learn what that looks like.
Are your bird’s flight feathers trimmed? Properly? Remember that birds are designed to fly. This means that they are aerodynamic and with many species, a flight feathers trim won’t keep them from taking flight and even going a distance. Don’t be lulled by a false sense of security. What about harness training your bird? This is a perfect opportunity to work with your bird to keep it safe outside. Invest in a backpack-style carrier that you can either wear facing front or place it on your back. Celltei makes a great product and there are other companies that make similar products. Having your bird contained in a backpack can make the difference between life and death for your bird. We love it and are so relieved when a lost/found bird and caretaker are reunited. But, many are not. Below is Picasso, little hybrid conure, who escaped through an open front door. He was found near a golf course over 5 miles from his home, and a Good Samaritan brought it to us. Someone saw this found bird on Pawboost, reached out to the likely owner, they reached out to us and days later they have now been reunited. We have others with us who have not yet been claimed.

AND, if your bird flies the coop - make Lost Bird flyers that include date and time lost, where lost (cross streets help a-lot!), your contact info. If you’re offering a ransom, be wary of imposters. Search and post on NextDoor,Craigslist, Pawboost, 911ParrotAlert, PetFBI, local FaceBook bird groups, humane societies, parrot shelters and to veterinarians, especially those whose practice includes parrots.

05/22/2026

On May 20, volunteers Kathy B. and Monika L. joined our CEO Julie Murad for an end-of-school visit at Woodmen Hills Elementary School with about 80 second graders, alongside ambassador birds Goober the Hyacinth macaw, Irma the miligold macaw, Boy Pearl the Umbrella cockatoo, and Zayna the African grey!

The students asked thoughtful, funny, and genuinely wonderful questions that reminded us why these visits matter so much.

One little girl, after learning that Hyacinth macaws live in Brazil, asked:
“Does Goober speak Portuguese?”

Another student patiently waited with his hand raised to ask:
“How many species of parrots are there in the world?”
(Answer: nearly 450 species!)

Between the incredible questions, curiosity, and colorful bird artwork the students created, the day left all of us smiling. Opportunities like these are priceless, and we can’t wait to visit Woodmen Hills Elementary School again when school starts back up. 🦜

05/21/2026

Many thanks from Team TGF to Sgt. John Ziadeh and Dolores Poeppel from the Colorado State Patrol for their impactful, insightful, and sobering presentation on the importance of being fully present behind the wheel!

They spoke about distracted driving, impaired driving, driver awareness, and roadway safety, reminding us how quickly a single moment can forever change lives. In the rush of work, responsibilities, and everyday stress, it’s important to pause, recalibrate, and focus on safety whenever we head out on the road.

The statistics surrounding driver-related incidents are staggering, and their message was a powerful reminder that we are all responsible for the precious cargo we carry, each other, and our flock every single day!

Thank you both for taking the time to share your knowledge and experiences with our team.

Love, Team TGF

05/21/2026

We just want to make you smile this Thursday. Have a good day from your flock here at The Gabriel Foundation 🤭😋🦜

05/20/2026

Dinner time at The Gabriel Foundation!
After a day of sunshine, fresh air, and supervised outdoor time, every bird comes back in for dinner. Every single day. Every single bird. Chop bowls prepped, routines followed, tiny dinosaurs fed with militant precision.

This is the unglamorous heartbeat of nonprofit shelter work. The cleaning, prepping, carrying bowls, refilling bowls, washing bowls, and then doing it all again tomorrow. And it’s still one of the best parts of the day. 🦜🍽️