Albatross Aviary

02/06/2026

12/11/2025

Amen

12/04/2025

In the United States we have truly reached the saturation point in terms of parrots needing rescue services.
There are not enough rescue organizations, sanctuaries or adoptive homes to handle the volume of unwanted, displaced and homeless birds.
Hoarding cases are on the rise, suddenly throwing dozens (and in some cases hundreds) of tragic, traumatized birds that local rescues and shelters have neither the space nor the financial resources to shoulder the burden.

Long-time parrot guardians are aging out or sadly dying, leaving middle-aged and elderly parrots in their wake.

Consumers *continue* to make ill-informed purchases of birds they ultimately cannot keep,or properly care for, and the inevitable changes in the lives of guardians ensure that an endless succession of parrots will continue to overwhelm the rescue community.

We must end the problem at the source.
Everyone's help is needed to speak on behalf of not only parrots, but for all birds to render the commercial trade unacceptable, to change our global values so that the sight of a bird in a cage becomes intolerable, and shunned, and to eradicate the incentive for trapping and poaching by resisting the urge to *buy* pet shop animals- refuse to enrich breeders along with the 'businesses' that in turn support them.

There is no shortage of rescues and shelters.
ADOPT. RESCUE.FOSTER.💗

11/23/2025

Well said and absolutely valid and important to understand

11/18/2025

✨ Calling All Helpers & Bird-Lovers! ✨
Cleaning Day – Friday, November 21st
Early Access + Behind-the-Scenes Look at Our New Aviary!

We’re getting everything sparkling and ready for the Plant Peeps Party Bus + Plant Swap happening on Saturday — and we could really use a few wonderful humans to help us pull it all together.

If you’d like a chance to see our brand-new Albatross Aviary location before the public does, come lend a hand for our cleaning day! This is an early-access, behind-the-scenes opportunity to walk the new space, meet some of our flock, and help us get the aviary ready for a super fun community event.

🧹 What we need:
A few good people willing to sweep, wipe, tidy, and move some stuff around to help us make the space shine.

📅 When: Friday, November 21st
⏰ 12pm-6pm — even an hour or two helps!
📍 Where: Albatross Aviary 1620 leonard st NW GR MI 49504

Your help is hugely appreciated and truly needed as we keep building this space for the birds and for our community. If you’re able to come, just comment below or send us a message so we know to expect you.

Thank you for being part of this little miracle of a sanctuary. 💛🕊️🌿

10/21/2025

🦉🎃 FEATHERED & FRIGHTFUL: The Albatross Bowl-A-Thon 🎃🦉

No Tricks, Just Treats for Trauma — Help Them Find Their Wild.

Join us Sunday, October 26th from 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM at Wenger’s Bowling Alley (629 Leonard St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504) for a Halloween fundraiser that’s all fun, no fright! Every strike, spare, and laugh helps provide critical care, specialized feed, and daily enrichment for the birds of Albatross Aviary — your local nonprofit sanctuary and rehabilitation program for companion and rescued birds.

🎟️ Tickets:

$25 Bowler Ticket — All-inclusive! Covers all games, shoes, and a direct contribution to the Aviary’s care fund.

$10 Suggested Donation — For those joining to cheer, socialize, and support the cause.

👻 Costume Contests:

Kids’ Contest (Free Entry) – Starts at 1:00 PM! Prizes emphasize learning, compassion, and stewardship — like private Aviary tours and bird-themed bundles.

Adult Contest ($20 Entry) – Cash prizes for the top three winners in a 50/50 split! Half the pool supports the Aviary’s “Mission Fund.”

💡 All prizes are donation-based! We’re celebrating creativity and community over competition — rewarding those who show heart, humor, and spirit.

🕊️ Why It Matters:
Every ticket sold funds sanctuary care and helps give birds who’ve survived neglect or trauma a second chance at life. You’re not just bowling — you’re helping them heal.

📲 RSVP & Tickets:
Stay tuned for the flyer and QR code launch!
(We’ll post the ticket link here soon.)

📞 Questions?
Venue: Wenger’s Bowling Alley | (616) 322-2676 (Tyler)
Event inquiries: [email protected]

🧡 Let’s make this Halloween a strike for the birds.

07/27/2025

🚚 TODAY’S THE DAY – We’re Moving the Birds! 🕊️
Albatross Aviary – Move Day Update & Urgent Call for Help

After months of work and planning, today is the day we move the birds into their new permanent home in West Grand Rapids. This is a massive day for us — but we’re still racing the clock and could really use your help.

🛠️ Right now, our team is at the new facility doing everything we can to finish sealing the aviary, hang the last of the lights, paint the remaining walls, and close up the drywall so that it’s safe enough for the birds to move in.

We need that all done by 2PM.
That’s when we pick up the U-Haul and begin the heavy lifting — moving cages, fridges, desks, and other large items that have been on hold since our founder’s shoulder injury.

🚚 We’ll be doing the bulk of the moving between 2PM and 6PM and we could really use some extra hands — Got a truck or trailer and some muscles, even if it’s just for an hour or two. Every bit helps.

📍Gairen is at the old building prepping the birds for transport — keeping them calm and tending to their needs while loading them into travel cages and managing final checks. As soon as the new space is safe, we’ll begin the bird move.

🙌 How You Can Help Today:
🖌️ Help us finish painting and sealing the main aviary space this morning

💡 Assist with mounting and wiring the remaining lights

💪 Join us for loading and unloading from 2–6PM

💸 Donate to help cover the huge cost of this move — fuel, vehicle rentals, last-minute materials, and supply gaps

This is a huge logistics challenge, and we’re doing everything we can with what we have — but Albatross Aviary is 100% volunteer powered and donation funded, and we need our community behind us now more than ever.

If you can’t be here physically, please consider making a donation to help us get through today:

🌐 www.albatrossaviary.org
📧 [email protected]
📞 (616) 432-3056

Thank you to every volunteer, every supporter, and every person who believes in this work.
Let’s get the birds home.
Let’s finish this together.
— The Albatross Aviary Team

07/27/2025

💚 Volunteer Spotlight: Thank You, Matt Zimmerman 💚
From all of us at Albatross Aviary

Today we want to take a moment to recognize someone who has become an absolutely essential part of the Albatross Aviary family — our Volunteer Management Coordinator, Matt Zimmerman.

For almost two years now, Matt has been an integral force behind the scenes and on the front lines of our work. He serves on our board, supports our community, and helps carry the heart of this mission forward — not just with words, but with action.

And that’s just the beginning.

Matt works full-time managing and dispatching a team of field workers — all while raising his three sons as a single father, and caring for his greencheek conure, Simon. This year, Matt also opened his home to two more young friends of his sons who needed a place to stay — showing the kind of generosity, compassion, and quiet strength that defines who he is.

He brings that same heart to the aviary.

As we race toward our deadline to move into the new sanctuary space, Matt has stepped up in a huge way — helping with construction, organizing volunteers, and showing up again and again to do whatever needs doing. He’s helped transform what could have been a crisis into something inspirational with his consistent dedication and kindness.

Matt is a soft soul, a funny human, and a rock for the people and animals he cares about. We are so proud and grateful to have him as part of this work and this community.

🙌 Support Matt. Support the Mission.
Albatross Aviary is volunteer-powered and donation-funded — and we wouldn’t be here without people like Matt.

If you’d like to support the work that Matt and other volunteers make possible every day, please consider making a donation or sharing our story.

📩 www.albatrossaviary.org
📧 [email protected]
📞 (616) 432-3056

Thank you, Matt, for all that you give. You lead with love — and it shows.

—The Albatross Aviary Team

07/26/2025

A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Vice President, Steve Rafferty
From all of us at Albatross Aviary
We want to take a moment to give our deepest thanks and fullest gratitude to someone who has been absolutely instrumental in helping shape and support Albatross Aviary — our Vice President, Steve Rafferty.

Steve officially stepped into the VP role at the start of this year, but his commitment to the birds and this mission goes back much further. He’s been an unwavering advocate and hands-on supporter since the earliest days, when the idea of a sanctuary like ours was still just a concept.

Since taking on this leadership role, Steve has gone above and beyond in every way — from casting a wide net of support through his personal and professional networks, to rolling up his sleeves and working directly with volunteers, the birds, and the day-to-day operations that keep this place running.

He’s been a key force behind the scenes as well:
🎵 Helping coordinate our upcoming OLD DOG fundraising music event
💻 Contributing to website development and outreach
🛠 Supporting the buildout and transition into our new permanent facility
💚 And always bringing compassion, reliability, and steady support wherever it’s needed most

Steve is a kind, generous, and deeply committed person — and the people around him reflect that. We are so lucky to have him in this role, and even more so to have him in this community.

Please join us in giving Steve the biggest thank-you for all that he has done, and all that he continues to do — for the birds, for the volunteers, and for the future of Albatross Aviary.

—With full appreciation,
The Albatross Aviary Team

📍 Learn more about our work (and the OLD DOG event!) at www.albatrossaviary.org

07/26/2025

🕊️ Help Us Build What the Birds Deserve 🕊️
Albatross Aviary is in a critical transition as we move into our new permanent facility in West Grand Rapids. This space represents the next chapter — and a chance to finally build the kind of sanctuary that birds truly need and deserve.

But we can’t do it alone.

We’re asking for your help to get us through these final hurdles so we can finish building out the habitats and care systems that reflect the vision we’ve been proving works for years.

In our former location in Schoolcraft, we built a working proof of concept — one that centered the birds’ physical, emotional, and behavioral needs.

We created safe, natural free-flight aviary spaces that mimicked real environmental cycles. We saw birds begin to heal. Plucking slowed. Aggression faded. Curiosity returned. Not through punishment or control, but through a space designed around their actual needs.

Now, we have the chance to build that model again — permanently.

We have the space. We have the drive.
What we need is the funding to finish it.

Every donation helps us move one step closer to a sanctuary built on stability, enrichment, and ethical standards of care — a place that mitigates suffering and supports real recovery.

📩 Donate or learn more: www.albatrossaviary.org
📧 [email protected]
📞 (616) 432-3056

Let’s build this right.
Let’s build it together.
Let’s build what they were always meant to have.

—The Albatross Aviary Team