Wayback Wednesday: Wendy Huntbatch

Wendy holds artwork created by one of her parrots.

I've written several times about the World Parrot Refuge in Coombs, BC. It rescues parrots that have been abandoned or abused and currently houses about 900 of these highly intelligent birds.

The organizer behind this charity was Wendy Huntbatch who died a few days ago from cancer. I met her several years ago when we offered up our ocean view condo as part of a fundraising promotion. Unfortunately, the logistics of tickets sales and distribution were too difficult to overcome and it didn't happen.

However, I've been a frequent visitor to the refuge.

What will happen with the refuge is unknown. Although there is a board of directors that can carry on operations, Wendy was the driving force behind fundraising. In this photo, she's holding up one of her fundraising ideas... paintings done by the parrots of the refuge. According to one staff member who works there, the cockatoos are the most creative painters of the bunch.

An African grey parrot makes a meal of a peanut.