An African Grey parrot transport was coordinated by Helen Anderson, a volunteer at Project Perry.  Due to weather and multiple pilot schedules, it took over 1 month to pull it off.  Mark Mattie, a pilot based out of KBDR, flew in low visibility weather to Portland, ME and returned to his home base, where pilot MaryBeth Wicker met him.

PNP Pilot Mark Mattie

The story behind Tamale and Sambuca is this.  They were wild-caught birds, meaning they were illegally trapped in Africa and sold for profit.  They ended up with a bird hoarder in Maine.  Fortunately, the hoarder was turned in by a concerned citizen.  This hoarder had 50 African Grey parrots, and 48 were adopted.

Landing At LKU

Matt Smith, the head of Project Perry in Louisa, VA, agreed to accept them into his African Grey sanctuary, and Tamale and Sambuca were integrated into the sanctuary.  Matt has 15 acres and has dedicated his house, land and time to the rescue of birds.  Some can be adopted out, but some cannot.  Those that cannot remain at his sanctuary for the rest of their lives.

Thank you to all involved in this rescue transport!

Tamale and Sambuca