- July 18, 2025
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Cindy Gordon, the board chair of the Florida West Coast Avian Society, walks a bit of a tightrope when she tries to find people to adopt or foster pet birds that have been abandoned, abused or have outlived their owner.
"Birds are not easy," Gordon said. "They are very intelligent, and you have to provide them with lots of activities. They are flock creatures, so they feel stable when they are with you. They will get upset when you leave. And they take a special diet."
Then there is the unexpected, especially from parrots, who can imitate human speech.
"We had this family two years ago that adopted an umbrella cockatoo," Gordon said. "They loved the bird, but they brought it back to the rescue after two weeks. They said, 'This is a wonderful bird, but it cusses.'"
On June 6, the Florida West Coast Avian Society is the benefitting nonprofit at Music on Main in Lakewood Ranch. Besides manning the beer and wine stations, representatives of the organization will have two information tables set up to explain the benefits and responsibilities that go along with owning a pet bird.
Gordon, and fellow Florida West Coast Avian Society members Dwayne Bowen and Fran Meyerson, gathered in the Country Club of Lakewood Ranch, where both Gordon and Meyerson live, to talk about their special opportunity at Music on Main.
While living in Maryland, Gordon's husband bought her a cockatiel in 1995.
"I had been watching birds outside my home," he said. "But I was more into parrots than wild birds. My mother (the late Marge Wellante) loved birds. She would go to (the pet store) and take the sickest parakeets. Then she would nurse them back to health."
She named her first bird Omen, which was her dog's name spelled backward. She had the bird for 15 years.
Although Omen didn't imitate any of her words, she could do something else that drew attention.
"She would whistle the Andy Griffith tune," Gordon said. "There are all kinds of birds. There are birds that talk, and birds that are quiet, and birds that cuddle 24/7."
Gordon's love for her birds is immense.
Six years ago, she had a cockatiel named Rico, who was perched on her shoulder as she was walking around the house. She had water running outdoors and she went outside "for 30 seconds" to shut off the faucet. In that time, a red-shouldered hawk swooped down and grabbed Rico, then flew down the fairway of the adjacent Legacy golf course.
"It was flying straight down the golf course, and I was running and throwing anything I could grab at it. He just dropped Rico."
Gordon took Rico to the veterinarian, but he only had some minor injuries and lost some feathers.
Bowen, who is called Bird Man by his fellow members because he has 11 birds in the aviary attached to his house, had a story as well.
He bought his first bird almost 30 years ago, a quaker parrot that became totally attached to him. Eventually, he started going out with a woman who loved the way he was around his bird. When Bowen no longer had his bird, he ended up splitting up with his girlfriend, who thought he had changed.
As time passed, Bowen bought a macaw to get his girlfriend back, and she did return. However, Bowen still has the bird, 15-year-old Lily, but not the girlfriend.
He began rescuing other birds, "because the need was there."
Meyerson has four birds, but they are smaller than the macaws Bowen loves. She has two budgerigar (parakeets) and two love birds.
"I wasn't a bird person, but I volunteered at Save Our Seabirds on City Island," Meyerson said. "I learned a lot."
She met her first bird, Peaky, a peach-faced lovebird.
"She was this little girl who needed a home," she said.
Peaky had splayed legs, a condition sometimes seen in parakeet chicks. She can't walk, but she can fly.
Meyerson and Peaky were perfect for each other.
"She is feisty, and sweet, and affectionate," Meyerson said.
Meyerson is hoping that those who visit Music on Main June 6 might want to find their perfect bird.
But she said it does take work to own a bird.
"They need to have toys for their enrichment," Meyerson said. "They get bored just like we do. And they destroy their toys. This is a serious commitment."