Michael Cox
Vietnam veteran and Sierra Club member Michael Cox is for the birds -- literally. For the last five years, the former Army Special Forces soldier has been rescuing abused birds, mostly parrots, from private homes and nursing them back to health at a sanctuary he runs out of his own home in rural Northern California. To those familiar with his work, he is known as "The Bird Whisperer."
There are currently 18 birds living at the Global Nest Exotic Bird Sanctuary in the hamlet of Stonyford, located amid rolling hills just east of the Mendocino National Forest. Cox donates his services to various agencies including the Humane Society, local police departments, and Animal Control in six counties, helping them rescue birds from homes where they have been abused and preventing them from being euthanized by taking them into his care.
"It breaks my heart to see what people have done to some of these birds," he says. "The way they've been mistreated, shot up with drugs, even tortured, makes them mentally ill and turns them violent. These are birds that would otherwise be put down because of their violent nature, but at the sanctuary they're treated with dignity and respect."
Cox says the technique he uses for calming abused birds and winning their trust is simple: "I do it from the heart. I've always believed that there's an unspoken language that all living beings share. When I encounter a bird for the first time, I don't have to say anything; I rely on that unspoken language to create trust with the bird. I can hold a parrot that has gone through the worst of times, and they feel safe in my arms. They know no one is going to hurt them anymore." (Watch this video of Cox with Josie Ann, a rescued Harlequin Macaw.)
As Cox has built his reputation, he has gained allies in the community. When a rescued bird needs immediate medical attention, the local veterinarian offers his services free of charge, and the local feed & seed retailer sells Cox bird food, cages, and other supplies at cost.
"Once a bird comes back to the sanctuary, they relate to the other birds and see that this is truly a family of caring and commitment," Cox says. "I don't adopt them out, sell them, or breed them, and I don't charge anything for my services. The Global Nest Sanctuary, a 501C3 charitable organization, accepts donations, but every dime goes to the birds and their needs."
Cox regularly makes presentations at area elementary schools, taking up to half a dozen of his birds with him and "teaching the little ones the magic of birds." He also recently started doing an internet radio program called The Bird Whisperer Radio Show that broadcasts the first Sunday of every month on www.internetradioamerica.com.
Prior to enlisting in the Army, Cox spent three years living with a Hopi family on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona, where he learned reverence and respect for birds, especially eagles, the most sacred of animals to many Native Americans. From the Hopi, he learned how to communicate with the majestic birds.
"I learned to whistle like they whistle," he says. "I'd get their attention and hold a piece of raw meat in my hands and they began to come to me, take the meat, and fly off to their nests. Once I gained the gift of their trust, mother eagles would actually fly up to me and drop their babies in my lap, and I would feed them as mama eagle stood right next to me. I would not trade that time in my life for anything. By the time I left the reservation, my view of the natural world and our fellow creatures was completely transformed."
Cox later went on to earn a degree in marine biology from North Texas University. Now 67 and retired from a career in computer security, he says his birds, some of which may live 75 to 100 years, will go to his son, Marshall. "The last thing I want is for these birds to be put in shelters where no one will adopt them," he says. "The birds that come here have a forever home."
Visit www.thebirdwhisperer.org to learn more.