In 1973, on a hill top behind Santa Barbara, Harry established the Santa Barbara Bird Farm. His collection of exotic birds included Philippine Red-vented Cockatoos, Alexandrines, Lories, Rosellas, Scarlet-chesteds, and Lovebirds. All were housed in aviaries Harry built and tended. In 1976, the Sycamore Canyon fire destroyed numerous homes in Santa Barbara, including Harry's. Except for the few pets he managed to save, the fire claimed the lives of his beloved birds. Worse than losing his home and all of his earthly possessions, the loss of the birds was devastating and is still mourned these many years later.

After he cleared away the smoldering rubble, Harry built a new home and new aviaries. He was encouraged by his neighbors, most of whose homes had also been burned, because they missed the music of the birds' calls. The new aviaries were built to accommodate larger birds and were soon populated with Cockatoos, Eclectus, Alexandrines, Amazons, Macaws, and others.

In 1984, I (Phoebe) came along and fell in love with Josserlynn, a 2 year old Medium Sulfur-crested Cockatoo who Harry had hand-raised, and shortly thereafter, Harry and I fell in love. As my enthusiasm for the birds grew, so did the collection and between 1984 and 1986, we added many pairs of birds, and expanded our pet flock to include Dickens, a Moluccan Cockatoo, Nicki, a Rose-breasted, and Hawkeye, a Hawk-headed Parrot. During our wedding in the back yard, with the birds looking on, we heard the cheeps of newly hatched Green-winged Macaws and baby Herman was shortly thereafter added to our pet flock.

Today, our home is also graced by Cella, a Vosmarie Eclectus female, Hedda Pearl and Barney, two Alexandrines, and Maverick, a Rose-breasted male. Our breeding flock includes Macaws, Amazons, Eclectus, Alexandrines, Derbyans, Congo African greys, and Cockatoos. Since 1990, our aviaries have been closed: no new birds have been added since then.

The current aviaries were built by Harry and most are 20' long to encourage flying, play and exercise for the birds. We feed an abundant diet, some of which is grown on the property. Toys, fresh branches, a misting system, privacy, open air and mountain views; our aviaries have all this and more. Daily, we care for our collection, our pets, and for the adorable charming and challenging babies produced by the parent birds.