No. 7 Nathalie Lycke
In this series of articles I am throwing the spotlight on some of the most passionate parrot people I have encountered in recent months. When I met Nathalie Lycke I knew instantly that she was one of them!
In May I visited Belgium to give a couple of presentations to members of the National Parrot Club. On arrival at Brussels airport I was asked by a member if I would like to visit Nally’s Papegaaien. I had very briefly met Nathalie in the past, but had no idea of the unusual story behind her involvement with parrots.
Nathalie was working at a police station and on occasion lost parrots were handed in. If they were not claimed, she took them home. One day a government official asked her to give a presentation about the birds whose high degree of intelligence fascinated her. At the end of the presentation she was asked if she would consider starting a parrot sanctuary for confiscated birds. She agreed. That was in 2012. She told me, “To my surprise, within a few months I had 50 parrots. I needed bigger premises, but where could they be located?”