Who We Are

The California Parrot Project was initiated in 1994 by Kimball Garrett, Ornithology Collections Manager at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His objective is to determine the prevalence of parrots in southern California. 

In 1995, Karen Mabb, Parrot Project of Los Angeles, while a student at California State University at Long Beach, joined the project and began collecting more intensive data on roosting and nesting behavior of the parrots found in the San Gabriel Valley. In June 2003, Karen graduated Cal Poly Pomona with her MS Biological Sciences degree. Karen is now enrolled in the PhD Ecology and Evolution program at Rutgers University, New Jersey.

Walter Piper, Parrot Project of Orange, is an Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Chapman College and is interested in behavioral and population ecology of birds, especially parrots in Orange County. Currently Walter is researching how to capture and mark the birds to study their movements.

Loretta Erickson & Mike Bowles, Parrot Project of Orange County, have been working independently since 2001 monitoring and photographing wild parrots. In 2003, they began more extensive research and joined the California Parrot Project in early 2004. As well as photographing and documenting their frequent observations, they are also studying individual birds among the flocks. Their photographs of some of Southern California’s wild parrots can be seen at http://amazornia.us.

Alison Sheehey, Parrot Project of Bakersfield, has been working independently on the Bakersfield flock since 1998. She is the volunteer webmaster for many nature related sites in Kern County and for The California Parrot Project. 

James Malcolm, Parrot Project of Redlands, is a professor at the University of Redlands. He and his student Janice Duenas study the flocks in the Redlands area.

Larry Allen, Los Angeles Breeding Bird Atlas, has done extensive work on the status and distribution of all of the birds of Los Angeles. His extensive experience and knowledge is a welcome addition to our project. Much of the mapping information being added to this website is from his efforts. 

Parrot Project correspondence may be sent to:

The California Parrot Project 

P.O. Box 153

Weldon, CA 93283-0153

Phone: (626) 355-9412 (Pasadena Audubon Society)