About Us

Mel
Management Team
My name is Mel, since I was a child I have always been into birds. Growing up I had a few finches then in my late teens, some cockatiels. Once I had children I didn't have as much time for my birdie friends so stepped away from them. In 2013 I fell back into the bird world with a private rescue of 12 birds which I managed to rehome all but one myself, a canary called Storm. Around 16 months later, Storm sadly passed away and I went looking for another bird which was when I came across Blue, my Indian Ringneck. Since then I have safe housed and cared for hundreds of different birds of many species, small, medium and large, including pluckers, self mutilators and screamers. I currently have 6 of my own birds, an Eclectus, Blue Fronted Amazon, two African Greys, an Indian Ringneck and a Cockateil.
Our Team

Paul Forman
Co-Founder of Safehaven Parrot Refuge.
Hello! My name is Paul and in July 1986, Christine (my wife) and I came together with the intention of starting a Parrot Refuge. In those days Parrot Rescues were very scarce and Christine had worked in a commercial Bird Rescue that had closed down. By Christmas we had three B/G macaws and four dwarfs. Without advertising by 1997 we had over 100 birds of all types mostly in aviaries. Then the Daily Express gave us a two page spread in their colour supplement and included our phone number and birds flooded in. We used to pay for everything ourselves so our finances were at rock bottom, it was suggested we became a Charity- and here we are today!

Charlie
Management Team and Homecheck Manager
My name is Charlie and I have 3 rescues, a Yellow Nape Amazon, a Galah Cockatoo and a Quaker who I love more than life itself! I also have two of my own Greenwing macaws who are crazy but so loving. I have been around parrots from a young age and have safehoused hundreds of birds, ranging from Cockateils to Macaws and Cockatoos, with a range of behavioural difficulties. Everyday I learn something new! I love being part of a fantastic team, who are always on hand to help someone if needed.

IN MEMORY

CHRISTINE FORMAN
1946 - 2021
Sadly, Christine passed away on 8th October after a fall and heart attack. She had been ill for a long time, going into hospitals for long periods.
She started working with birds in 1974, at a very large Bird Rescue in Sussex. While working there she learnt how to handle and care for all types of birds from Fish Eagles and Hyacinth Macaws to the very smallest of birds.
I met her in June 1986, and we decided to rescue parrots ourselves. We moved to Gloucestershire where she became well known for her expertise in bird keeping. Christine didn’t advertise but birds came from all over the country and she wouldn’t try and rehome any of them.
We registered as a Charity in 1999, and had to start rehoming as we had so many. Christine was running the charity on her own while I looked after the birds. We both worked fulltime and took jobs where one of us would be with the birds. The pressure of all this work became too much for her and she had a severe Nervous Breakdown which she never recovered.
No matter how bad her health became, the birds we looked after were her first thought, she had nothing else to live for. I listened to her give advice on bird problems and was absolutely amazed at how much she knew. Although she could give other people advice, when it came to one of her birds being ill, she would worry so much she would make herself ill.
Now Christine has gone and I miss her very much. It was her inspiration that started Safehaven and I’m sure she would be happy knowing it was going to be kept going by Mel and Tara.
- Paul Forman


WANT TO JOIN OUR AMAZING TEAM?
We are always on the look out for new bird-loving people to join our team! Whether you are new to keeping birds, or an expert, we will welcome you all!
*Do you want to short-term foster birds for us that are waiting for their new homes?
*Or maybe you want to be more active in the running’s of the charity and become an Area Coordinator or volunteer- someone who is responsible for rescuing, transporting, home-checking and re-homing birds in your care!
*We also welcome those that can't look after parrots, for whatever reason that may be, BUT would like to offer their admin skills in helping us keep information safe and up-to-date or run our social media pages!
Click here to FIND OUT MORE about how YOU can help Safehaven Parrot Refuge.