A safe haven

Parrots sometimes live longer than their owners. They can be pretty loud for an apartment building. Sometimes they're unwanted Christmas gifts.

Such birds, orphaned in the valley, are likely to wind up living a fine life at Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary near Floyd Lamb State Park.

In the company of turkeys, hens, emus and peacocks, parrots can select from a daily menu of fresh fruit, peanuts, grain or bread, kick around a water dish when bored and keep cool under misters.

And in the company of William Gilcrease, some find themselves in the mood for dancing.

The 80-year-old Gilcrease, commonly found wearing a denim shirt, steel-toed boots and a plastic safari hat, is a fowl favorite.

As part owner of the Gilcrease ranch, he's been looking after the collection of orphaned, wounded or lost animals for nearly 20 years.

What began as an unsuccessful attempt at a wild animal preserve became the sanctuary when the preserve's owner left behind an organized block of cages and buildings. The property reverted to the Gilcrease brothers, and William Gilcrease began housing his quail collection in the area.

Today the 4-acre area is Southern Nevada's only bird sanctuary.

New residents

"I get about 50 calls a day," Natalie Perea, sanctuary caretaker, said. "This phone never stops ringing. Someone either has a peacock in their yard or a duck in their swimming pool."

And rarely are they turned away. "It's a sanctuary -- we have to give it a home," she said.

That goes for pot-bellied pigs, goats, sheep and a ring-tailed cat in the racoon family that found itself in trouble with Henderson authorities.

"They go to Animal Control, and they'll put them to sleep if nobody adopts them," Gilcrease said. "People get them because they're so cute and find out they're so much work."

And where else but Gilcrease would 70 geese living on a retired showgirl's estate go after their owner died?

To keep the 1,000-plus troops fed, nearly $1,000 is shelled out each month. The bread is donated by grocery stores. The apples are sent from its orchard.

To keep the sanctuary and orchard in operation the Gilcrease brothers -- William and Ted -- sell parcels of land. The sanctuary has an annual budget of $70,000 with improvements.

Land was abundant when the brothers' parents settled at the ranch in 1920. Their mother raised chickens and sold eggs in Las Vegas. The family switched to orchards, which Ted Gilcrease still manages.

"We had a thousand acres at one time," William Gilcrease said, sipping a cool glass of apple juice -- one of the orchard's most popular products.

Donations, entrance fees and fund-raisers also support the sanctuary.

Six screaming peacocks share a large cage with a white and black Royal Palm Turkey near the sanctuary's entrance.

Gilcrease claps his hands and gobbles. The turkey is quick to respond with a gobble. The two communicate back and forth.

"Turkeys are funny that way," he said. "They're fascinated by people."

And they don't seem to mind competing with the impressive peacocks -- all of which were donated, Gilcrease says. "Well, some of them are raised here."

It's an international setting at the sanctuary. Strolling down Cockatiel Causeway, Gilcrease stops to talk to 20 blue birds perched on branches. He turns onto Pheasant Freeway and Hen Highway, stopping to admire the international collection that includes silver pheasants native to China and turtle doves from Africa.

A now domesticated turkey buzzard who had been hit by a car while lunching on road kill relaxes in his cage. The buzzard had once escaped the sanctuary and was recovered after a family reported the bird knocking on its back door wanting to be fed.

Geese and ducks cluster under tamarack trees near the pond in back.

Even pigeons, considered a domestic varmint, are welcomed with open arms at Gilcrease.

A lot of birds arrive at the sanctuary wounded, Gilcrease said. "Sometimes you have to amputate the wing, so you can't turn them loose."

But most are pets that people can't keep for one reason or another, Gilcrease said.

A learning experience

Having the exotic and resident birds at the ranch provides a learning opportunity for local children.

"Most of the inner-city kids don't know anything about birds," Gilcrease said. "They don't know anything about saving wildlife."

True. The lush greenery housing wildlife in other cities is rare in Las Vegas.

"The first time they see the animal is in a school book," Gilcrease said. "Most of them have never seen a real chicken. (To them) eggs come in a carton. Milk comes in a bottle."

A group of children from the Children's World Learning Center swarm the drinking fountain after a morning tour.

Led by Sandra Vaughan, lead teacher for Children's World, the group is recapping the jaunt through the sanctuary, talking mainly about the unusual white peacock and the ring-tailed cat.

"A lot of the children don't get out of the city to get this kind of exposure," Vaughan said. The children's most common responses are "surprise, wonder, awe."

Even the hens, chickens and roosters are unfamiliar to Las Vegas youngsters whose daily activities rarely include passing a farm.

The Clark County School District also uses the sanctuary as a field-trip site.

"Clark County Schools keep us going," Perea said.

To keep returning visitors interested and attract newcomers, Gilcrease works to expand his nature trails. Perhaps it's the two quarts daily intake of apple juice that gives him the energy to operate the front-end loader that carves trench-like nature trails and more natural living arrangements for the birds.

"I get up before the sun gets up, then work in the evening," he said. "I've been working on it for 20 years now."

Gilcrease lives on the property. Having natural exhibits is his dream. "That's the way I originally wanted it. I don't like little pens. I like more of a natural place." How long until it's complete? "I peck away at it ... probably another 50 years," he jokes.

"We start on some and something else breaks. Our main goal is to see it finished," Perea said.

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