TAMPA, Fla. — Tucked neatly behind noisy streets and housing construction is an oasis unlike anything else in Florida.
“We call it Amazon in Tampa. It took a lot of hard work,” said Magic Esmaeili, the owner of the Zaksee Parrot Sanctuary. “When you come to Zaksee Bird Sanctuary, everything suddenly changes. No one can believe what’s behind all those concrete buildings.”
The sanctuary, which has been open for a decade, houses hundreds of exotic birds from Hyacinth Macaws, Cockatoos, Green Wings, African Greys, Eclectus, Sun Conures and other exotic birds.
The animals are beautiful but in constant need of care. Fewer people have been visiting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fewer donations have come in, too, which has strained the budget for these animals. Most people have no idea it’s located just a short drive from Citrus Park Mall.
“That awareness needs to be there and part of that is educating and understanding the need for a place like this,” said Samantha Schroeder, who started volunteering at Zaksee after leaving her bird there.
The need for funding caught the attention of a woman who left her daughter's bird with Esmaeili. Jeanne Weiser Brannan approached Esmaeili with a proposition during the pandemic: What if she tried to offset the costs of housing and caring for hundreds of birds with a book about the sanctuary?
“He does everything for the birds,” said the Tampa author, who has also written one other book about birds. “I just was hoping we could get more people at the sanctuary, volunteer with the birds, donate for the birds. I’m a huge animal lover and I just wanted to do something to help the birds.”
That plan brought a smile to Esmaeili's face. He rarely leaves his land and spends nearly every waking moment with the animals.
“When you are in love, this is like my kid,” Esmaeili said. “I didn’t have a day off in ten years. I work seven days per week. I don’t go anywhere but it’s so much fun to work with animals. Many of them, they have nobody but me.”
The books are available on Amazon. The sanctuary’s mission “is to be the best Florida Bird Sanctuary and life-care facility for captive exotic birds.”
“When people see what we do, that’s an honor for us,” Esmaeili said.
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