Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden — Attraction in Key West

DO NOT MISS THIS if you're a bird lover especially or just an animal love. Nancy Forrester who runs this is so kind and knowledgeable about her birds. She sat and talked with us for maybe over an hour about parrots ad I have a pet parrot myself. Gave me lots of amazing tips and training info as well as just good conversation. You van really tell she loves all her birds and her sanctuary.

This honestly became mine and my boyfriends favorite place in key west and plan on going back everytime we get a chance to sneak down to the keys.

Pictured is me hold Mr. Peaches while he admires my tattoos 🥰 (do not expect to do this I was lucky enough to get this experience but it's rare due to the birds all being rescues and me being a parrot owner and stayed for like 2/3 hours learning)

NOTE THESE ARE RESCUED BIRDS AND ARE NOT MENT TO BE TOUCHED OR HELD. THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF BIRD PLACE ITS A REHABILITATION/SANCTUARY FOR SOME BIRDS WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT. Some are friendly but they don't know strangers. If you're looking for photo ops of holding parrots for pay, this is not the tourist place you're looking for, this is an educational place that has the birds best intentions put first. So don't expect to touch any birds or hold them. Some are not friendly due to their rough pasts from before they made their way to their new home. Hence it being a sanctuary/rehabilitation type place for domesticated parrots who have home hopped and been through a lot in their years. There was a parrot around 87? Years old while we were there. Good amount of parrots were older then me

If you're looking for a tourist trap go elsewhere, this is an off beaten path type place with a very local feel. If you like the anti-tourist type place- this is the place for you. Traveling like a local and rubbing elbows with locals is our favorite way to travel

Also all the cages outside are their day cages, they all have different cages indoors for nighttime and get moved every morning and night. It also is technically a self guided tour with the mass amounts of info about each individual bird...

Was at the Secret Garden a decade ago when it was originally located at 1 Learning School Lane. I had the pleasure of meeting Nancy Forrester. She had a break from her busy schedule. We sat an chatted for quite some time.

Nancy was one of the most gracious hosts. She is warm, down to earth. Should I had realized a dream at the time and moved to Key West, I think Nancy Forrester would been a good friend.

I learned so much about Key West from Nancy about the times before it became the big tourist destination it is today. Nancy, if you are reading this, I hope you hooked up with an Oral Historian and your memories and knowledge has been recorded for history.

I have been to world capitols and transatlantico cruises. I will always cherish my visits to Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden, especially my time chatting with Nancy. It is a once in a lifetime experience. I am very lucky indeed.

PS It isn't parrots but thanks to meeting Nancy I have over 12 years of experience volunteering at an animal rescue.

My work with homeless dogs has led to my being a Certified Professional Dog Trainer since 2012. I was making a lot of money as a Computer Programmer Analyst. What I get from the dog's can't be measured in terms of money.

Nancy I totally get why you...

If you want to learn about parrot rescue, this is a great place to go; they have a lot of macaws here. You can see birds up close, but you won't be able to touch them (and that's OK!) The secret garden part is the number of shade palms on the property, with paths carved out along which are the rescued birds; Nancy calls the garden her "living artwork." The volunteers will tell you the stories of whichever birds they bring out for their talk, and they'll go over how parrots are typically treated as pets and why some of them wind up calling Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden home.

Just be aware, this is not a typical park or botanical garden. It is primarily a parrot rescue. Also, it is not an accessible space for mobility impaired people. If you want to visit and that's a concern, I'd advise reaching out to them first to see if you might be able to visit. To access the secret garden, you will need to go up and down a few steps; it's essentially a back yard. It's well worth it if you can...