Fine-feathered friends: Local bird lovers unite at Spokane Valley shop

Photos of neon-feathered beauties beckon customers through the double doors of My First Bird. Nestled in the corner of a strip mall near Pines Road in the Spokane Valley, this tropical paradise is the only business of its type in the area. Once inside, you are instantly enveloped by the clamorous chirps, shrieks and whistles of 100-plus captivating fliers. In short time, you will likely find yourself shouting out questions to that employee perched behind the counter.

The jaw-dropping flock belongs to Marbelys Tejeda.

The owner of a local Mexican restaurant, Tejeda’s trek into the vast universe of golden conures and Quaker parrots began four years ago when she spotted a pair of spunky warblers at a now-defunct Spokane bird store and fell smitten. After taking those charmers under her wing, a passion launched and Tejeda quickly amassed a swarm of additional birds with dreams of swiftly opening her own shop.

That plan did not immediately take flight.

“She accumulated these birds in her garage a little faster than she was able to get a storefront,” said Shawna Magney, who along with Hope Bailey, knew Tejeda through her grooming work at Petco. With avians packed to the rafters at home, Tejeda approached the two Petco friends about running her new store.

Like birds of a feather, they agreed.

While Tejeda searched for an ideal brick and mortar sanctuary, Magney and Bailey migrated back and forth to the garage at her residence to spiff feathers, clip nails and trim beaks.

“I really appreciated her passion for the well-being of birds … once she got the storefront, all of the birds came to the store and then she kind of took a step back and allowed Hope and I to take over,” Magney said.

For Bailey, picking up that first bird was magical.

“I had never even held a bird, never knew anything about parrots until I worked at Petco and Shawna was their bird lady at the time,” she said.

Bailey now serves as manager of the new store. My First Bird opened last November and has attracted customers from as far away as Montana.

“You can find everything here,” Bailey said. “We’ve had a lot of people come in just so thankful that there is a place in the Valley that they can come in and get birds.”

In addition to canaries and other common birds, the shop also carries exotic species of parrots native to Australia and South America, along with a premium assortment of cages, toys and foods.

Taking on a bird is no trivial matter and many can live for 20 to 30 years.

Customers should expect to spend as much as $800 for an entry level setup. Regular veterinary checkups are vital, along with toe and beak trims. Magney and Bailey run their own mobile bird grooming business, Sleek Beaks, on the side. Bailey said two of the top reasons people give for rehoming birds are noise levels and biting.

“Our good first birds are parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds … smaller, not as big of a beak, so when they do bite you, (and they will), it’s not going to do as much damage,” she said.

As we visited, animated birds with vibrant hues tweeted repetitive melodies.

“They are extremely intelligent … about the same as a 3- to 5-year-old child,” Bailey said. “They might not necessarily know what they are saying, but they definitely know patterns. Most of the communication is going to be body language with them.

“Because they are so intelligent, they need to come out a lot … at least a few hours out of the cage every day is what we recommend.”

Now firmly nested into their comfy bird abode, Magney and Bailey have no plans to fly the coop anytime soon.

“We just love being here, it’s not even work, this is our passion too,” Bailey said.

Magney gave up a higher paying job to help run My First Bird, but she isn’t squawking about it.

“Making less money doesn’t even matter when you are going to the place that you want to go every day,” Magney said. “I’m excited to be here and never in my whole life have I been excited to get up in the morning and come to work,” she said.