Uncle Sandy’s Macaw Bird Park

Looks can be deceiving. we recently relocated to the Pensacola area so are still finding things to do that do not involve beaches or malls. At first glance when you pull in, it looks like an old, run down, seen better days 70s era roadside tourist trap. you are, however, met by at least one peacock strutting his stuff outside the gate. Once inside, you are met by one of the volunteers who takes the time to introduce you to Sweetie and the other denizens of the office, who are more than happy to perch on you arm, shoulder, head… and get instruction on how to offer peanuts to the various residents. each cage is more than ample to house the bird (s) and while a few are shy/​not interested in interacting, the majority are more than happy to beg for a treat. everyone is labeled with their species, name and marked with a red star if they like to bite (I am talking to you, Andy!) these are all rescues of one sort or another and include parrots, macaws, a turkey and pair of emus who will eat shelled peanuts out of the palm of your hand. this is all volunteer and the $ 5 fee per person seems to be almost too inexpensive for the interactive opportunities you have.
we arrived just as it opened (subject to volunteer availability) and were able to get through the entire thing twice in about 90 minutes, taking our time at each cage (especially the emus who REALLY wanted peanuts!)
the walkway is fairly well laid out, with large, colorful concrete or stone sections that have been donated by various people and organizations. there are however many areas where access to the cages/​birds is limited to hard packed dirt with tree roots. I would NOT recommend anything more fancy than an umbrella stroller and it is not wheelchair accessible, although my cane and I managed just fine. It is backed up by a large forest and there are bugs everywhere. they do provide Off! but you may want to bring your own, plus a small bottle of sanitizer for post emu cleaning. there are plenty of trees but by the time we left about 1130 it was definitely getting too hot to be out there without sun protection. I did see a sign that offers a year long pass for $ 75(I believe it said family, but not sure how many people that covers) so coming just once a month would break even.
Uncle Sandy’s legacy is a hidden gem of Pensacola located on one of the major roads so even tourists can find it!

This is a very small place nowhere but I was surprise by seeing how well they are managing! Clearly more visitor can make this place better for them as source of income! But with what they have they are doing great job! They make you interact with the birds! You feed them peanuts! There are peacocks, several several birds and few pet birds! They tell you stories about the birds as few of them were rescued too! Loved this place! Must go! Fun for any age!

Not much is going on in PNS, but in my short 6 month stay here I visited this place twice (and in the summer heat, so that tells you it’s worth it) and it’s awesome just like everyone says it is.
I love the free range animals and the staff were very nice and knowledgeable! They provide the Off bug spray which is appreciated. They also take volunteers which I guess I could have assumed, but I wish I would have known sooner so I could have actually done it this summer. Every cage is clean and each bird cage has water and food. You can give them the peanuts and most gently take it from you. Some will take the peanut and not eat it right away which leads me to believe they are fed on a normal basis and not starving for food. In the middle of the grounds is a bird named Lulu and she talks and says «Hi Lulu!» which is amazing. On the backend of the property are two emus which seem kind of scary but actually pretty harmless.
Pretty much the only thing that is really worth it within the city, minus the beach.

What a wonderful place. The staff is very helpful & happy! The animals all seem well cared for & happy too. Where else can you have this much fun for $ 5! Wish I lived here so I could also be a volunteer!

There is a reason this place is now 11 for 11 on 5star reviews. We spent a week in the Pensacola area and this was by far the best thing we did.
We got there ten minutes after they opened and shared the space with 1 other small group. As we left at about 11:30 there were probably 6 cars in the lot. I’d get there when they open if you can.
The gentleman was very attentive and gave us additional peanuts to feed the birds. In the office he let us hold 3 – 4 birds which was a great experience bouncing with the cockatoo. Outside we were able to feed the more «rough» birds. You have to watch your fingers — give them a whole peanut and hold it by the end. We went in the open cage and had a good time holding Gismo, who really took a liking to me.
Additionally they have 2 emus. The one on the left was a little more gentle than the other, but that was a fun experience too.
Leave them an additional donation, they really have a lot of expenses there and the 5 dollar entry fee is way too cheap for what you get.

Enjoyed my two visits there so far and plan to drop by again. Stop by and feed the birds when you have an hour to spare. It’s a nice little outing, and you are helping support this non-​profit in caring for macaws. The volunteers are friendly and very willing to take the time to answer questions about the birds.

We really enjoyed it. When you pull up to it, you have 2^nd thoughts. It looks like someone’s home. we went on mothers day and I got in free. My husband paid $ 5. Great entertainment for a great price. You can feed the birds and look at them. There are quite a few and they are so pretty.

I took my older teenage daughter here and we had a blast! So many beautiful birds, each with their own quirky personality. There was a show-​off, a kind, gentle bird and plenty of noisemakers! A few loved to bob and dance and one, I kid you not, laughed just like a human. They also have emus, peacocks, roosters, cockatiels and more. Such a fun experience and you can’t beat $ 5 admission. The staff is also very welcoming. Fun for everyone!

Awesome place to visit!!! We spent about an hour and a half wandering around, talking to and feeding the many birds. The staff were very friendly and happy to tell us all about the birds. Kids loved it, and they even got to take home a beautiful peacock feather. On a sad note– someone stole the tortoise that lived here, so he no longer roams around the property.

If you love birds then this is a MUST visit! Wonderful place to spend a couple of hours and great for families! The staff and volunteers were friendly, down to Earth, and more than happy to show my friends and I around.
One tip; if you wanna go into the free flight cage with a bunch of macaws (which I highly recommend), wear a shirt you don’t mind getting a little dirty. They may land on your shoulder, and when you give them a peanut the shells will fall on your shirt and hair, but it’s all part of the experience and tons of fun and a great opportunity for pictures!
It can get pretty loud in there, obviously, but I think people get used to it pretty quickly.

This place is worth the 5 $ admission price and a couple hours of free time. Very interactive park and educational as well.

This is a hidden gem in Pensacola. Took the kids there last week and they had a ton of fun feeding all the birds. Bill was very friendly and was happy to spend his time telling us about each of the birds, their history, and background on the park.
The Macaws will take peanuts right out of your hand and shell them all by themselves. Most of them are so gentle that my five and seven year old were not afraid at all.
The emus will eat the whole peanut out of your hand, shell and all.
There are four peacocks, a turkey and a few chickens that roam free outside and they will eat the peanuts after they are shelled. The all white peacock will eat shelled peanuts right out of the palm of your hand.
For the kids to be able to get that close and see and interact with all these animals is a really nice thing. We will definitely visit again when in town.

My husband and I stopped by yesterday, and had a great time. We were the only ones there, and spent a lot of time feeding the birds and talking with Bill, who runs/​owns the place. The birds are so gentle when they take your peanuts, and have a lot of personality. The emus are hysterical and friendly, and will try to get into your cup of peanuts if you’re not careful. There are some birds loose wandering around, like a turkey and a few peacocks, but they don’t cause any problems. There is a beautiful white peacock that will eat peanuts straight from your hand.
Anyway, we had a great time, and will be back. We were impressed with how clean it was, and the birds are obviously healthy and happy.
Side note: Take bug spray! The mosquitoes chomped on me, but this could be due to the recent flooding as opposed to a regular thing.

I cannot believe that I’m giving a five star review to what is essentially a walk through someone’s backyard, but I honestly cannot remember the last time that I enjoyed an animal attraction so much. I wanted to find info about the local zoo and this showed up in the Unilocal app results. When I read about it I knew I had to go.
Uncle Sandy’s Macaw Bird Park is a 501©3 non profit organization (I verified this on the IRS website) that is home to a large number of birds, with macaws being the most prevalent breed. It could politely be described as «rustic». Some of the birds are in traditional cages but other cages look like they were constructed with whatever happened to be around (roofs made of garage doors, sheet metal, etc). Some people might turn their nose up at this but I admired the ingenuity. The birds were in very good health. There were a few feather pickers, but they were in the vast minority and not to be unexpected with this many birds.
Once you pay your five dollar admission you’re given a cup of peanuts. I’m warning you that if you don’t stop reading now you will be subjected to the ramblings of a very happy bird lover. The tour of the place actually didn’t start well. The first bird I encountered was an unfriendly blue and gold macaw. He would aggressively snatch the peanut from your hand and then just throw it to the ground untouched. I almost gave the cup back to the worker because this was about as fun as putting my finger in a blender. I’m glad I didn’t because the other blue and gold that was in the cage was as sweet and gentle as could be. He took the peanut, ate it, and made some cute noises asking for more. This was pretty much how the rest of the visit was. I fed literally dozens of birds and all of them were gentle, friendly, funny, shy, excited, or a mixture of those. There were the two blue and golds that were missing claws and only had nubs for toes because their idiotic previous owners had left them outside in the winter and they got frostbite. It was amazing watching them balance on their branches despite their disabilities. There was the hilarious military macaw that kept yelling «HELLO!» trying to get our attention. He did what I called «the peanut dance» every time he got a peanut from me. He was so excited he couldn’t contain himself. There was a cockatoo that kept cracking me up. He was dancing around and hanging upside down showing off. He didn’t even want a peanut but his cage mate was more than happy to take his. There was a GIANT cage with a large number of macaws. I fed them through the fencing but I had no desire to go inside. In the pictures on the website the people feeding them are covered with birds, including having some birds on their heads. You’re not escaping that without some bombs getting dropped on you! :-)
There were other smaller breeds, such as conures and lovebirds. I even saw a breed I had never seen, the Eclectus Parrot. Feeding the two emus they had was insane. You put a peanut in your hand and they will snatch it up VERY rapidly and swallow it whole. It completely shocked me the first time but I thought it was hilarious after that. There was a giant, free-​roaming tortoise that walked by me while I was doing this.
I spent at least an hour and a half feeding birds and I loved every second of it.
There are so many more birds here than I expected. It boggles my mind thinking of the effort it must take to keep this place running. They definitely can use donations and they’ll be getting one from me.

Best kept secret in Pensacola! This is a great place to for all ages to visit. The park has over 250 birds, mostly rescues, ranging from emus and pheasants to Amazon parrots and Macaws. Great place to volunteer for or donate to. If you’re not a bird lover, you will be by the time you leave.
P. S. Don’t trip over the tortoise. :)