Denis became the aviary manager for the Solano Creek Aviary, Saint Augustine, Florida in 1993.   There he gained extensive experience in the breeding and care of exotics on a much larger scale.   Having further developed his skills and interests, Denis progressed to aviary manager at another large aviary in  Texas.   The culmination of this knowledge and experience led Denis to open a retail store in Indianapolis, Indiana.   The store, Bird Fever, quickly became known as “the” place to purchase exotic birds and supplies in the Midwest.            In 2000, Denis lived and worked outside of a small town near San Carlos, Costa Rica.   There, he assisted Tom Armstrong with the propagation of Great Green and Scarlet Macaws.   The government of Costa Rica turned over parrots that had been confiscated from captive environments to Denis and Tom for the purpose of reintroducing them to the wild.   Together, they established a free-flying flock of approximately 24 macaws, which now fly over the town of San Carlos ( Ciudad Quesada ) and are now managed by the gentleman whom owns the La Marina Zoo.

                  Denis returned to the United States and Bird Fever, but his profound desire to strengthen endangered species persisted.   On October 19, 2006, Denis sold Bird Fever to devote all of his time to breeding exotics.   Denis and his wife, Mary, relocated to central Florida where the climate would be more conducive to breeding.    With the assistance of Jeff Smith of Corners Ltd. in Kalamazoo, Michigan www.cornerslimited.com , Denis designed then built an aviary for his breeding pairs.   During the first four months Denis's dream was realized when two Major Mitchell's Cockatoos were hatched.

           As of 2009, Denis has raised and hand-fed over 2,700 exotic birds and has bred over 80 different species. It is his firm belief that he needs “to breed endangered species to try to keep the gene pool continuing, because without private breeders certain species would not exist.   The Spix Macaw is a prime example of a species that is near extinction; there are no longer any in the wild." In 2010 Platinum Aviary will focus once again on endangered species that are out of the ordinary. We are looking for a few more endangered species and would be willing to trade some for others. Platinum Aviary has been focusing on the Blue Head Macaw, Queen of Bavaria, Cuban Amazon and other species. The best way to contact us is by E-mail.

Mary Sloan is a professional educator and university administrator with a strong affection for parrots.   While Mary assists her husband in all aspects of the aviary, her primary interests in birds are focused on the language development of species that are capable of speech.   In addition, she is knowledgeable regarding the behavior and intellectual development of exotic birds. Mary has two special birds in her life. One is her blind White Bellied Caique and the other is her Goliath Black Palm Cockatoo, which was traumatized years ago and now plucks most of its' feathers and Mary has been working to resolve this issue with some results.

		Stewart is one of our advisors and has an interest in some of the birds at the aviary. Stu lives on the North side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is one of the most experienced and successful breeders of exotic parrots in Australia. He has been rasing birds for 25 years, is the President of the Parrot Society of Australia and has been associated with us for around 12 years. Between Stu and Denis the two are bringing together their collective knowledge and raise more of the Endangered Species birds and very few of the common pet birds. Stu also raises in Australia Eclectus, Amazons, Conures and African Greys.