Dear Parrots magazine,
Not always someone else
It is a common trait to think that things always happen to someone else and not you. Having been a subscriber for many years now, I tend to look at your website and am always horrified to see how many birds get lost during warm sunny weather when windows and doors are left open, and have always felt very sorry for other people as these things never happen to me. But I was wrong. It did happen to me.
I have a Blue-fronted Amazon that often has the freedom of our living room and it was when we had a warm spell some months back that one of my children opened a window. But it wasn’t until some hours later that we noticed Elmo was missing and we thought he could only have got out of the window. My heart nearly stopped!
Out three of us went into the garden frantically looking for Elmo and to our absolute relief there he was sitting in a small apple tree that was only planted three years ago. I was so afraid to startle him and make him fly off, but again, to even more relief, I carefully walked up to him and he stepped up onto my hand. With my thumb over his toes, I gently walked back into the house, closed all the windows, and back to status quo! It just goes to show it doesn’t always happen to someone else.
Mary Littlington, by email