Dear Parrots magazine,
Great escapee advice!
I was gutted when my African Grey flew out of the back door last week, during one of my children’s birthday parties. It was an awful time for this to happen as I was in charge of 10 young children at the time! But I had read Kirsten Badham’s article in the April 2014 (issue 195) on tips to get back an escapee parrot and this helped enormously!
I turned the party into a “find the parrot” game and the children just loved helping. We were so lucky that Red hadn’t flown far and one of the children spotted him in a tree at the bottom of our garden. I was armed with his favourite treats and his cage and because he was on a low branch he returned to me almost immediately, when I called to him. I have never known 10 children keep so quiet while I was trying to call him back to me!
I was very, very lucky - escapee parrots don’t always come back quite so easily, or at all! Please take heed of my bad mistake at a time when I was very busy and take great care not to lose your parrot out of a door or window, especially in warmer weather. It is a heart-wrenching experience and one to be avoided at all costs!
Linda Tong, email