Last Saturday, this guy who lives across the street from where I work aquired a pair of Blue and Gold Macaws. That night, one of them got loose. He flew two yards down and decided to stay in this tree for a week! If you look close, you can see him in the middle of the next picture.
The owner didn't seem to be too concerned with getting him back so my boss and I made several phone calls to try and find out what we could do to catch him. I found out who owned the house where the guy lives, and my boss called the owner (a well-known orchid guy down here), The next thing we knew, the orchid guy sent over some of the guys who work for him. They brought a ladder and the parrot's mate to try to coax him down. It didn't work. He flew off and landed in the next yard over.
Thankfully, the homeowner of this property is a very nice older man, and he let everyone come on his land and set up to try again. The Macaw really liked landing in a Lychee tree. Too bad for him there was no fruit on the tree!
My boss went home and brought back some grapes and a tangerine. THAT got his attention! It wasn't too long before he made his way down the lychee and on to the top of his cage. The owner, who hadn't had time to bond with the bird at all, even handed him a piece of tangerine. Then the guy got too impatient and made a move to get him...guess what?
He flew off again! This time landing on the edge of his actual home. I hope now the owner will have more patience since it's in his backyard, and won't make anymore hasty moves. If you look at the next pic, you can see the Macaw in the far tree. He sticks out like a sore thumb, all blue and yellow!
The guy said the first thing he was going to do when he gets the bird back is CLIP HIS WINGS! Can you say "D'UH!!!!!"
The owner didn't seem to be too concerned with getting him back so my boss and I made several phone calls to try and find out what we could do to catch him. I found out who owned the house where the guy lives, and my boss called the owner (a well-known orchid guy down here), The next thing we knew, the orchid guy sent over some of the guys who work for him. They brought a ladder and the parrot's mate to try to coax him down. It didn't work. He flew off and landed in the next yard over.
Thankfully, the homeowner of this property is a very nice older man, and he let everyone come on his land and set up to try again. The Macaw really liked landing in a Lychee tree. Too bad for him there was no fruit on the tree!
My boss went home and brought back some grapes and a tangerine. THAT got his attention! It wasn't too long before he made his way down the lychee and on to the top of his cage. The owner, who hadn't had time to bond with the bird at all, even handed him a piece of tangerine. Then the guy got too impatient and made a move to get him...guess what?
He flew off again! This time landing on the edge of his actual home. I hope now the owner will have more patience since it's in his backyard, and won't make anymore hasty moves. If you look at the next pic, you can see the Macaw in the far tree. He sticks out like a sore thumb, all blue and yellow!
The guy said the first thing he was going to do when he gets the bird back is CLIP HIS WINGS! Can you say "D'UH!!!!!"
5 comments:
If the bird ever gets caught ... make sure to clip at least 10 of the outermost flight feathers on EACH wing. Cut right up to the level of the upper wing covert feathers. That should do the trick! What do you think the bird is eating out in the "wild"?
That's the problem...the tree he was in for a week had no fruit of any kind on it. Eventhough he was able to fly quite well, he seemed a little thin and tired. They'll leave food and fruit on top of his nest box. The week that he was in the tree, we left food out for him,but he wouldn't come down for it :( I have a feeling he'll get caught this weekend. He wanted to get in the cage with his girlfriend, but there was no way to leave the door open without her getting out. I should've brought my trap like you said, but I didn't think he'd come down so soon. The guys trying to catch him are familiar with parrots. They all work at RF Orchids and said they have 6 macaws there now. If they'd had a little more patience I just know they could've gotten him yesterday. Thanks for all your help, Marc. I'll keep you posted!
In the beach communities here in Southern California we have quite a wild parrot population because folks don’t keep their pet bird’s wings clipped consistently. They can be very noisy and irritating at times … but there’s not much we can do about it because they’re so hard to recapture once they’ve experienced freedom … and, of course, the population multiplies as they mate with one another! I hope this guy gets the bird back and takes better care in the future.
Hugs and blessings,
Beautiful bird! I hope he stays ok.
Good for people to know.
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