An East Lothian bird lover is beating the coronavirus lockdown blues by free-flying his stunning parrot during daily walks at his local beach.
Cole Doran and his feathered pet Orion have become a regular feature over the past few weeks on the sands near to his home in Prestonpans, East Lothian.
He has left local passers by "stunned" as the beautiful bird takes to sky untethered.
The popular duo have been gathering scores of admiring fans when Cole lets the three-year-old Green Wing Macaw loose during their daily exercise.
Cole, 20, admits he has “enjoyed” the reaction of shocked passers-by to the now-regular sight of Orion taking to the skies untethered.
He said: “I have had Orion for more than two years and I started training her to free fly as soon as I brought her home. In total it took around six months dedicated work with her.
“I got her when she was just six months old from a breeder in England and she is around five generations from the wild.
“Parrots are more intelligent than dogs and are not domesticated which means they can be quite difficult to train as they really do have minds of their own.
“To train them to free fly requires a strong bond with the bird, an understanding of their behaviour and how to work with their natural instincts.
“Training them to come to you on call is very important and you need to learn how to guide them to learn how to fly in various environments safely without speaking the same language.
“It is a lot of hard work but it is totally worth it to see her soar.
“She never flies further than 100 metres from me and if it is a warm day she will fly for around ten minutes and cover a couple of miles in that time.”
Cole is currently only flying Orion on the beach near his home due to the lockdown but says she has enjoyed flying above Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, parks in London and he hopes to take her to the Highlands when the lockdown is over.
And the bird owner admits he doesn’t have any worries about Orion being targeted by other birds as she is the one who is a bit of a bully.
Cole, a sushi kiosk assistant, added: “She is a pretty big bird and the only real risk from predators is them chasing her from the area and getting her lost.
“Gulls will sometimes have a go, but Orion is usually the one that starts it. She loves chasing other birds and loves it when they chase her back.
“She loves the all attention she gets when we are out for our daily walk and a lot of people have asked if she is real as they cannot believe it when they see her flying freely and then coming back to me.
“I just hope that seeing her out and about helps people understand that parrots are not just ornaments that can be locked in cages for their whole lives.”
Green Wing Macaws are known as the ‘Gentle Giant’ of the parrot world and can live between 60 and 80 years.
The birds can grow up to three feet in height and are mainly found in Central and South America but are becoming increasingly popular with owners in the UK.
