A mischievous parrot who went missing from his home in Gartmore has returned home safely after being discovered more than 40 miles away in Ayrshire.
Relieved owner Brian Patterson was delighted to be reunited with Darby the Derbyan Parakeet who went missing from his home at the Dreamcatcher Cabins site on Station Road last Friday afternoon. The cheeky bird was last seen feeding on peanuts before disappearing.
He was then discovered, much to his owners’ amazement, four days later in the Ayrshire town of Dalry.
The chatty two-year-old parrot regularly lives freely, spending his days in the trees in the garden. At night, he moves into the house and sits on the windowsill and sleeps in his cage.
He’s bright green with an orange beak and can say sentences and words, including “such a good boy”, “cheeky boy” and “seeds”.
Brian, whose family run Dreamcatcher Cabins, took to social media to hunt him down.
Brian bought Darby in Wales as a 12-week-old and trained him to fly outside of the family home and return again.
He this week travelled down to Dalry to collect Darby after his adventure.
He was tracked down near Dalry Primary school thanks to numerous tip offs on social media.
Brian told the Stirling Observer: "I had been getting phone calls from people in Dalry who had seen our post on Facebook. I took one call from someone who said that he was in their garden and I was only about 50 meters away, they could see me. I clapped my hands and he came right to me.
"It just shows you the power of social media.
“I nearly cried, the sheer delight of seeing him fly 50 meters towards me was incredible.
“Darby is at home now and he’s happy to be back.”
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Brian suspects that Darby took flight either after being chased away by seagulls or as a result of his magnetic senses being confused by a solar flare on the sun, which can alter birds' navigation ability.
Brian was overwhelmed by the response to a social media post put on the Dreamcatcher Cabins page by his son Ross. There were reported sightings in Buchlyvie and Drymen before being spotted in the Ayrshire town.
The Dreamcatcher Cabins Facebook page posted: 'He’s [Darby] been known to spend a night out, but he’s never been away for a full weekend. So, yesterday (Tuesday), we put out a Facebook and Instagram post to see if anyone had seen him. There are a few big birds of prey in the area.
'The response to our posts was overwhelming. We had over 80 shares, hundreds of likes and 10s of comments. Someone sent us a link to a photo someone had posted in Dalry, Ayrshire, of a green parrot on a peanut feeder. We had no doubt it was our Darby.
'Dad set off this morning to see if he could find him. There was a good chance he’d have left the area. Birds can travel far in a day.
'Mum posted in a Dalry Facebook group that he was missing, and within minutes we had intel that he’d been spotted around the primary school, so dad made his way there. Soon after, we got a WhatsApp message saying ‘got him’.'
The page added: 'Thank you so much to everyone who shared our Facebook posts, sent their love, and gave us tips on where he might be.
'A special thanks to the community of Dalry – the well-wishes and reports on his location are what brought him home.
'The past couple of days were a reminder of the positive influence social media can have, the huge kindness of strangers, and that we need to get a tracker on our little green parrot!.
'Never underestimate human goodness. So much to be grateful for today. Thank you all.'
