Chucky Goes AWOL

This blog is usually about Australian birds but I couldn’t resist writing about Chucky the South American blue and gold Macaw. Chucky is a resident here in Murray Bridge South Australia.

Twitchers* – at ease!
Now before we get a huge influx of twitchers* here in my home town , let me explain. Chucky is not a wild bird – well, not normally. He usually lives in an aviary belonging to the Bozetti family. Earlier this week he was spooked by a sudden noise, escaped and flew off into some tall pines in Pine Park in the centre of town. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was called on to help but Chucky remained up in the tree enjoying his taste of freedom on the wild side.

Fear of Heights

Finally a local engineering firm was called upon. Ignoring her fear of heights Mrs. Bozetti used their cherry picker to go up to 30 metres to where Chucky sat. Everyone was relieved when Chucky calmly walked on to her arm – to much applause from the crowd down below. I guess his bid for freedom comes at a price. Because he is valued at about $9000 I think he will be watched very carefully in future.

*Twitchers

A twitcher is a bird watcher who will travel great distances or make extra special efforts to see a rare bird or a bird not seen before. For more details read the article on bird watching in Wikipedia (click here).