Budgie rescued after flying free with a flock of sparrows

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This article was published 03/01/2016 (3617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After living outdoors for more than two months and being adopted by a flock of sparrows, MacGyver the budgie has come in from the cold.

The little green budgie, a tropical bird from the parrot family, had been living outside and somehow survived winter temperatures that dipped to -25 C during the holidays before being rescued on New Year’s Day in the backyard of a Southdale home.

Melanie Shura, president of the Avian Welfare Canada charity based in Winnipeg who is now caring for MacGyver, said the little budgie likely survived because he adapted quickly to the lifestyle of his adopted sparrow flock.

“I’ve been saying that he speaks fluent sparrow,” Shura said, laughing as the little bird sat quietly in his cage, nibbling millet from time to time and making the sounds of a sparrow. “He was savvy enough to hook up with the sparrows and eat at bird feeders.”

She said it is quite common for flocks of sparrows to welcome a lost budgie because both types of birds live in family or larger flocks in their natural habitats and are both “explorers and nomads.”

“We’re watching him pretty closely right now and he’ll go to the vet on Tuesday. We’re slowly working with him. He’s basically become a wild bird and trying to remember how to be a tame bird,” Shura said. “He’s alert and he’s looking pretty good.”

‘He is a little miracle’

Shura said the trick to capturing a bird is gentle behaviour-modification training. MacGyver the budgie needed to learn to come where the food supply was located in order to be caught without harm.

Shelley and Val Corvino were able to catch MacGyver — they named him after the 1980s TV show star known for his useful creations made from scraps — in a special trap cage supplied by Shura. She had outfitted it with a light for warmth, millet to eat and colourful toys.

It was the second yard in which Shura had placed the trap cage but Val Corvino fitted this one with a special stick-and-string, MacGyver-like contraption so the string could be pulled from inside the Corvinos’ house to close the cage door when the budgie finally ventured inside.

After twice-a-day sightings of the budgie over 16 long days of constant trap cage monitoring and one caught-and-released bunny who decided to sample the trap cage’s wares, MacGyver went into the cage to munch some millet on Jan. 1. Shelley and Val were watching, dropped the door and MacGyver just kept eating millet.

“He is a little miracle. We have no idea why he survived, maybe it was the warmth from the light or roosting with the sparrows in the cedars,” Shelley said. “We’re thrilled. His health is being looked after and he’s safe.”

Shura picked up MacGyver on Saturday and took him into her care where he will remain until his health is certain and he is socialized once again with people.

“Budgies are not meant to be outside, they’re in big danger out there. They are easy prey for predators like raptors and feral cats,” she said.

‘Someone loved him’

Shura found out Sunday that the MacGyver had actually been seen in Island Lakes and in someone’s yard as early as Oct. 16, much earlier than the Nov. 21 tip through Facebook that alerted Shura to the budgie’s plight.

Through the tip, which had originated from the Winnipeg Lost Dog community, Shura met with Sylvia and Norm Cassie who had spotted the budgie at the bird feeder in their yard near the Royal Canadian Mint. Shura and the couple had set up the first trap cage but after a few weeks of trying to lure the budgie, the sparrow flock suddenly moved on. It was shortly after that when the budgie was spotted at the Corvino home.

Shura said MacGyver had a tough start to the day on Sunday as he wouldn’t eat and appeared panicked. Shura put a feeding dish on the outside of his cage and one of her other birds flew over and began to eat from it. That gave “the cue” to the budgie, accustomed to being part of the sparrow flock, that it was okay and safe to eat.

Shura has 11 other birds in her home, which move freely in and out of their cages during the day or ride on her shoulder like Kia, the 25-year-old blue-and-green macaw.

For now, MacGyver is resting and rehabilitating inside a smaller cage which has three sides covered and only the front open to help him remain calm. He’s been through a lot and needs time to transition back from the wild.

Shura said budgies are very social birds who try to communicate with other creatures around them. “He was reaching out. When I started trying to communicate with him with eye blinks, he put his two wings up which was really great, it’s what they do when they are welcoming somebody. That’s really good body language and very encouraging.”

By Sunday evening, MacGyver was coming to the front of cage when Shura would call him and eating millet from her hand.

“I think someone loved him,” she said, because of his relatively quick response to human contact. “I would encourage people, if you’ve lost a bird, to look for them. For the first day or two, they are usually close to home. Do not lose hope.”

Shura said she desperately needs mixed nuts in the shell for the birds in her rescue. Donations can be made by contacting her at info@avianwelfare.ca.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca