Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
This summer, a strange spate of posts popped up in neighborhood Facebook groups: <\/p>\n
\u201cFound a parrot in south philly,\u201d one post said<\/a>, \u201c\u2026 anyone missing it? Singing its little heart out.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cLost bird!\u201d said another. <\/p>\n Then another: \u201cPlease get this parakeet back home!\u201d <\/p>\n In the last few months, the number of these posts \u2014 alerting people to loose or lost exotic birds, like parrots, parakeets, or budgerigars, throughout Philadelphia \u2014 has seemingly, anecdotally, increased. One person on Reddit noticed this trend<\/a> and wrote, \u201cWTH is with all these lost birds around Philly? Did a pet store close and just let a bunch of birds loose?\u201d <\/p>\n No official entity could confirm or quantify this phenomenon: The Pennsylvania Game Commission deferred questions to local animal welfare groups. The Animal Care and Control Team of Philly, which gets less than a dozen calls a year about pet birds, a spokesperson said, hasn\u2019t noticed an uptick in those calls. <\/p>\n Nor had any other avian-related groups, like the Audubon Society, Bird Safe Philly<\/a>, or the Schuylkill<\/a> Center for Environmental Education, which all noted they primarily or exclusively deal with wild birds. No one had asked the Philadelphia Zoo<\/a> to take in any surrendered or lost exotic birds, a spokesperson said. And multiple pet store chains did not respond to questions about whether they lost a flock of birds. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Got a parrot with osteoporosis? A turtle with an infected ovary? Call Doc Tyson.<\/a><\/p>\n Susan Tyson, an avian veterinarian and owner of Avian & Exotic Philly Vet<\/a> in Old City<\/a>, said her clinic has treated four loose budgerigars, or \u201cbudgies,\u201d so far this year, including at least two since July. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always had people finding loose animals,\u201d Tyson said, \u201cbut I\u2019d probably say in the last maybe four years it\u2019s increased.\u201d <\/p>\n Is there a bird liberation movement?<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a captive bird mutiny. Tyson believes most of these birds inadvertently escaped from homes or pet stores. Navin Sasikumar, president of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC), suggested some might have been intentionally abandoned by their owners. <\/p>\n \u201cProbably other people who have pet birds saw [the posts] and thought, \u2018Hey, these birds are being rescued \u2014 I have birds that I don\u2019t want anymore, maybe they\u2019ll be rescued too,\u2019\u201d Sasikumar said. <\/p>\n \u201cOr it could just be extra attention,\u201d he said. \u201cThere might have been other escaped birds around, but no one was really paying attention until one [post] caught on.\u201d <\/p>\n Tyson agreed that social media might be feeding this perceived proliferation. \u201cIt\u2019s like monitoring for breast cancer,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing it more, so we\u2019re seeing it more.\u201d<\/p>\n In late September, one of these wayward fledglings found itself in George Armistead\u2019s Upper Roxborough<\/a> backyard. He was sitting on his porch about 5 p.m. on Sept. 22 when \u201cthis thing\u201d \u2014 a baby-blue budgie \u2014 \u201cdropped out of the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was just totally flabbergasted,\u201d Armistead, 52, said. A lifelong birder and former president of the DVOC, Armistead said he\u2019s seen only a couple non-native budgies and maybe a handful of other exotic birds loose on the streets of Philadelphia. <\/p>\n This budgie\u2019s plumage seemed fresh and uniform, and it was banded with a small ring typically used for research, tracking, or breeding, which lead Armistead to think it wasn\u2019t a house pet. Instead, he thought maybe \u201ca crateful of these things got loose.\u201d (Tyson said there have been cases of birds getting loose while being delivered or transported.) <\/p>\n Armistead doesn\u2019t support the caged bird trade \u2014 he called it \u201cunnatural,\u201d akin to keeping killer whales in aquariums \u2014 but he captured the creature, fearing for its own safety in the elements. <\/p>\n Think freeing pet birds is kind? Experts say it isn\u2019t<\/p>\n The greatest risk these loose birds pose is to themselves, experts said: Tropical species will likely be picked off by raptors or killed by the Pennsylvania winter. And while releasing a caged bird might sound idyllic, \u201cthe reality is much more ugly,\u201d said Victoria Sindlinger, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania<\/a> and founder of its Quackers Bird Club<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really not going to be suited for life outside or life in this climate, and it is going to die,\u201d Sindlinger said, \u201cand unfortunately, it\u2019s probably going to not be the quickest death.\u201d <\/p>\n Ultimately, rescuing and caring for these animals is up to \u201cindividual people\u2019s goodwill,\u201d Sasikumar said. Tyson advocates for all pet birds to be microchipped, like cats or dogs. Her military macaw, Suzy, is microchipped, she said. Sindlinger added that bird ownership should not be taken lightly. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Armistead\u2019s budgie \u2014 which he\u2019s been calling \u201cPudgie\u201d \u2014 has taken up a residence in his spare bedroom, away from the family\u2019s very curious cat. He\u2019s looking to find Pudgie a permanent, loving home. <\/p>\n For now, he said, \u201cmy wife has gotten rather attached to it.\u201d <\/p>\n