EVERYONE THINKS BLUE IS GOLD ON STRAND
THE Strand has appeared a bit brighter lately with the appearance of a colourful South American native around on the beach.
Blue, the blue and gold macaw, has become somewhat of a local celebrity regularly visiting The Strand.
Owner Cherrie Veneman adopted Blue from NQ Aviary when she was four months old and has been teaching her how to free fly since she was six months old.
Ever since Ms Veneman brought Blue home, the duo have been two peas in a pod, frequently visiting other Townsville landmarks including Castle Hill, Rowes Bay and Kissing Point.
“I really wanted a new location for her to fly so I thought it would be good experience for her to get out and fly with lots of people,” she said.
“As soon as a person walks up to her, she pops on their hand and poses.”
Ms Veneman said her striking parrot was a real character.
“She is a little bit of a troublemaker, but very social and when she meets people she wants to chew your sunglasses or give you a kiss and throws off people’s hats,” she said. Blue has her own Tik Tok account and Facebook page and knows how to say, “blue”, “hello”, “shut-up” and “come on”.
Ms Veneman said she had been told that Blue was at the top of her class.
“She is so advanced in what she is doing, even Macaws Australia have said macaws don’t free fly until they are three or four years old,” she said.
“I can give her the tools to fly and come back but I can’t give her the tools to fly so close to people or have that trust to fly close to a building, she just does that herself.”