National Post (National Edition)
Fire crew responds to a roving parrot call
A parrot caused a small amount of pandemonium Thursday when fire crews were called to rescue it from a tree.
The bird’s owner, friends, passersby and firefighters turned their gaze to the tree canopy trying to spot the blue-fronted Amazon parrot before it was eventually coaxed to safety.
Inca, a 12-year-old leafgreen bird, flew from her owner’s shoulder after being startled and perched atop the tree in Edmonton.
Wesley Cross, who owns Inca, said the bird is usually quite good about sitting on his shoulder.
Although she initially occasionally responded to calls from Anne Wiebe, a friend of the owner, Inca mostly remained out of sight.
Wiebe shook a yellow and white plastic box that once upon a time held margarine but is now filled with treats hoping to entice the bird. It didn’t.
OH, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT A RELIEF THAT IS. MY HEART JUST LEAPED.
After rescue services were contacted, two fire trucks were sent to the scene, said Maya Filipova, spokeswoman for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
Early on, firefighters in a bucket thought they could catch Inca but the bird simply hopped higher.
At one point, after a few minutes of calling for her, Inca was spotted on a branch. It wasn’t long before she was joined on that branch by Edmonton’s famous magpies, who also congregated on that very branch, cawing. Inca moved a bit more.
At one point the parrot went further up the tree, Filipova said.
Catherine Ouellette, another friend of Inca’s, spotted her in the tree far up on another branch. “There she is, between those branches,” she pointed out.
This time to make sure their feathered friend didn’t fly away, Wiebe strapped on fire gear, clutched the box of treats and got into the bucket with the firefighters.
“I’m scared of heights but Inca is important to Wesley,” she said.
People on the ground held their breath as they watched ladder being manoeuvred into place.
Once in place, Wiebe extended a wooden stick so Inca could hop on it. But the sightseeing parrot chose another branch to shuffle to. Wiebe tried again. This time Inca hopped on the stick.
Firefighters and Wiebe drew the stick into the bucket, carefully.
Inca was rescued. People on the ground clapped and cheered. Cross gave a thumbs-up. “Oh, you don’t know what a relief that is,” he said, laughing and smiling. “My heart just leaped.”