Parrot Blazes trail in road trip across States

Meet the pet parrot who once went on a road trip around America and is now spreading his wings over West Lothian.

Blaze Macaw, a nineyear-old Macaw parrot, and his owner Tommy Taylor have been turning heads as they go on their daily stroll around the cycle path at Wester Inch in Bathgate.

Tommy has been taking Blaze around the park nearly every day for the last six months and the new addition to the area hasn’t escaped the attention of local walkers and cyclists.

Tommy said: “I’ve been coming here every day for six months except for the bad days with the snow and everything.

“He loves getting out, he doesn’t like sitting in the house. You get a few people come up every day but it costs nothing to be nice.

“He speaks all the time in the house but not as much outside.”

Tommy has owned Blaze since the bird hatched and their friendship has proven to be the real macaw.

Tommy said: “It’s got to be 24-hours a day care to get them like this.

“I got a job in a car wash in Stenhousemuir and he came with me every day.”

Such is the extent of the pair’s companionship Blaze even joined Tommy for a road trip around America.

Tommy said: “The plane was £ 1000 for him and £300 for me. We did part of Route 66. He flew a bit of the Grand Canyon. We did Las Vegas where we walked up The Strip for about six hours with people taking photos and we also did Hollywood.”

It wasn’t always plain sailing for the pair in the USA, however.

Tommy said: “We didn’t get to go in the Hoover Dam and we couldn’t do the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon because they said it was a no-fly zone.”

The bird has also joined Tommy on trips to France and Spain where the pair worked shows in Benidorm and Playa Flamenca.

To see more of what Blaze gets up to you can follow him on his very own Facebook page at www. facebook. com/ BlazeMacaw