Pet Forum / Birds / Birds / May 2004

Parakeet returns to boy 4 years later, mellower
   
Associated Press
May. 26, 2004 08:45 AM
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. - Four years after flying away from home, Fred the
parakeet has returned to roost - and he still remembers his name.

The bird with the chipped beak recently was reunited with its owner,
11-year-old Aaron Edwards of Parkersburg.

"Aaron prayed every weekend, and I finally said to him, 'He ain't
coming home.' That was three weeks ago," said Aaron's father, Mike.
"Man, did I ever eat my words."

Fred flew away when Edwards took him to his used car lot in
Parkersburg.

Ever since, Edwards, who also drives a tow truck, has asked customers
if they had seen a green bird. Several said they had at their feeders;
one sighting was in a junkyard.

The family then set up cameras at feeders hoping to catch of glimpse
of Fred. But hopes grew dim as the winters passed.

On Friday, Kenny Balderson, a friend of Edwards', saw Fred at his
Pettyville home. He called the bird by name and it flew down to him.

"What, Fred," the bird reportedly replied.

When Balderson telephoned that day with the news, Edwards thought it
was a cruel joke.

"I didn't believe it until he showed up at the door," he said.

As Balderson entered the home with the bird, Edwards said, "Is that
really Fred?" The bird then climbed up and snuggled to his chin.

The years have made Fred a kinder bird.

"He used to bite everybody he didn't like," Aaron Edwards said. "He's
really mellowed down now."