Budgie ‘Dusty’ makes a break for home

Perhaps, like us humans, Dusty had had enough of being on ‘holidays’ and just wanted to go home to owner Daphne Dunne at Abbeydale. Maybe he thought he had what it takes to emulate a homing pigeon, but it seems escaping from Maura Glover’s home on Florence Street was his mission.

Maura, who is Daphne’s sister-in-law, was called on to budgie-sit while the Dunnes went off for a family vacation on the first Saturday in July. The family returned on Friday last, but decided to leave collecting Dusty until the following day. Maybe that’s what got Dusty’s feathers ruffled to the point where he decided to make a break for home.

“We were tired when we got home and decided we would leave getting him until the next day,” said Daphne, continuing: “Maura told us that on Saturday at midday she was putting the seed in his cage when he flew out past her and flew out the living room window. Maura was devastated.

“My husband telephoned her and that’s when she told us. We put an appeal out on Facebook but got no reply, but a friend of my niece saw another post about a budgie had been found in a conservatory in Caw Hill Park and contacted us.

“Apparently Dusty flew in through their conservatory door on Sunday and landed on the man’s shoulder. He was there until Monday night. We have since discovered that their conservatory is almost identical to ours, so maybe he thought it was home. Maura brought his cage over and we got him back. He was very ruffled looking and tired and did not talk at all until the next day,” said Daphne adding: “I cannot believe we got him back.”