photo by Bernd Alden
Please note: We have called off any active search for this bird due to lack of recent reports and the winter season.
photo by Bernd Alden
Loose Blue and Gold Macaw in the far Northwestern Suburbs of Chicago - August 2005
Our current rescue effort is directed to the far north-western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois where a Blue and Gold Macaw has been on the loose throughout most the summer. This parrot has been seen and heard over a very large area covering the towns of Algonquin, Fox River Grove, Cary, Crystal Lake, and the Richmond/Ringwood area..
The photograph above was taken on August 6, in Cary near the Algonquin city limits and provided to us, courtesy of Bernd Alden. The photograph shows the bird perched in a Mulberry tree, which he seems to have favored due to return visits. This macaw has been sighted and distinctively heard (particularly loud screams in the early evening) since early July. He has been seen eating wild berries and fruit from trees and from this photo appears so far to be healthy and doing okay. Most of the sightings are of him in flight, so observations have been brief.
Out last report suggested this bird was on the move and has relocated from the Crystal Lake area where he seemed to have resided for about 2 months, from July through August. We believe he entered the Richmond and Ringwood area where we have received a possible auditory report. Quite clearly he is covering a very large area. This last report was on September 6, and so we are now quite concerned as to where he may have moved off to. In view of the winter season now upon us and the date of the last report, we are calling off any active search, but we are keeping this site up in case someone has made a discovery or heard news that could be of interest to us.
This breed of parrot is a tropical bird from the rain forests of South America. He is not indigenous to this area nor is he designed to survive in the wild this far North in the United States. It is imperative that we recover this bird before the colder weather approaches and his food supply runs short. With days running shorter and nights becoming colder, time will be soon running out to save this animal. Moreover, this bird is alone with no companion and no chance of finding one. This really is a true rescue effort.
We are looking for any and all information that will help us in his rescue. So far we have no information on where he came from, when he got loose, or any possible owners. If anyone would have any information or leads, we would like to hear from you. Any information you provide regarding this bird's history or previous ownership, will be kept strictly confidential and any information you provide about yourself will also be kept confidential and will not be distributed without your permission. We are focused entirely on saving this bird.
We also need any and all sighting reports of this Blue and Gold Macaw or reports that you may have heard him. In making your report to us, please provide location, date, and time, and whether you heard or saw him, whether flying or perched, and what else he may have been doing such as eating. We need this information in order to localize him and know where to concentrate a recovery effort. Any additional photos would be appreciated as well as detailed descriptions observed though binoculars or other telescopic lenses. Distinctive markings and whether or not he is banded, what kind of band, and whether right or left foot, would be most helpful in confirming a possible ownership report.
If you see or hear this bird, please contact us with your information as soon as possible. We have three ways you can reach us: Email for most sighting and auditory reports, phone numbers for our participating organizations if you do not have email or a computer, and an emergency pager number for emergency and urgent response use only.
If you see or hear him, regardless of how trivial the report or sighting, please email us with this information. Please note that the majority of the reports we have are auditory (squawking or screaming from a tree) or sightings of him in flight. These are important and valuable reports. Seeing him actually perched somewhere, would be a rather rare sighting.
Note that many of today's cell phones have email capability. So you don't need to wait until you get to a computer to Email us. Send an email to our rescue address with just your phone number, or if your return email address is your phone number (i.e., your-phone-number@your-cell-phone-provider), simply text "parrot" in the message, and we will call you back and take your sighting report over the phone. We monitor this email frequently during most of the day and should be able to call you back quickly. As an alternative, if you do not have email or a computer, you may also trying calling one the numbers listed below for our area participants. They will take your report over the phone.
Use our emergency pager number if you find the bird unnaturally grounded and/or injured, or you saw someone not from our group catch the bird or trying to catch him. For any of these cases, page us and then call your local police department immediately. They can help secure the area and ensure the bird's safety or help confine him until we arrive. Note that area police departments are being informed of the lost bird and of our rescue effort, with many providing and offering their cooperation to help rescue him. Most know to call us if they get a report on this bird.
We also invite you to use this number if you see the bird perched down or perching down for the night, such as in a tree in your neighborhood and it is dark or nearly so. By paging use, we can call you back immediately for further information and decide on a course of action. Please do not use this number for daylight reports. The bird will likely be gone by the time we arrive. Use email instead for daylight sightings.
Please, under no circumstance attempt to capture this bird yourself. He has been flying free and has made the outdoors his home now for at least 2 months already. These birds are extremely difficult to recover, and it is clear this parrot does not want to be captured. Your attempt to catch him will not only be futile, but will only make it more difficult for us to rescue this bird. Plus, you risk injuring yourself climbing ladders or trees to reach him. Moreover, after he is rescued, he will be need some very special care and attention. We have people able to provide just that.
Please do not attempt to feed him or put food out for him. Doing so may interfere with our efforts at another location. Also, do not call out or talk to him. He is likely uninterested, and your voice may only serve to frighten him off. The absolutely best thing you can do is to remain silent and hidden and quietly observe him. That will increase the changes that he will remain where he is and long enough for us to show to your location or provide you with instructions. If you could take photos or video, that would be especially helpful.
Finally, if you find the bird unnaturally grounded or injured, please do not attempt to capture him. An injured animal will die trying to escape. Page us immediately and then call your local police department to secure the area and possibly help confine the bird. If he feels unthreatened and safe, he will likely remain where he is until we can arrive. If he is moving while injured, track him but keep your distance, while you page us and call the police.
What
To Look ForThe picture on the right is one of the same breed of parrot we
are looking for.
He is a "Blue and Gold Macaw"
He will have a predominantly white face with a large black hooked
beak.
He will have a gold underside with black collar as shown in the photo.
His backside is predominately all blue and he has a long tail feather.
The top of his head is blue with some green tinting in front.
His total length may approach 3 feet. His wing span will also be about 3
feet.
In flight, next to raptors, he will be one of the larger birds you will see.
Macaws are the largest birds in the parrot family. He is much larger than
Quaker parrots,
which are green and which are sometimes seen in the wild in this area.
Despite the bright colors and belief it would make them easy to spot, their
coloring serves to make these birds almost disappear in trees. More than
likely, if he is perched in a tree, you will hear him before you see him.
Please provide any and all reports or information we are seeking by sending email to the following address:
Based upon your report, will may respond to your email with further instructions and may even be requesting your further assistance. We will provide further contact information and emergency contact phone numbers to you at that time.
For emergency and urgent response use only, you may contact us using the following emergency pager number:
847-569-0596
Call this pager number and enter your call-back number. We should be able call you back within minutes. Please note that this number is for emergency and urgent response use only. Use it if you find the bird unnaturally grounded and/or injured, or you saw someone not from our group catch the bird or trying to catch him. For any of these cases, page us and then call your local police department immediately. They can help secure the area and ensure the bird's safety or help confine him until we arrive.
You may also use this number if you see the bird perched down or perching down for the night, such as in a tree in your neighborhood and it is dark or nearly so. Please do not use this number for daylight reports. The bird will likely be gone by the time we arrive. Use email instead for daylight sightings.
Thank you.
Do you own, operate, manage, or run a business, organization, or agency in the sighting area and would like to help us on a larger scale? Please download our Parrot Rescue 911 Flier (70K - PDF), print and place in your store front window, bulletin boards, at your checkout counter, or as you find appropriate. Please also feel free to distribute and request your business neighbors to do the same. We have left room at the bottom of this flier for your store or organization stamp, label, or business card.
The Northern Illinois
Parrot Society
Des Plaines, Illinois
Click above link to go to web site
The Wild Bird Center
Fox River
Grove
847-639-6594
Use the above phone number to contact the center, ask for Dave
The Birds and Beasts Pet Shop
35-18 Berkshire
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
815-477-7387
Use the above phone number to contact the store, ask for Paul or Pat
Walk-in reports of sightings also welcome by visiting the store at the above
address
Petland Crystal Lake
6126-B Northwest Highway
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
815-455-5479
Use the above phone number to contact the store, ask for Angel or Dan
Walk-in reports of sightings also welcome by visiting the store at the above
address
The Barefoot Hawaiian, Inc.
Des Plaines, Illinois
Click above link to go to web site
A Refuge for Saving
the Wildlife, Inc.
Northbrook, Illinois
Click above link to go to web site
This rescue effort is a contributory operation by ParrotBird.com and all those organizations listed above.
We also wish to thank the following organizations for their participation:
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehab in
Barrington
for referring any calls they get on this bird to us
McHenry County Conservation District
and
The Conservation District Police Department
for watching for and reporting sightings of this bird and
for helping to protect him from illegal capture or harm
ParrotTalk.com and PrettyBirds.net
for listing this bird via their bird911 & missing birds network
and web sites
And the following municipal organizations for their
cooperation:
The Richmond Township
The Richmond Police Department
The Huntley Police Department
Please do not contact any of the above organizations if you sight the bird. They will only refer you to us. If however you observe an unauthorized attempted capture of this bird or any illegal activity regarding him, please report it to the appropriate local police agency. For county conversation property, that would be the Conservation Police.
Making
a DifferenceTwo men were walking along a beachfront littered with starfish washed ashore by strong tides and high waves after a major storm.
To the surprise of one of the men, his companion picked up a still living but struggling starfish and tossed it far and back into the water.
The man asked his friend, "I don't understand. Why, with all these hundreds of dying starfish stretched for miles along this shoreline, would you pick up one and throw it back in the water? What difference could it make?"
To which his friend replied, "It made a difference to that one."
There are thousands of parrots in the world just like the one here that need our help and cooperation in order to survive and to continue adding to the beauty of our planet.
ParrotBird.com is dedicated all
parrots and to the humans who love them
and is owned and operated by Lou Chatroop and LCC Enterprises