Our parrot Darby went missing on Friday afternoon. He was last seen munching on some peanuts.

He lives free, spending his days in the trees in our garden, chatting away. At night, he comes into the house and sits on the windowsill. When he falls asleep, Dad puts him in his cage.

He’s been known to spend a night out, but he’s never been away for a full weekend. So, yesterday, we put out a Facebook and Instagram post to see if anyone had seen him. There are a few big birds of prey in the area…

The response to our posts was overwhelming. We had 80+ shares, hundreds of likes and 10’s of comments. Someone sent us a link to a photo someone had posted in Dalry, Ayrshire, of a green parrot on a peanut feeder. We had no doubt it was our Darby.

Dad set off this morning to see if he could find him. There was a good chance he’d have left the area. Birds can travel far in a day.

Mum posted in a Dalry facebook group that he was missing, and within minutes we had intel that he’d been spotted around the Primary school, so Dad made his way there. Soon after, we got a whatsapp: “Got him.”Dad and Darby are now on their way home.

We’re absolutely delighted to have him back. Thank you so much to everyone who shared our facebook posts, sent their love, and gave us tips on where he might be.

A special thanks to the community of Dalry – the well-wishes and reports on his location were what brought him home. The past couple of days were a reminder of the positive influence social media can have, the huge kindness of strangers, and that we need to get a tracker on our little green parrot!

Never under-estimate human goodness. So much to be grateful for today. Thank you all

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